The growth of consumption of content online is continually growing with people consuming more content than ever before. This content comes in a variety of forms whether it is written, recorded, or designed. Data collection has also become more important than ever as companies want to be able to make informed decisions rather than relying on estimates or gut feelings. The collection of this data being translated into written form can be a bit boring but with an infographic this data can be visualized and make data a bit less dry. Designing the perfect infographic is imperative as the infographic will directly reflect work that the company has done. A poorly designed piece of content can make it look like a business does not care about the details which can lead them to lose customers. The following are tips to help design an infographic that will help drive traffic as well as be something a business can be proud of producing.
Establish A Goal For The Infographic
There should be a goal established when creating content as this can help ease the creative process. This can make it much easier to identify what data is going to be used that aligns with the overall goal. One might think that a piece of content can have only one goal but this is far from the truth. Content marketing can help improve a company in a variety of ways whether it is generating leads or showcasing a company’s knowledge. If there has been an infographic created by the company before taking a look at things like traffic, social shares, clicks that lead to the site, and how long visitors stayed on the site are all incredibly important. A piece of content could even be impacted by what time of the day or day of the week that it is published so keep this in mind as well.
Making In Depth Content Easy To Understand
Content that is too data rich in the form of an article or blog post might have a majority of readers clicking off to a little less complicated content. The visualization of data is one of the strongest aspects of an infographic as at times data can be quite tough to translate otherwise. Then there is boring content when put into a podcast or video that can be made much more interesting if designed well or if the content has an interactive option. Those in finance or other industries that are very data heavy can start making content more interesting which will garner more traffic as well as backlinks. Infographics can be a quite efficient way to help build links for SEO as they can be easily shared on numerous websites.
Introduction Paragraph Has To Appeal To Viewer
Most infographics have an introduction of a paragraph that helps set the stage for the content to follow. An introduction that doesn’t catch the eye of the viewer can lead the visitor to click off before they get to the main piece of content. If the content addresses a problem or issue that people might be having then outline this problem. Common problems that people have can appeal to the reader as solving this issue could improve their quality of life. For example, a finance company that created an infographic on a monthly budget and percentages of income that should be spent on each area of life helps solve a problem. A person will not want to read this advice in a 2000 word article but will be more than happy to view the content in an infographic.
Structure Should Flow Top To Bottom
Being able to view a plethora of data and results on one page makes an infographic appealing to those that might have a shorter attention span or lack time to read long articles. The design of the piece of content needs to flow from top to bottom so the viewer does not have to jump around the piece trying to make sense of it all. A great way to help guide a person through the piece of content is to change color from one section to another. This will help a person go to the portion of the content they want to view rather than going through facts and statistics that do not interest them. Related statistics should be placed together as well in order to show correlation between them as well.
Choose An Experienced Designer
The design of the infographic is important to say the least as making text too small or colors tough to read will impact the performance of the content immensely. If you do not have a designer on staff there are a decent amount of companies as well as freelancers that can help complete this for an affordable price. Regardless if the designer is in-house or contracted it is important to set up milestones for the project. The last thing a business wants is a completed project that barely resembles the vision of the content team. Ask for previous samples of work as paying someone for a below average design can kill a marketing budget for a smaller company.
Collect Data On The Content’s Performance To Try To Improve Your Perfect Infographic
The best data that can be used is that of previous infographic performance if created for the company. After a few completed pieces a company can see which publications offered the most traffic and social shares. Data collection has become easier than ever with content marketing tools so take advantage. Create something that viewers will engage with and that will help spark conversation. This engagement can come from potential customers as well as current customers which can offer valuable insight.
Content marketing is here to stay and infographics are going to continue to be an effective way for companies to showcase their knowledge. If you have not tried using this type of content in your campaigns it is time to take a few test tries. Understanding what people want to read or view can be difficult but those on the content marketing team should be able to help even if they do not have design skills. Infographics could continue to grow in usage as data collection in all niches has become paramount for business trying to improve year after year.