Infographics have become an immensely popular way to convey stats, data, and other useful information. More than just a graph or chart, an infographic combines knowledge with crisp design, making it not only a means for conveying data, but also visually appealing and entertaining. You’ll find a wide variety of infographics across most social media platforms. While many businesses have come to understand the importance of social media in a business plan, an infographic can also be a useful tool in drawing potential customers to the company website—and increased brand awareness often leads to more sales.
Ideation. The ideation and creation of the infographic is just as important as the ways you share it. In order for the content to be relevant and useful for garnering brand awareness, it has to align with both current online trends and with topics that you have knowledge about. Know and understand the topics that your audience will find interesting and they will want to share with their friends and followers. No matter your knowledge on the topic already, research it further. Obtain and evaluate other opinions and analyze specific trends regarding your topic. If a topic is already declining in popularity, any money and effort put toward an infographic could be wasted.
Creation. Do not scrimp on the creation of your infographic. With so many infographics currently circulating, it’s important that yours looks original and well-done. I generally follow three rules when creating an infographic:
1) Outline your infographic in sections. Think of it like a play that has been broken into acts. Each act tells a specific section of the story, but the sum of each act brings the story together.
2) Invest in good design. A good design will not only find an original way of telling the story you want to tell, it will also do so in a way relevant to the data you are sharing.
3) Edit your infographic ruthlessly. You should scrutinize every piece of content both graphic and written. Make certain the data reflects true numbers and that the design work is flawless. If there is anything amiss in your infographic after it is released to the public, someone will undoubtedly find it and call it into question. This has happened to me in the past and it can be very difficult to explain to your stakeholders.
Also, do not neglect to put your company name and web information on the infographic. While your company name should not take precedence over the information you are sharing, it’s important that readers and viewers know the company that’s responsible for sharing this information with them.
Release. Releasing your infographic is a vital part of drawing potential customers to your website. The release is not as simple as posting your infographic to Facebook and waiting for it to go viral. Before release, you want to engage influencers—those who are considered experts in a particular topic and have influence over their followers—and leverage their large following to further your reach. Find the influencers that are specifically connected to the topic you are promoting. If they find your content interesting, they will usually be happy to share it with their followers. Push the infographic everywhere. If the infographic is optimized for a certain social network, take special care to promote it there. Once that is done, don’t neglect other networks.
If the content you created is relevant and of high quality, the infographic will receive organic shares. As more people view your content they’ll become more interested in the other information you and your company has to offer. This will lead them directly to your website, where they will find more information pertaining to their interests, as well as the products and services that cater specifically to them. You should not be intimidated by infographics.
They’re a great tool, and above all, a lot of fun to create and share.
Muhammad Yasin is director of Marketing for HCC Medical Insurance Services. In his role, he is responsible for the brand building and lead generation strategy of several dozen social media accounts with over a quarter of a million followers.
