Infographics, sometimes also called information graphics, data visualizations or just ‘data-viz’, are visual representations of instructions or sets of data, aimed at enabling the reader to quickly process and comprehend the information presented.
Familiar items such as warning signs, road signs, maps and charts are examples of traditional infographics. (More information about the history of infographics can be found on a separate post.)
Often used to communicate a large amount of statistics, the use of infographics reduces the cognitive load necessary to make sense of information. This is particularly true for visual learners, i.e. those who have a preference for receiving information in a visual way, responding better to pictures and graphics than to written information and numbers. For this group, infographics provide an accessible format for communication. Infographics also allow non-numerate people a simple way to understand important messages which would otherwise be complex and difficult to interpret.
In addition, infographics also provide context for data using supporting graphics. The use of graphics has extended into story-telling via infographics, often utilizing a timeline with iconography or illustration to portray events milestones on a chronographic chart.
The rapid rise of the internet has led to a huge increase in the production of infographics. Often taking the form of tower graphics, businesses often commission infographics for marketing purposes. In addition to providing an innovative, popular way to illustrate complex industry issues and draw readers’ attention to potential solutions to business problems, infographics are extraordinarily popular, generating over four times the amount of viral sharing online than a text based blog post.
An added benefit to this is the value of infographics for SEO – companies share graphics, leading to back links to the source website, and the more popular the infographic is, the more it is shared and the more back links are generated. If done properly, this can represent a hugely cost-effective marketing strategy as the bulk of the work in this case is carried out by members of the public.
Should you require any more information about infographics, we have a team dedicated to design, publication and research of infographics, so please get in touch and we will do all we can to help.
Why To Opt For Infographics?
Infographics are the ‘next big thing’ on the web. These informative blog-post like pictures would be narrating your whole idea while making it more attractive. Nonetheless, infographics are more visually attractive, which helps you in retaining the ideas for long. What you are reading in this blog post is easier to forget.
However, if we present the same with a very catchy title, bold colors and possibly some characters or artwork, you would be more attracted to the post and would remember the ideas for a longer duration of time. In short, we can say that infographics have a longer shelf life in your brain. So why do you opt for infographics? Why not simply write a text or record a podcast?
The answer is really simple. An infographic is everything that text, voice and even video are not. It is a complete package. As the internet is becoming a huge part of our lives, we are getting more inclined towards visually attractive things. An infographics is definitely attractive and it presents the ideas in a very creative manner as well. Let us have a look at all the reasons why you should be opting for infographics.
Infographics can easily be shared- a large chunk of our internet activities are connected with our social media networks. We like to tweet things, like posts and +1 everything that we like. The infographics are quite shareable and have a good record on the social media circles as well.
Publishing, tweeting or posting them is easy and republishing or retweeting them is even easier. Therefore, there are higher chances of your ideas becoming more shareable and going viral. If you are promoting something and need some SEO advantage, there can clearly be nothing better an infographic.
Infographics are good link baits– infographics can not only be shared but frequently republished as well. Therefore, you can expect a lot of good links being generated for you with little effort. You can link the infographic to your homepage or to your specific landing pages. This would help in increasing the website traffic and give it an SEO boost as well. No wonders, search engines would definitely note your presence on the internet.
They can be used for brand awareness- interesting and catchy infographics can also be used for creating brand awareness amongst the target audience. The exposure that you can get from a single infographic is enough to retain the brand name in the minds of the viewers, thereby creating brand awareness.