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Are Infographics Still a Thing?

Infographics are among the most effective ways to relay factual information.

Information Overload?

In today’s internet age, people are bombarded with millions of messages, sounds and images every day. Information overload is real, and it has affected how people perceive and process information. With so much data coming in, the brain will eventually blow its fuse.

How much information are people being subjected to? There are close to two billion websites on the Internet, plus billions of social media posts and 720,000 hours of videos uploaded on YouTube every single day. All this makes access to needed information instantaneous with just a few taps on the keyboard or even a few swipes on the smartphone.

Shrinking Attention Spans

With the proliferation of multimedia in information dissemination and shrinking attention spans, where does this leave written content? In a study performed by Microsoft earlier this year, people’s attention span when browsing a website is down to 8 seconds. That is less 1 second compared to the attention span of a goldfish. The inability to focus is making retention much tricky for website owners.

Optimised websites look great and bring leads to the owners, but running a website means more than just sharing content. It involves the science of using the right tools to rank well in the search engines and bring in site visitors who will part with their hard-earned money in exchange for your product. One of the tools that can help bring in visitors is meaningful, original content.

Infographics Can Help

While some love to read a good article, some prefer to just browse through quickly. They just do not have the time or do not want to be bothered to read a whole 1000-word article to get what they need. This is where a good infographic comes in.

What is an Infographic?

An infographic, which combines the words information and graphics, is a visual representation of data, facts, and information presented using graphic tools. These graphic tools include:

Images
Tables
Charts
Graphs
Icons
Animations
Other attractive and entertaining visual tools.

For example, an infographic can give the reader the important gist of an article in an instant, without having to spend 5 to 10 minutes reading an article and looking for the specifics that he or she wants.

Integrating infographics into a website can also increase engagement and conversions because It can also be easily shared on social media, making it an efficient marketing tool. Aside from websites, infographics can also be added to presentations, ebooks, and or emails. For example, if you’re creating a consulting presentation, infographics can help explain some complex concepts or ideas.

The Advantages of a Good Infographic

There are plenty of things that an infographic can do that other content cannot but, while it is true that everyone can make an infographic, not all can create an effective one. The online marketing landscape has seen so many infographics over the past years, saturating it to a point that some avoided using them altogether. This brings a big question for marketers: Do infographics still have a place on the Internet?

Infographics may seem old-fashioned compared to other forms of media. However, a well-designed infographic can give its audience sufficient and easy to read information and lead them into doing the desired action.

The Benefits of a Good Infographic

Infographics are not outdated. They have just been a little misused and abused by creators who simply wanted to use them for link building. Here are some benefits of a good infographic and why websites should incorporate them in their content marketing strategy:

· The human brain processes visual data more effectively

Science proves that the human brain processes images much faster than text. In fact, it processes an image 60,000 faster.

In this fast-paced world, people want to have the information that they need in an instant. They do not have the time to scroll down and read. An infographic can give its intended audience the data and information that they want in just milliseconds.

· Infographics tell a compelling story

A good infographic should have a story. It shouldn’t just be incorporated into a website for link conversion. Stories come to life with images and animations. An effective infographic should tell its readers a solid story with meaningful and original content.

· Infographics are easier to understand

This goes back to the hard truth: People do not want to spend 15 to 30 minutes reading to find information. If they can get what they need at a glance, they would have it over poring a full-text article.

An infographic can summarise an in-depth article or research study, giving its audience a fair idea of its content. The audience can then decide to read the article if they want more detailed information on the infographic’s content.

Blog articles and infographics become more effective marketing tools when used together. The combination works for both readers and non-readers, allowing marketers more engagement. They can even reach an audience that speaks a different language, making infographics more universal.

· Infographics aid memory recall

Compared to text alone, infographics are more memorable, leaving a more lasting impression on readers, helping them remember information better.

· Infographics can establish a feeling

Infographics leave more impact on their audience. Images and colours can influence mood and consumer response; therefore, designers can use these tools to invoke the feelings that they want from their audience.

Meanwhile, marketers can invoke feelings of happiness for their brand by using happy images and bright colours. It allows the audience to connect with the brand in more meaningful ways that full-text content cannot do. The feeling that an infographic leaves to its readers can aid in memory and brand recall.

· Infographics are shareable across the web and social media

Whether on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter, infographics are shareable and can easily go viral. Visuals can increase engagement and images can attract people who are simply scrolling down their feed.

Undoubtedly, social media posts that contain images are more attractive than a full-text post, plus they also get more shares. More shares, of course, translate to a wider reach and more engagement.

· Infographics can serve a variety of purposes

Infographics do not just have to build links; infographics can educate, inform, promote a brand, and inspire to take action. Whatever their purpose may be, a good infographic must tell a good story.

What Makes A Good Infographic?

An infographic should not be simply a mash-up of photos and graphs. It must have certain elements to be able to convey an effective and understandable message. Beyond getting the attention of its target readers or customers, an infographic must provide the most important details and data. Here are the elements that an infographic should have:

1. A Story

A good infographic tells its intended audience a story. An infographic is not just a mash-up of images, animations, tables, and charts. Every visual element added in the infographic must contribute to a solid and convincing story it is telling its audience. It must be coherent, and it must make sense.

2. A Natural Flow

For a story to make sense, each element must follow a certain flow. It can be left to right or top to bottom, depending on the design and style of the infographic. How an infographic is presented should be easier to grasp and understand, with easy-to-remember data and information.

3. A Single Style

Another way to ensure a natural flow in the infographic is to make sure it sticks with a single style. Incorporating too many styles can make it look chaotic. The text, no matter how stylish, should be readable and understandable. All visuals should also be scaled accordingly. If one visual element should be bigger than the rest, there must be context to it.

4. Meaningful Typography

Big lettering, along with images, makes an infographic stand out. An infographic can have more than one typeface and size. Different font and a bigger size can help catch the attention of the intended audience. They can also be used to highlight significant numbers and facts. An infographic can also utilise different colours for more impact.

5. Space

An infographic should never be crowded or else it will overwhelm its intended reader. While it may be tempting to fill it with as much information as possible, strategic spacing can make an infographic more effective. Spacing can be used to lead the eye of the reader and put emphasis on some info, but a cluttered infographic can confuse the reader to the point of even scaring them away.

6. A Call to Action

Whether the infographic wants the reader to click on a link to another page or share it on their social media pages, it must have a clear call to action – a clear way to contact the company. An infographic must also incorporate branding so that its intended audience will be able to identify it with the brand that it represents.

The CTA must include:

A Brief summary of the benefits of the company
Company website
Company email or link to a contact form
Company phone number, including STD

Ready to Revamp Your Site with Infographics? Contact Jezweb today

We understand the need for businesses to have an efficient, appealing, and engaging website to reach a wider audience. Jezweb provides customers with a complete range of website design services from designing, building, and managing your websites.

Our team can help you design and conceptualise your website according to your target market and your niche and our experienced web designers and digital marketers can help you optimise your website through meaningful and original SEO content.

Count on us for everything digital, from graphic design, website coding and blog writing to your Google AdWords campaigns. Let us help you widen your reach and increase your sales.

Visit us at jezweb.com.au or give us a call on (02) 4950 1140 or (02) 4951 5267 to make an appointment. Alternatively, send a message through Jezweb’s contact form and we’ll be right with you to start your journey towards even more successful digital campaigns.