Content Creation

What Is an Interactive Infographic?

CopyPress

February 5, 2018 (Updated: March 2, 2020)

Marketers are constantly looking for the next great idea. They jump on new social networks and are often the first to explore different trends. Interactive infographics are no exception. Over the past few years, more clients have been asking about interactive infographics, even if they didn’t have a clear idea of what they are. They knew they wanted something interactive; they simply didn’t know what they wanted or how to execute it.

Once you understand the nature of interactive infographics, you can start to create them for your content platforms. Discover what you need to know about an interactive infographic.

What Are Interactive Infographics?

Image via Flickr by nutson

Interactive infographics take the same elements of traditional infographics and add moving features to make the visual content more dynamic. In terms of Pokemon, you can think of interactives as the second evolution beyond the static graphic.

Interactive infographics don’t necessarily need to be complex. These moving graphics may be as simple as displaying a question flipping over to reveal an answer when someone toggles over it, or allowing users the ability to click on various elements to learn about them. However, other interactives require high levels of engagement and programming, with different paths users can choose to keep them clicking and learning about the content.

Interactive infographics tend to require development processes along with graphic design. While graphic designers are essential to the creation process, you may need to contract developers to execute your vision or work with an in-house team to write the code for what you need.

Development requirements are often what make interactive infographics seem overwhelming. A business may want interactive content, but it may not know how to develop a wireframe for its vision and execute it to its needs. This challenge is one of the main reasons CopyPress specializes in interactive content — to help people who aren’t sure how to make that content themselves.

What Are the Benefits of Creating Interactive Infographics?

Every brand wants interactive content for different reasons. Some hope an interactive design has a greater chance of gaining massive amounts of views, while others want to provide information in a distinctive way to change the minds of audiences. Either way, a few main reasons for choosing interactive media include the following:

•  Brands can tap into the visual nature of internet users, especially considering 37 percent of marketers believe visual content is the most important part of their strategy.

•  Customers are actively engaged with your content instead of passively viewing it, and they’re more likely to remember the material.

•  Interactive infographics are less common than static content. Interactive infographics have a greater chance of attracting links from publishers who want to share it.

•  Interactives provide a deep dive into one topic to explore an idea in ways a static infographic may not be able to.

•  Brands can take individual elements of their interactive content and use them to promote other ideas and marketing channels.

You don’t have to focus on one of these benefits only. You may create a graphic with the goal of engaging potential customers by providing an enhanced look into an idea. The elements work together to improve all aspects of your marketing efforts.

By fully understanding why a company may choose an interactive infographic over a traditional one, you can start to develop your own strategy for ideating, designing, and sharing your own interactive concepts.

How Can You Use Interactive Infographics to Visualize Content?

Within your company, the first step to creating an interactive infographic is the idea. Once you understand the overarching theme of your content, you can start to determine what data you need to find (or develop yourself) and how you want to display it. A few common interactive infographic display options include the following:

•  Timelines of events or descriptions of how something changes over time (such as the evolution of the Chicago skyline or factors leading up to a major event).

•  Informational flowcharts of information that lead customers to a natural conclusion (such as the effect of coal vs. solar power).

•  How-to guides for products or for activities your audience may try (such as how to use a welder safely or how to build your own patio furniture).

•  Product comparison guides, or us-vs.-them comparisons.

As you can see with the examples above, interactive infographics can be purely informative to customers, can persuade them about particular topics, and can be used as part of your sales process to generate revenue. By starting with your goals first, you can decide the best way to visualize the data to meet your organization’s needs.

How Can Marketers Promote Interactive Infographics Effectively?

Interactives provide an opportunity for marketers: They can either assist the top or bottom of the marketing funnel. From the top-of-funnel perspective, interactives have the power to attract attention. They’re highly engaging and easy to share, and the visual elements are often made to be eye-catching. If you want to drive traffic to your website and introduce people to your brand, then an interactive is a great place to start.

Most top-funnel promotions use social media to attract attention. Brands may boost the visibility of their interactive infographic through promoted posts on Facebook or Twitter while reaching out to influencers to share it. Along with social sharing, other top-funnel tactics include outreach marketing and guest blogging.

Conversely, these graphics can also be used to serve the sales team at the bottom of the sales funnel. They can provide industry-specific, company-level information on a brand or process. Instead of sending an in-depth e-book that takes time to read, a business could send an interactive that persuades leads to convert. Interactive infographics can also be used during sales calls to walk customers through your business.

These mid-to-bottom funnel tactics include sending your interactive infographic to your mailing list of leads, promoting it through push notifications, or sharing it with internal industry groups.

You don’t need an expert development and creative team in your business to build interactive infographics; that’s what we’re here for. Set up a call today if you’re interested in using this marketing tool and discuss your goals and individual business needs with us.

Amanda Dodge

CopyPress writer

More from the author: