Content Creation

Infographics Are Still Booming

CopyPress

October 25, 2016 (Updated: February 28, 2020)

In less than a decade, infographics have evolved from basic charts and graphs to complex visual devices that pack a lot of information into a small amount of space. In a world that’s becoming increasingly dependent on visual and interactive content, infographics are more important than ever. Find out why infographics are still booming and why they’re a critical component of your content marketing campaigns.

Infographics Grab Readers’ Attention

Image via Flickr by TomD.

If you’ve ever turned to your social media feeds in the middle of reading yet another text-heavy blog post or gotten distracted by memes in lieu of reading a long-form article, you know how important it is to incorporate visual elements into your content. The significance of visual material goes beyond anecdotes, though. An estimated 65 percent of people learn through visual means, and 90 percent of the information that makes its way to your brain is visual in nature.

Whether you attribute this to human nature or the ever-shortening length of the average person’s attention span, the ultimate takeaway is the same. Images are necessary if you want your content to get attention and earn a spot in your readers’ memories. Since the average person forms a first impression of your content in just milliseconds, however, you don’t have much time.

A picture might be worth 1,000 words, but an image can’t always convey everything you have to say. That’s where infographics come into play. By combining images with text, they have the unique ability to grab readers’ attention while spelling out your message.

Infographics Educate Your Audience

Many people are drawn to easy-to-read facts, simple-to-understand statistics, and snippets of information that simultaneously satisfy and drive a sense of curiosity. The problem with text-based content, however, is that it buries the most interesting details. Since typicalreaders consume just 20 percent of the text on a page, they may never get to the juiciest parts. If you’re in an industry that’s traditionally considered dry or boring, sharing information about your brand in an interesting way might seem like an impossible task.

Audience education is another area where infographics excel. With this type of content, you can highlight bite-size pieces of information, call attention to critical details, and get your point across easily. Need to explain a complex problem in an interesting way or make a dull issue sparkle? Infographics make the learning process entertaining and enable you to educate your audience in an enjoyable and memorable way.

If you’re worried about your audience forgetting what they’ve just read the moment they click away from your content, don’t be. Since they incorporate images, infographics actually help people remember information. Most people can recall 65 percent of visual information three days later, while they can remember just 10 percent of what they’ve heard after the same amount of time has passed.

Infographics Increase Brand Awareness

If you’ve ever walked away from an infographic with no understanding of the brand that produced it, the content didn’t maximize its potential to increase brand awareness. After all, well-done infographics don’t use cookie cutter templates, default design elements, or standard color schemes. If you love infographics, walk away from poorly designed examples.

The best infographics rely on innovative designs and custom colors to capture your brand and make it just as memorable as the content itself. Prominently incorporate your brand’s voice, signature colors, and logo to ensure that your audience gets to know the brand behind the infographic.

You can take further advantage of infographics’ ability to increase brand awareness by calling attention to your company’s advanced knowledge in a specific area. Whether you’re the go-to brand in a niche market or you want to carve out space in a larger industry, infographics are great for establishing your business as an expert.

Infographics Are Easy to Share

Some content only has the potential to appeal to a limited audience, but infographics are known for their widespread appeal. In fact, online users like, share, and engage with infographics three times more than they do with other types of content. If you’ve been seeking a highly sharable kind of content, look no further than infographics.

To maximize the power of sharing, take the time to optimize your infographics’ appearance on each social media platform. If you’re sharing on Facebook for example, don’t include a thumbnail image of the entire infographic with a link to the full-size graphic. Instead, feature an interesting snippet that’s easy to read, likely to entice your followers to click through, and guaranteed to encourage them to share.

Infographics Drive Traffic

If your content marketing campaign aims to drive traffic, infographics are a smart choice. Whether or not your infographics officially go viral, they can boost your web traffic significantly. On average, brands see a 12 percent increase in traffic when they produce infographics. That equals a tremendous amount of growth from one type of content alone.

Make the most of your newfound traffic by helping readers navigate your website in a way that’s helpful to you both. Consider incorporating links to relevant products or blog posts in an introduction to your infographic, and include a call to action (CTA) after the content.

Though most infographics aren’t specifically designed to drive sales, that doesn’t mean you can’t introduce readers to your sales funnel all the same. Include an email newsletter signup form in a pop-up or a sidebar to keep the conversation going.

Infographics Improve SEO

In addition to the increased traffic and countless shares that infographics provide, they also have the ability to improve your website SEO. Encourage influencers and relevant brands to share your infographic on social media platforms and on their own websites.

The more organic links you’re able to build, the more your SEO will improve. That means your website can rank higher for searches, giving you the potential to draw even more traffic.

Ultimately, infographics are still booming because they offer benefits ranging from better SEO to increased traffic to improved brand awareness. When you want to attract attention, show off your brand, and encourage shares, infographics are just the answer your content marketing campaign needs.

CopyPress

October 25, 2016 (Updated: February 28, 2020)