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Should You Use Infographics?

Infographics are becoming more and more a part of how we communicate on the Internet. As a marketing tool, infographics are excellent because they convey a message quickly, visually, and portably.

Avid Internet users are impatient. In other words, they do not like to read long-winded explanations of products or events. Instead, Internet users typically scan a site, read a paragraph or two and make their decision whether to move on or not. Infographics speak to most Internet users in that they allow them to quickly scan, assess, and decide whether they want more information or not. A well-designed infographic can make a whole lot of difference.

What exactly are infographics and how are they used? Here are some facts:

  • Infographics are a combination of text and graphical representations of what you are trying to convey or represent.
  • Most humans learn visually or at least need visual in order to cement their learning experience. Infographics will draw the eye quickly to relevant pieces of information and at the same time create an image in the reader’s brain.
  • Infographics are analytical. This is a fact that should not be ignored. Statistics are interesting to most people and embedding statistics that your target audience will appreciate is important to the success of your infographics.
  • While the use of infographics is fairly new, it is clear that it is a very powerful tool. Those who have used these tools for content marketing have been surprised at how effective they are.
  • Infographics can be ported to any site easily.
  • If you use infographics, make them entertaining to your target audience. Make sure they apply directly to your audience and will give them usable content.
  • The most effective infographics tell a story. They are not just haphazard statistics thrown together; the graphic flows like a narrative. There is a theme, a plot and a conclusion in the best infographics.
  • Be sure to use interesting fonts, colors and pictures to create the combined effect of an infographic. Once again, these things should not be placed randomly within the graphic. The eye should flow easily from one point to another.
  • For each graphic, one to two sentences is enough as a descriptor. Sometimes sentence fragments are appropriate. This is not an essay. You are drawing attention to your ideas or products mainly through a graphical interface.
  • One of the biggest mistakes is making a graphic too big and too long. Too much graphical information is overwhelming to the eye and brain. Give your readers infographics in small bits, alternating with informative text.
  • If you are going to create infographics, do a great job or don’t use them at all. There is nothing worse than a poorly created infographic. A poorly produced graphic will drive readers away rather than draw them to your site.
  • Make sure your infographic is accurate and based on facts. People will be using the information from your infographic, and they will be quoting it, talking about it and passing it on. If you place one error in your infographic, your readers will no longer trust you to provide them with good information.

The Bottom Line:

Infographics can be very powerful and drive people to your website. They enhance your content, and turn the message you are trying to convey into something more visual and interesting. Be aware, though, that if you are married to the idea of using infographics, you must spend time and effort making them into excellent vehicles of information. If you cannot create infographics yourself, make sure to seek the assistance of a professional in the field.

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