If there’s such thing as seven deadly sins in marketing, the first in the list would be: Recite an endless litany of facts, figures, and data.
You can smell a lousy marketing effort from a mile away when your brain starts complaining and your attention has gone out the window.
As a marketer, you probably know by now that great marketing strategies and campaigns are founded on powerful storytelling.
The more your content resonates with your audience through storytelling, the more likely that you’ll gain their trust and loyalty.
With a marketing landscape that evolves crazily fast, crafting a strategy that will specifically work for your business can be a challenge.
Should your brand be on Twitter 24/7? How about investing in email marketing software? Word has it that email remains king.
Before you even wrestle with these questions, sit down with your team (with a few boxes of pizza would be great too!) and answer a more important question: how are we going to share our story as a brand and stand out when everyone’s also creating content?
The answer you’re looking for is visual storytelling.
In this article, we’re going to dig a little deeper to learn more about a specific form of visual storytelling — infographics.
Of course, you need a solid marketing strategy (with infographics and other compelling visuals as part of the plan), but you might want to understand the why behind this decision first.
The second part of the article outlines how you can use infographics in your business — from branding to marketing to internal operations.
Why infographics should be a mainstay in your business
1. Infographic creation has a low barrier to entry.
In contrast to other forms of visual marketing platforms, you don’t need a massive budget or a specialist (like videographers) to do it for you. Plus, many infographic creation software tools these days have steep learning curves.
2. Infographics are versatile.
You can put them up on your blog and share them on social media. There are Pinterest boards that are even dedicated to infographics alone! If you want to go the offline route, you can print infographics and send them out to the wild for distribution.
3. Infographics are antidote to information overload.
Admit it, when was the last time you read a long-form article online from beginning to end?
People rarely read the entirety of an article these days.
A well-done infographic, on the other hand, can help remedy this growing problem in online readership. When you’re combining the right colors and texts, your infographic will be the apple of your readers’ eyes.
5 creative ways to use infographics your business
Here are some creative ideas in using infographics for your marketing efforts as well as day-to-day business operations.
1. Communicate the “why” behind your product or service.
Is your app meant to help new mothers navigate the pitfalls of pregnancy and childbearing? Maybe you want to design the best personal computers in the world like Apple. Perhaps you want to help people get rid of bad accounting software.
A tidy infographic with a clear illustration of what you hoped to achieve can help the entire team in not losing sight of your company’s big picture goal. Afterward, have your infographics printed and put them up on your office walls. Instant inspiration and reminder of your brand’s core values!
2. Make an infographic of your customer personas.
Every business or brand has its own set of customer personas. These include prospects, buyers, followers, people who are interested but still don’t actively seek out your services, and other similar groups.
Why not design an infographic for these personas?
With a visual scheme of your audience that’s presented clearly on a handy infographic for your own use, it’s easier to remind yourself and your team of the people that you’re serving or designing products for.
3. Highlight social proof and customer testimonials.
What’s a social proof you ask?
HubSpot defines social proof as the idea that consumers will adapt their behavior according to what other people are doing. When you’re buying what your best friend recommended as the best laptop out there or reading a book that Ophrah recommended, it’s social proof in action.
Nothing will encourage people better than seeing someone else that they can relate to already got good results. Make a point of the positive experiences and feedback from your customers to attract new ones through infographics.
Infographics are a perfect medium for this. You can neatly display your astounding results in numbers, quotes, illustrations, or whatever other combination of elements which is most suitable for your particular offer.
4. Ask questions.
Got a burning question for your customers?
You don’t need to stalk your followers – let them tell you instead. A small town ice cream store can post “Which of the ice cream flavors we’re offering is your favorite?” with a stunning infographic that’ll subtly encourage their online followers to respond. This is also a great way to spark a conversation with your customers. An added bonus is you can use this infographic with questions in other online platforms!
5. Make someone smile or laugh.
Sometimes, stating facts or figures can be boring for your audience.
Why not share an anecdote, quote, or numbers in a silly way through infographics?
Final thoughts
The way people consume content is changing at a fast pace.
It’s all about making it short, catchy, and memorable – all the things an infographic can do.
Whatever marketing strategy you decide on and whoever your target audience is, a good infographic is an ally on all fronts.
Photo essays, insightful graphs, colorful charts, and cheerful icons can help you craft a story that sings (and sells!). You can also try printing them out as leaflets, booklets, and posters, and much more.
Best of all, it’s incredibly easy to make your first infographic. You can either design your business infographic using infographic templates or make one from scratch. Happy creating!
*Editor’s Note: This post was updated on January 18, 2021 for accuracy and comprehensiveness. It was originally published on July 11, 2015.