Your Sneak Peak at the Future of Infographic Marketing Social media and large media outlets aid the genre's wild popularity. Here's what to expect going forward.
By Jonathan Long •
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Infographic marketing started off with a bang a few years ago and still remains a very popular way of delivering a message to a targeted audience. Why did infographics become so popular and why does this form of media continue to be an effective content marketing vehicle?
Visual marketing is easier to absorb. We are visual creatures and able to absorb visual elements quite easily. Think about trying to describe a triangle to someone. Would it be easier for the person to understand it if you tried to explain it or showed them a picture?
Media outlets love infographics. Larger media outlets love infographics because they drive engagement. Their visitors love them, share them and comment on them. Infographic marketing is a great way for a brand to gain exposure through larger media outlets that might not ordinarily provide them exposure.
Related: 7 Super Tips for Creating Powerful Infographics
Sharing on social media is easy. Consumers love infographics and love social media, and when you combine the two you can strike gold. Take a look at your social media feeds and there is a good chance you'll spot an infographic that someone has shared. When a person enjoys viewing an infographic, he or she will share it for others to enjoy as well. A well-timed and well-thought-out infographic can go viral quickly across social media.
Natural link building and website traffic. When a popular infographic is shared across social media, other websites may pick it up, resulting in natural link building. These are two things that are great for search engine optimization. Infographics also can drive highly targeted traffic back to a company's website.
In order for marketers take full advantage of the power of infographics, they would be wise to initiate some changes.
Don't just pump out infographic after infographic. As this genre has become more popular everyone has started to produce infographics, focusing more on the quantity instead of the quality. With so much free infographics-template software available, companies began to throw any data together and call it an infographic.This quickly diluted the quality of the format.
An infographic needs to tell a story visually in order to be successful and not just contain random data compiled together. One single amazing infographic can produce better results then a half dozen assembled without proper research and a well conceived-visual design. Focus on quality -- not the sheer number of infographics that you create.
Expand your reach. An infographic that hits a home run with its data and presentation can deliver a tremendous amount of website traffic and exposure. This can happen when it is distributed correctly. Instead of just placing the infographic on your blog and hoping it catches on, reach out to websites that you feel might have an interest in the subject.
The time and effort required to do infographic outreach is often rewarded with high-quality websites publishing the infographic. This results in natural links and targeted website visitors. If consumers become caught up with an infographic and then visit the website responsible for it, they may tend to have a genuine interest in the product or service being provided.
Related: A (Kind of) Brief History of Marketing (Infographic)
Get interactive. Look for interactive infographics to become extremely popular this year. Animation is great way to capture the reader and visually tell a story. A great example is an infographic by NSF Health Sciences that uses simple graphics and animation to explain why hand washing is so important within the pharmaceutical industry. It does a great job of getting the point across in an easy to absorb visual manner. Infographics that incorporate an interactive element will become the new benchmark for infographic design.
