Infographics

How can you keep the attention of your readers when there is so much competing content?

Infographics.

Infographics have become the popular new medium for companies to deliver information quickly and effectively to audiences.

Infographics are basically visual images that include charts, data and other relevant statistics in order to provide relevant information on a certain topic.

As it has been said- “a good infographic is worth a thousand words.”

According to John Meyer, co-founder and CEO at Lemonly, infographics provide businesses with a way to overcome short attention spans, which are especially prominent when browsing online.

Meyer states-

“It’s a noisy world out there. Infographics are interesting. They are colourful, they have interesting pictures and headers. They cut through the noise, they grab the attention- but we also know that you retain the information. We are wired to be visual creatures and remember this stuff.”

Researchers have also found that Infographics are more likely to be shared amongst social users and are much more engaging than other types of content.

If your business is looking to include Infographics into your content strategy, here is all you need to know:

1. Start at the Beginning

There are two types of Infographics- brand and editorial.

Brand infographics can be likened to a visual press release. Their job is to introduce a new product or service, or announce a new milestone or acquisition. They usually feature the same colour scheme and style as your brand so it can be instantly recognised by consumers.

Editorial infographics are story driven and share research, data or other necessary information. The goal with these types of Infographics is to provide information and value to readers, rather than a promotion.

It is important to pick just one style of Infographic as blending the two has often not been shown to work. Once you have chosen which Infographic is necessary for your campaign you can move on to the next step.

2. Framework

Once you have chosen which type of Infographic you are going to create it is time to establish the overall message and target audience. You also have to consider the size, format and platform that you are going to share your infographic on.

A few questions to help you get started include-

  • What is the intention of your infographic?
  • Who is your target audience?
  • What information does your Infographic need to include?
  • Do you have any supporting data for your information?
  • What colour scheme are you going to use?

It may also help to break down your Infographic into a beginning, middle and end, just to help with the flow of your content. You may also want to collect any necessary and important analytics or data that you wish to include.

Infographic

3. Tell the Story

Once you have all your data and a rough idea of where your Infographic is heading, it is time to formulate your story. The best way to do this is to write out a short paragraph, almost like you are telling the written story first.

As Meyer puts it, in this stage of the Infographic game you want to “discover the story that you are going to want to tell.”

Once you have the first draft of your story it is important to start editing it down. Keep it short and to the point but also fascinating and engaging.

4. Create the Design

A lot of business put off creating Infographics as they are concerned about the design elements, but really it is not as hard as it looks.

Once you have a story taking shape, think for a moment about the best way to visually present it. You don’t have to be an artist, but it will help to get some idea of how you want it all to take shape.

There are also many great designers on sites like Fiverr that you can also utilise for a reasonable price, that may be able to turn your paragraph into an Infographic work of art.

5. Colors, Styles and Fonts

This may be a job for your designer, but creating a mood board can help to give the overall feel for your Infographic. This includes finding the type of font, colours and other images you want to use to help convey your message.

Keep in mind the overall feel when selecting these elements and don’t be afraid to choose bold colours, fonts and graphics. Remember, you want your Infographic to stand out.

6. Design

Whether you choose to hire a designer or do it yourself, putting your Infographic together should be easy thanks to all the foundational work in the prior steps.

As Meyer explains- “there is a lot of foundational work to a good infographic.”

7. Launch and Share

Earlier in the process you should have elected where you were going to share your Infographic. Well now that it’s all done it is time to get sharing!

There is only one factor to keep in mind- the platform. As Meyer claims- “don’t ignore the platform…Infographics look and feel different depending on where you put them.”

For example, social sites like Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest require images to be certain sizes and may skew or squash your Infographic if it’s not correctly sized.

Either have your designer optimise your Infographic for each platform or try taking a screenshot of the main component of the Infographic and resize it with a link to the full sized image.

As you can see there is a lot of work that goes into making Infographics, but once you get the hang of it and see the amazing response from your target audience, creating Infographics will soon be a breeze.