While it’s useful to write blogs and website copy describing what it is that you do, this is a format that allows you to go into considerably more detail about your company, including industry statistics, survey results, and in-depth comparisons of products and services.
This will not only build trust with your customers but also show them the benefits of choosing you over your competitors. If you’ve never made an infographic before, this handy guide will cover the advantages of displaying information visually and what to consider when designing graphics.
Know Your Topic
It’s entirely up to you to choose what topic you’d like to cover in your infographic. The format is almost infinitely flexible, allowing you to say anything about anything.
As long as your topic is relevant, and you know what you’re talking about, you could create infographics about:
- Statistics: make a visual representation of some useful survey data, whether you’re sharing your own findings or highlighting somebody else’s.
- Information: give an overview of a topic, divided into sections with descriptive headers for scannability.
- Timelines: recap the history of something, whether it’s your company or some landmark developments in your industry.
- How-to’s: show how your business works or teach your audience to do something, using easily understandable, step-by-step instructions.
- Demographics: visualise large quantities of data about location and other demographics as they relate to your customers.
- Comparisons: compare your own products and services or pit them against those offered by a competitor to show which is the best.
- Lists and Rankings: prioritise information in order of importance or quality, in a format that’s more dynamic than straightforward list copy.
Visualise Your Data
Once you’ve chosen your topic and gathered all relevant data on it, it’s just a matter of visualising it. Simplifying data isn’t the same as reducing it, but it is important to consider how to transfer data from a written medium to a visual one.
Who Is Your Audience?
First and foremost, you need to consider who you are talking to and how your infographic will not only appeal to them but also help them to understand your data.
What Is Your Purpose?
Data is just data unless you’re using it to say something. When you know what point you’re trying to make, it’s just a case of making sure your data suits your purpose.
What Is Your Channel?
Consider how your audience will interact with your infographic. Design for your chosen channel, whether your visualisation is meant to be shared on Instagram or embedded on a web page.
Don’t Overcomplicate It
The simpler your infographic is, the more effective it will be. While visualisation requires creativity, you don’t want the fruit of your labour to be too complicated for users to grasp. Embrace the advantages of a visual medium and tell a story that your audience can understand.
Your ultimate goal in creating an infographic should be to tell a story that users can explain to others after they’ve seen it. Keep it relevant and be as direct as possible in your visual storytelling.
Take Advantage of Free Tools
With infographics growing in popularity as a content marketing format, there are a number of free online tools that will enable you to create visuals from scratch.
Keeping our advice in mind, why not check out some of the following sites and make your first professional infographic before you go investing in expensive software and memberships?
- Canva (LINK to https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/)
Ideal for creating free-form infographics, Canva offers users the ability to upload their own images and add quirky details to their graphics.
- Datawrapper (Basic Version) (LINK to https://www.datawrapper.de/)
Favoured by major news outlets, Datawrapper is a professional tool that’s especially useful for converting demographic data into maps and graphs.
- Easel.ly (LINK to https://www.easel.ly/)
With a fantastic selection of templates, Easel.ly is backed by an eclectic and wide-ranging online community, enabling you to instantly share your graphics with a wider audience.
- Snappa (LINK to https://snappa.com/create/infographics)
Offering a simple drag-and-drop functionality, Snappa provides an easy way to optimise your graphics for social sharing. Along with a huge array of pre-set templates, the free version allows 5 downloads a month.
- Venngage (LINK to https://venngage.com/features/)
An irresistibly straightforward option, Venngage allows you to translate reams of technical data into simple, well-designed charts and graphics.
Show Off What You Know
Whether you want to share facts and figures about what you do or boast about your sales and customer feedback, infographics are the best way for you to show off what you know.
Informative, appealing, and shareable, a great infographic is just what you need to communicate everything you want your audience to know about your chosen topic. Start experimenting and you’ll soon discover the benefits of visual storytelling.