// WIDSIX WRITTEN WORD //
The Power of Infographics
in·fo·graph·ic
/ˌinfōˈɡrafik/
noun
a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data.
“a good infographic is worth a thousand words”
Infographics are all the rage in the design and development world nowadays. And it’s clear to see why: they encompass everything that is hip in the modern age of marketing. Impressive visuals combined with helpful tidbits of information, presented in a simple and easily digestible format. What’s not to love? Infographics can be used to do things such as:
- Explain a highly complex process or issue
- Summarize information (as in a lengthy blog post or report)
- Display and explain data
- Give a quick overview of a certain topic
- Compare and contrast
- Raise awareness about a subject or cause
- And much, much more!
The science behind infographics
Is there a science behind why infographics are so effective when used as marketing tools? Well, let’s start with the fact that people learn better when visuals are included to help demonstrate or explain. In addition, people are far less likely to read an article, post, or page if it is inundated with text and few images. And consider this: Only 10% of information sticks in a person’s mind three days later, whereas if a relevant image is paired with it, people retained up to 65% of the information (Brain Rules). This is especially key in content marketing, where the goal is to get people to remember your brand when recalling the helpful information you provided to them.
Infographics expand your follower base
Imagery is instrumental in learning, but what about the marketing aspect of things? Your main goal as a brand is to sell people on a product or an idea, and while educating them is all well and good, you still want to make sure you build your following and continue to reach more and more people. You’re in luck, because infographics have also been proven to draw people in at remarkable rates. In fact, content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images (Quick Sprout). This is an insane number. Not to mention, infographics can even increase web traffic — by almost 12 percent! (Demand Gen Report).
Infographics boost engagement
So you’ve got them hooked, now what? Not only do infographics help you win over new customers and followers, but they can also help take your engagement to the next level. Any good marketer knows that winning customers is only half the battle — the real fight is getting them to engage with your content. And posts that include images receive 650% higher engagement than text-only posts (Webdam) — that’s amazing! Engagement is like free marketing that takes care of itself. When your followers are sharing and promoting your content, they are not only helping you get more eyes on your brand, but they are also adding their seal of approval which helps further convince people in their circle. To further drive that point home, consider that infographics are liked and shared on social media 3x more than other any other type of content (NN Group). This means that all of the above working in tandem within your content is going to produce amazing, consistent results for your marketing efforts.
