There’s a lot of buzz about infographics, but are they really as successful as marketers say they are or is there just a lot of hype around this visual form of content?
Google Trends shows an increasing number of people actively searching for infographics. Back in 2011, a search for ‘infographics’ was about as popular as holiday fruitcake. Now, people are searching for infographics more than they are the Kardashians. (Shocking, but true.)
“Anything visual is hot right now,” says Tara Clapper, blog editor at SEMrush. “And infographics are a great way to condense information while attracting an audience.”
While Clapper encourages brands to give infographics a try, she realizes that every brand must make that decision on its own. To decide whether infographics are hot or not for your brand, here are the pros and cons surrounding infographics, and if you decide to add infographics to your content strategy, we’ve added a list of creation tools to help.
Pros of infographics
• Infographics are highly shareable
Infographics are the perfect visual tool for social sharing, Clapper says. Visuals are in demand. Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12 percent more than those who don’t. And consider how quickly Instagram has grown, or how well Facebook posts do when an image is accompanies a message.
• Infographics breakdown stats
Spewing data in a white paper, or some kind of long report isn’t going to make readers bang down your digital door. The information could be extremely valuable to your audience, but if it’s not presented in a visual way it’s like giving a PowerPoint slideshow to an empty room. “Simply put, infographics are digestible,” Clapper says.
• Infographics can appeal to everyone
What’s great about infographics is their overall appeal. Who doesn’t love a little eye-candy? “If done well, infographics can appeal to deep data experts as well as the layperson interested in the general subject matter,” Clapper says.
• Infographics are mainstream
More and more brands are hopping on board the infographic train. “If you’re not producing them, you’re probably not keeping up with others in your industry,” Clapper says.
Cons of infographics
• Time investment
Creating infographics is highly time consuming. Clapper’s company has two employees that crank out infographics; one finds the data and the other handles the design and creation.
• Need for creative skills
To create a visually-appealing infographic requires some design work. While there are some great DIY templates out there that make this part easier, creative skills are still necessary.
Tools to create infographics
As mentioned earlier, there are several online tools that can make infographic creation easier. You’ll still have to dig up the data, but these tools will help when it comes to presenting the information in a cool, visual way:
• Easel.ly
This web-based tool provides about a dozen free templates and a small library of design components like arrows and conversation bubbles.
• Piktochart
You’ll find three themes for free with this web-based tool. To access more features, including more templates, fonts and color schemes you’ll need to move up to a monthly subscription.
• Venngage
This tool offers great templates and an editor to create infographics. You can even animate your graphics. The free plan offers a limited range of templates and icons, but it’s enough to get you started.
So, will your brand try infographics? Or are you already using them? Share your words of wisdom with other marketers in the comment section below.
