The post The What, Why & How of Infographics [Infographic] appeared first on CapriComm.

What are infographics?

Infographics is a form of content marketing that present complicated information in a visually engaging way. Great infographics cover topics that are appealing to your target audience and makes information easy to understand and quick to consume. They can be presented in a variety of styles and can be used for many purposes in all types of companies.

The infographic below was created by GB Show Plates to celebrate the release of the movie Spectre in 2015 and gives a fun overview of some key James Bond data.

Why are infographics so effective?

According Hubspot’s 2017 Marketing Statistics infographics are liked and shared on social media three times more than any other type of content. The most obvious explanation is that we are incredibly visual beings.  Our brains process visuals 60 000 times faster than it does text and 90% of the information that is sent to our brain is visual. Consider the two images below – which one do you think you processed faster?

Still not convinced about the power of infographics? Here are just some of the statistics about the effectiveness of visual content:

• Visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content (Buffer, 2014)
• 65% of the entire population are visual learners (Shift E-learning, 2014)
• Infographics were the B2B content marketing tactic with the biggest increase in use – up 58% from 2015 to 2016 (Content Marketing Institute, 2016)
• 5% of marketers say that infographics have the highest engagement rate (Venngage, 2017)
• 37% of marketers say that visual marketing is the most important form of content for their business, second only to blogging (Social Media Examiner, 2016)
• Eye-tracking studies show that internet readers pay close attention to information-carrying images, spending more time looking at images than they do to reading text on the page (Nielsen Norman Group)

Types of infographics

Flowcharts

These types of infographics depict a process or series of steps that lead to an end result. They are fairly easy to design and do well on social media.

This infographic entitled ‘Is Your Client About to Dump You’ from Continuum is an amusing take on the company-client relationship depicted through a flowchart.

Timelines

As the name suggests, these types of infographics represent a timeline of events. They are used to tell a story from one point in time progressing to another point in time. With timeline infographics you are telling a story, so make sure that your story is relevant and compelling for your audience.

The following infographic – The Popification of the Top 40 by Gavin Potenza – is a good example of a timeline infographic, showing how pop music has increasingly dominated the Top 40 list over the years.

Comparisons

These are the x versus y type of infographics where two things are compared with one another – such as men vs women; old vs new; or cats vs dogs. With comparison infographics it is important to visually differentiate between the two aspects being compared through your design.

The comparison between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates created by Hashtag CV is an excellent example of a comparison infographic.

Data visualisation

This is probably the most common form of infographics and mostly consists of using icons and graphics to illustrate statistical data. Although it can consist of words as well, these should be kept at a minimum and design should be kept as simple and clean as possible.

This infographic by Miller Mc-Cune shows a massive amount of data in a very easy-to-comprehend data visualisation. Just by glancing at this infographic we can see which countries have the largest carbon footprint in the world.

Photo infographics

Photo infographics make use of photographs to break down data. The infographic below was created by Peter Ørntoft to illustrate data from a Danish opinion poll.

The following photo infographic was created by TurboTax to illustrate information related to US taxes on cigarettes. It cleverly combines photographs of cigarettes with a timeline format to make complex data instantly understandable.

Creating killer infographics

Step 1: Do your research

Killer infographics represent accurate data on relevant topics, so before you start with the design you need to do your research first. Look at what sort of topics are trending in your industry and then look at research, surveys and other data to back up the points you would like to make. Try as much as possible to use the latest data and information. Always take into consideration what your audience would want to know about.

Step 2: Decide on the type of infographic you will create

Do you want to depict the history of something? Then a timeline infographic would be the ideal format. If you want to show how one option fares against another, then you would probably want to choose the comparison infographic.

Step 3: Start designing

Begin creating or downloading the media elements that will help you illustrate your points. Remember to keep your design as simple as possible. Don’t be intimidated by white space or feel that you need to fill every inch of your design. Rather let your numbers stand out. Choose the right fonts and colours to help do this.

