Since the 18th century, people have been trying to determine the best way to share information. In the 1830s, a lawyer named André-Michel Guerry was the first to show data using darker to lighter shadings of color. This, you could say, was the first infographic. Since then, infographics have been used by news channels, politicians, schools, and businesses to easily and quickly display complex information.
What does this have to do with your business? A lot, as it turns out. In 2017, a study was published showing that 84% of businesses that use infographics believe the medium to be effective. The researchers turned the results of their study into — you guessed it, an infographic. And since 2017, the number of companies using infographics on social media and beyond has only increased.
What Is An Infographic?
Infographics are a visual representation of data and information. Infographics can also combine text with visual elements to explain masses of information in a way that is easier to digest. But in the spirit of infographics — why tell you when I can show you? Here is an example of an infographic created by one of our amazing graphic designers at Flocksy.
As seen here, the goal of an infographic is to display information in an easy-to-understand and engaging way. These 7 steps for planning a travel budget are presented in order (from top to bottom), with numbers and accompanying graphics. This makes it easy for readers to see what their first steps should be quickly and effectively. The colors also help draw your eye to useful information, and the layout guides the reader down the page to the final steps.
Why Infographics Are An Effective Content Marketing Strategy
Did you know that our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text? This means the best way to show off your products, services, explain your company and build your brand is through pictures and graphics!
In 2015, sites with images or video brought in about 94% more users than those with only text. This is even more relevant today with social media marketing rising to the forefront of advertising. Below are 3 reasons infographics are still effective and should be factored into your marketing strategy.
1. Infographics Are Easy To Understand
Studies have shown that consumers only read around 20 percent of the text on sites. That means infographics like this one from Flocksy keep your users engaged and active on your site by showing, not telling.
When it comes to appealing to a larger audience, infographics are a great way to remove any language barrier between you and your audience. Pictures are a universal language. Using graphics and images to explain and inform consumers also makes your brand and information more accessible to anyone with reading or attention difficulties.
2. Infographics Help Consumers Make Decisions
Since humans can process images faster than words, infographics help consumers make more informed decisions faster. Nobody likes to spend time sifting through pages of information or reading paragraphs of text only to realize a product or service isn’t what they’re looking for. Displaying your company’s values, goals, services, or products clearly and concisely helps consumers understand your company and make quicker purchasing decisions.
A happy customer is an informed customer, so when you have your brand story, product ingredients, or company updates in an infographic — your user base will better understand and trust your brand.
3. Infographics Are Eye-Catching And Shareable Content
Visually appealing infographics make a huge impact on audiences. They can inform people about your brand, products, or services while being colorful, aesthetically pleasing, and impressively designed.
If you can produce a beautiful infographic, your audience will likely share it on their social media accounts or sites — promoting your brand for you! You can stay true to your brand image by customizing every aspect of your infographic, from colors to fonts to text placement. This means you can draw users in with your colorful graphics and continue to build brand awareness.
Visual marketing isn’t just a growing force in marketing anymore, it’s become the market. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok gain more users each day, and with that comes serious opportunities to broaden your reach with informative infographics that catch your followers’ attention and spread the word about your products, services, and brand.
Have Your Infographics Designed By A Professional
Combining text and graphics into shareable content that delivers large amounts of information in a simple and attractive format isn’t always easy. You must ensure your infographic goes along with your brand image and theme — but is also formatted to the platform you’re sharing it on. If you post to a site page, your infographics should be viewable alongside your published articles.
Infographics should be as simple to understand as they are shareable. If done well, they can generate inbound links to your website (which we all know is one of the most important factors in SEO rankings). Professional graphic designers can help you create content people want to share, re-post, and re-blog. A beautiful, well-designed infographic with valuable information will boost your brand image and create new and loyal customers.
Let Flocksy Create Effective Infographics For You
With Flocksy’s team of expert graphic designers and copywriters, you can start a custom infographic project from the dashboard and quickly see beautiful results.
It’s easy to get started. You start a new graphic design project, choose “infographic” as the subcategory, and then describe the information or data you’d like to see visualized by your dedicated team of artists.
Within 24-48 hours, you’ll have your company’s brand story, product information, sales data, and more displayed and organized concisely, aesthetically, and professionally. Our artists can capture your vision with quality and speed.
You can check out the beautiful infographics we have created at Flocksy in our Portfolio or learn more about How Flocksy Works.