Everyone loves infographics, yet few people really know what they are and even fewer people use them to market their business. To be clear, an infographic is a visual representation of information. It can be a chart or a diagram. It can also be a storyboard with a visual flow to the information being presented.
If you’re not yet aware of this…visual content is gaining in popularity. Don’t believe it? Take a look at the difference in engagement on social media between posts that have images (or are images) and posts that are purely print content. The print content is virtually ignored.
Visual content is a necessary part of any effective (and by effective we mean that you’re achieving your business goals) content marketing plan and strategy.
Why Infographics?
Content has many goals that it needs to achieve. Content, any content, needs to provide value, establish trust, credibility, authority, and liking. Ideally, your audience member will take one look at your content and be so impressed that they’ll want more. They’ll visit your site, sign up for your emails, and buy your products or services.
So while photos, videos, and even memes and cartoons can and do support these goals, infographics really make it easy. When you provide factual information in a visual, and often entertaining (or at least appealing) way, you grab attention. Infographics are readily shared online and reprinted. (Consider syndicating yours to drive more traffic and awareness.)
Where Do You Use Infographics?
There are a variety of places where you can use infographics as part of your content marketing. They include, but certainly aren’t limited to:
- Your Blog – Mix up your blog content with an infographic now and again.
- Facebook – You can either publish a link to the infographic on your blog or share the infographic on your blog. However, keep in mind that images are scaled on Facebook so you’ll want to include a link so viewers can visit your site and view the full size graphic.
- Pinterest – This is a terrific place to share infographics if your audience is on Pinterest. Instagram – If you have an Instagram account, and remember that Instagram is owned by Facebook, you can upload your images. Like Facebook, the image will be resized. Unlike Facebook, you cannot include a clickable link. However, you can include a written link or a clickable link in your bio. If you include a link in your bio (and many brands leverage Instagram this way) then make sure to tell viewers there is a link in your bio so they don’t miss it.
- Twitter – You can share a link and a compelling fact from the graphic in your tweet.
- Guest blogs, LinkedIn, and your email newsletter are other options. There are also services where you can create your infographic. It’s automatically made part of their directory, which means that anyone can view it and anyone can share it. Be sure to include your website address and company name in the footer of the infographic.
Creating infographics isn’t quite as straight forward as writing a blog post. The good news is that there are several tools you can use to create your graphic. And you can easily outsource the creation to your VA. Simply send them the list of the facts you want included in your content (or ask them to do the research for you) and let them leverage technology and create the infographic content for you.
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