Step 4: Keep the infographic size manageable

Make sure that all your text and information displays well on any size and don’t make it so long that it becomes difficult to publish on other blogs or on social media. Also make sure that its download size is acceptable.

Step 5: Create an attention-grabbing headline

Make sure that your headline packs the punch needed to grab your audience’s attention and that it accurately describes what the infographic is about. Keep it short and simple – Kissmetrics advsises keeping it around 70 characters.

Step 6: Cite your sources

Cite all the sources from where you collected your data. Most infographics cite their sources at the end of the infographic, but there is no steadfast rule. You can also do this in the body of the infographic.

Step 7: Publish and promote

As with all your content, make sure that you actively promote your infographic after you’ve published it. Share it on your own media channels and ask influencers in your industry to feature your infographic. Make sure that it is easy to share through social plugins.

Click here for the full infographic

Images sourced from:

http://www.freepik.com/

Sources:

https://blog.bufferapp.com/a-complete-guide-to-creating-awesome-visual-content

http://neomam.com/blog/infographics-make-great-marketing-tools/

https://www.customermagnetism.com/infographics/what-is-an-infographic/

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/visual-content-marketing-strategy

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/photos-as-web-content/

https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics?_ga=1.34927905.1016736762.1479713965

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-use-infographics-to-get-leads-from-your-website-ht

http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/350326/Studies-Confirm-the-Power-of-Visuals-in-eLearning

https://piktochart.com/blog/8-types-of-infographics-and-how-to-get-started/

https://www.behance.net/gallery/924345/Information-graphics-in-context

https://blog.kissmetrics.com/12-infographic-tips/

http://gavinpotenza.com/#/billboard-magazine/

https://www.hashtagcv.com/blog/Posts/steve-jobs-vs-bill-gates

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-news/cigarette-taxes-in-photos-7219/

http://www.visualnews.com/2016/04/18/100-best-infographics-last-decade/

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Perhaps it is time to take a good hard look at your marketing content and consider whether it shows any of the following signs:

1. You are not making a good first impression

First impressions matter. Particularly when it comes to attracting strangers to your brand. When you first approach your ideal customer, they have very little information to go on other than their first impressions. And it only takes a few seconds for them to judge your businesses based on visual information alone.

If you showed up at a prospective client meeting in board shorts and flip-flops, it would be hard for them to take you seriously. The same principle applies to your marketing content. Professional graphic design gives a business credibility. It shows that you have taken time and care to present your brand in a professional manner.

You may save a few bucks by doing it yourself or asking your friend/nephew/niece/cousin/etc to do it for free, but unless you or they are professional graphic designers, you will end up paying the cost of making a bad first impression.

2. Your brand is not easily recognisable

A unique and memorable brand builds brand awareness – the ultimate goal of which is top of mind awareness. At this level, customers think of your brand first when they want to buy something within your product or service category.

To be memorable, it needs to be consistently featured in all your content. A professional graphic designer uses precise colours, fonts, themes and images that are particular to your brand. They understand that these elements are what identifies and sets your brand apart and will ensure that all your content is consistent with your brand identity.

A company’s brand is one of its most valuable assets. It is what sets it apart from its competitors and tells customer what it can expect beyond the product or service offering. In the ongoing battle for customers, a strong brand can help your business get ahead of the pack.

3. Nobody’s taking any notice

Despite going out of your way to get your marketing content in front of people, no one seems to take any notice. The fact is that every business is fighting for people’s attention and so are your competitors. If you want your business to get noticed, you need your content to stand out.

Research has shown that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual and that visuals are processed 60 000 times faster in the brain than text. And in our information-saturated culture, good design can communicate even the most complex messages simply and memorably.

It’s important to understand that good graphic design is much more than ‘making things look pretty’. It’s about communicating the right message to the right people in a way that will attract their attention and pique their interest. A professional Graphic Designer will combine creativity with solid research to find the best approach to communicate your message to your target audience.

