Infographics are a fantastic way to convey information. The best businesses in 2020 are making sure that their websites feature these creative visual representations. Keep these considerations in mind when you want to create an infographic that makes an impact.
Read on for more information about:
- when to use an infographic
- what to do before you design
- how to make an impact
When to Use an Infographic
There is a time and a place for all different types of media, and that applies to infographics too. As we’ll discuss in the section below titled “Look in Your Own Backyard,” you want to make sure you’re using these visuals only when they’re appropriate.
Like the name implies, infographics are most useful for when you want to convey information. Use them to inform your audience about both a general overview and a complex topic.
You can also use infographics to define the steps of a process. When you want to share survey results or other qualitative data, this type of visual can be very useful. Showing how different options are related, and comparing the pros and cons, are also great times to use an infographic.
Infographics can help you show the history or the future of a product, service, or idea as well. They’re a great way to create timelines and to explain future plans. This is just a jumping-off point; you can use them to share other types of information, too!
Before You Design
One important step of any creative process is to generate ideas. Before you sit down to design and create your infographic, brainstorm ideas for what you want your final product to look like.
Think of this as the pre-research stage of the process. Prior to actually creating the graphic, ask yourself: how do you want your final product to look? Is there a specific style or theme that you want it to match? What is the greater context of where this infographic will be placed, and how can I make it flow with the existing context?
Keep in mind that no idea is wrong at this stage. You need to let your ideas flow through you first, and then focus on choosing the best ones. You can brainstorm by yourself or with a team.
Use graphic organizers, sometimes called mind maps, to help you brainstorm a variety of topics. You can use graphic organizers specific to the content (for example, small business sales) or specific to the format (infographics). These will help you decide what data to emphasize and what data you can leave out.
Keep it Relevant and Use Your Keywords
No one is going to read a week-old newspaper. No one is going to read an infographic that’s outdated or irrelevant, either. Before you gather your data, ask yourself if the topic you’ve chosen is something that people care about and want to learn about now.
An additional benefit of creating an infographic about a relevant trend is that this will give you access to the many people who are interested in that topic, which will create more brand awareness and drive traffic to your site. Tools that can help you with this task include Google Trends and BuzzSumo, which will help you identify what’s currently popular. Once you know, you can create valuable and interesting content related to the trend you’ve chosen.
One basic rule of digital marketing is that you have to prioritize SEO. You need to research the keywords that will direct your target audience towards your site. Then, make sure your infographic includes those keywords.
Look in Your Own Backyard
Before you go scouring all the corners of the internet for content ideas, look at what you already have created. What great information is already on your website, but perhaps not in the most accessible format? Can that be turned into an infographic?
For instance, do you have a blog post that’s filled with great information, but that takes some time to read? If possible, condense the most important parts of that post into an infographic.
You can also take a look at the most popular posts or pages on your website. You know that your audience loved that content. Why not make an infographic of it and remind them of the amazing content you produce?
Of course, you’re going to want to make sure that whatever that content is, it’s fit for visualization. If the content is funny dialogue from a podcast, for instance, it probably won’t translate well to an infographic format.
Remember that whatever data you use should be balanced with the ideas or message that you’re trying to convey.
At the end…
Survey your audience. Ask them if the infographic helped or if they have any suggestions for how to improve it. Alternatively, you can also survey your audience before creating it if you are very uncertain where to begin. At the end of the day, the content is there for your consumer. Make sure your infographics flow well, align with SEO, fit with your website theme, and share the information in a clear and direct way. That’s the path to an impactful infographic.