4. You don’t get any referrals from the marketing you have done

It’s all good and well to get their attention, but that doesn’t mean the phone will suddenly start ringing off the hook. Your content should be designed to entice your target market to take action.

Good design will make it clear to your audience what they should do next – whether it is to click the ‘Buy Now’ button on your website, book a seat at your restaurant, visit your store or book an appointment. Whatever your goal is, your content should be designed to persuade your audience to take the next step.

5. Your content is not getting shared

Small businesses rely heavily on positive word-of-mouth when it comes to getting their company noticed. Today, that word-of-mouth comes largely from social media through likes, shares, upvotes and comments. These social media shares expose your business to a whole new demographic of potential customers, while also having a positive effect on your search engine traffic.

To get those elusive shares, you need to design your content for maximum impact. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that people are more likely to share content that evokes an emotional response. People are also more likely to share visually appealing content. Blog articles that feature relevant images get 94% more views (Skyward) and Twitter and Facebook posts with images get 2.3 times more shares and retweets (BuzzSumo). In addition, 95% of B2B Buyers prefer shorter, more visual content formats (Demand Gen Report).

A professional Graphic Designer understands the psychology of design and how to make an emotionally evocative impact that is greatly shareable.

6. You are spending time on design when you should be selling your product or service

One of the toughest challenges faced by small business owners is that they often need to wear many hats, juggling multiple roles of worker, manager, accountant, human resources professional, marketer and whatever else the business needs.

Graphic Design shouldn’t be one of them. If you do are not a professional designer, you could be wasting your valuable time and money on something that should help your business, not harm it. Let’s imagine that you have put something together and you send it off to the printer or upload to your website or social media. When it comes back from the printer, it does not look at all as you had imagined. Or perhaps you realise that your design significantly slows down your website or doesn’t fit on mobile screens. That is a lot of time and money wasted.

I’ll say it again, graphic design is more than just making things look pretty. There are specific ways design needs to be created depending on the medium you will distribute it in. Print production requires specific colour set-ups, bleeds and margins. Web images need to be a specific size and format, promotional clothing uses a different design format altogether.

A professional Graphic Designer will know the requirements of each production process and will create the correct design file for each output.

7. Your brand is outdated

If you haven’t changed your brand since you first created it, it may be time to take a good, honest look at it and ask yourself if it still represents your business and if it would appeal to your current customer base. As your business grows, you may change the focus of your core services or add additional products and services. Your customer base also may change. Perhaps you found that your product or service appeals more to women than men or more to millennials than baby boomers.

Graphic design trends also change. Logo colours, images and fonts that were popular ten years ago may have gone out of style and if your brand doesn’t keep up, it may give the impression that your business is not forward-thinking. Even classic brands such as Coca-Cola, Apple and Nike update their brands every few years to remain modern and fresh. And you don’t necessarily need a whole new design. A few simple tweaks to bring your brand into the 21st century could make a big difference.

Professional Graphic Designers keep up with the latest trends and styles and would be able to help you update your brand style.

Graphic Design plays a large part in how your business is presented to your potential customers. It affects how your brand is perceived and, if it is good, can help your small businesses stand out from the crowd. The investment you make in professional Graphic Design today, will pay off well into the future. It will help you attract the right customers, make your content stand out, entice potential customers to take the desired action and save you time and money spent on ineffective or bad design.

Sources:
http://www.howdesign.com/design-business/small-businesses-graphic-design-priority/
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8516-design-for-small-businesses.html
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-reasons-you-should-hire-professional-graphic-designer-rob-garza
http://www.idesigni.co.uk/blog/what-can-a-graphic-designer-do-for-your-business/
https://www.visualpeople.com/blog/hire-graphic-designer/
https://designschool.canva.com/blog/design-at-work/
http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=6239
http://www.ereleases.com/pr-fuel/signs-brand-is-outdated/

Image Source:

Freepik

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