Infographics in Marketing: How They Influence Content Strategy

There are many descriptors we assign to human beings. When it comes to marketing, two of them are critical. The first is that humans are visual creatures. The second is that humans have a very short attention span. So short that we have managed to surpass the goldfish.

The result was that this beautiful marine creature can only manage 9 seconds. Well, Microsoft did its own study and determined that it is 8 seconds for humans.

So how does all this tie in with infographics and content strategies? The answer is quite simple. If you want to capture and engage with audiences who have a short attention span, visuals are a good way to go about it. You will understand this point more as we delve into this fascinating topic.

Understanding the Impact of Visuals

How important are visuals when it comes to engaging with audiences? Well, research shows that the brain can process an entire image in as little as 13 milliseconds.

The brain finds it easier to recognize shapes and patterns faster than it can decode words. In text vs. visual information processing, the latter happens 60,000 times faster.

Take a look at the infographic below.

12 Types of Infographics/ Image from contentmarketing.io

The combination of images and text makes it easy to digest the information. Imagine for a minute if that was a block of text. How much of the information would you remember?

Yet, you can rattle off the 12 types of infographics within minutes of looking at the image. All you need to do is create a connection between the images and text.

Infographics in Content Marketing

Content marketing is a powerful and versatile marketing tool. The versatility lies in the fact that there is so much you can do. Blogs, for example, are quite popular because of the power to connect.

You let go of hard-sell marketing language, which is product or service-focused. Instead, there is an opportunity to create engagement and connection. The way to go about it is with interesting, relevant, and educational content.

Storytelling is another content marketing tool. Think about it, who doesn't love a good story? The brand gets to share its journey in a way that resonates with audiences.

Videos are another excellent content marketing tool. Again, you appeal to the visual aspect to generate interest. Other content marketing strategies include white papers, newsletters, eBooks, and case studies.

And then there are infographics. Refer to the image we shared above for a second. One thing immediately stands out. And that is the use of images to pass on the message. The focus is on visualization and minimal use of text.

The advantages of using infographics include:

• Making information easier to digest by simplifying complex data.
• Visuals are more engaging, thus providing a better way to communicate and educate.
• Infographics are shareable. It makes them a fantastic way to increase brand awareness.
• Infographics help with SEO and link building. They also provide a way to establish the brand as an industry authority.
• Better retention of information among audiences due to memorability of visuals, etc.

How to Craft Compelling Infographics

If you want to reap the power of infographics, take time to learn how to create engaging ones. Some tips include:

• Start with a thorough understanding of your target audience.
• Ensure relevance by sticking to the topic of discussion.
• Identify elements that you can convert into visuals.
• Narrow down information to only include what is necessary.
• Maintain consistency in typography, layout, and other visual elements.

Always stick to the simple yet practical rules of content generation. You must ensure relevant, engaging, and factual information. Also, provide answers to specific needs your target audiences have.

Influence of Infographics on Content Marketing

Let's now look at how infographics influence content marketing. We will discuss the benefits and how it will enhance engagement and interaction.

Image from Daniel Martin

1. Importance of Infographics in Web Design

Your website is a critical component in your content marketing strategy. Indeed, the aim is to use content to bring in as much organic traffic as possible. The search engines will take note resulting in good rankings. For the brand, it means more visibility and greater awareness amongst audiences.

For many brands, the challenge is breaking above the online clutter. You can only imagine how many other companies are competing for a share of voice. So, you cannot have a run-of-the-mill site and hope to attract attention.

One way to stand out is to make your website more appealing with infographics. We can summarize the pros as follows:

• Grabbing attention and getting audience engagement with images is easier than text.
• You can better communicate the key message.
• Infographics on your website are excellent for SEO.
• Better brand awareness due to audience recall of visual content.

Choose a professional web design company that understands the power of infographics. For a quality website, you need to satisfy three key factors. These are design, development, and content. Indeed, those are the key ingredients for a high-performing website.

Design and development may be behind the scene factors. What is important is that the final product provides a good user experience.

But when it comes to content, that has a direct impact on audiences. Visual appeal has a significant role to play in attracting and keeping visitors. How you present information will determine whether they read it or not.

Infographics, even with a 5-second glance, provide so much detail. They can tell a story, explain difficult concepts and spark interest.

2. Infographics Increase Content Shareability

Marketers understand that shareable content increases brand awareness. The more people engage with what you have, the more they will know about you.

The visual appeal of infographics attracts immediate attention. The use of such mediums also makes the information more digestible. You can break down hard-to-understand concepts, thus increasing understanding.

So, stick to the rules of creating engaging infographics. That increases the chance of people sharing your content.

Add subtle nudges for your audiences to share the content. The best way to go about it is to have visible share buttons. Another effective way is to embed code buttons within the content. Finally, you can submit the infographics to sites that share such for more exposure.

3. Enhance Content Readability With Infographics

Think about the online space for a minute. There is so much content because everyone has something they want to share. The number of brands competing to reach audiences with the same is also quite broad.

So, how much time do you think someone has to read blocks and blocks of text? Research shows that the typical online user will only read 20% to 28% of the text on a web page. Another trait is to scan rather than read word for word.

The best you can do is ensure your content is scannable. So don't ignore the power of subheadings, a call to action button, and bullet points. You should also include plenty of images and minimal text.

It also helps to ensure whatever you have up is simple to understand. Otherwise, the only result you will get is people leaving your site after a very short time. This will have a significant impact on your rankings on search engines.

Infographics will make your content easier to read. Audiences will stay on your site longer, which will boost your rankings. Now, combine that with our point on infographics making content shareable. You will start to see more traffic to your platform, which is excellent for SEO.

Also, think about the fact that social media platforms are visual-heavy. Many users would rather engage with images than texts. Few people have time to read long posts. They would rather consume images in the short time they can spare. So, take time to craft compelling visuals that will generate interest amongst audiences.

4. Faster Decision-Making with Infographics

Before anyone makes a decision, they must process information. The faster they do this, the quicker they can arrive at a decision.

Imagine pitching to a room full of executives. Yet, all your Powerpoint pages are full of text. You may find it quite challenging to explain some concepts if that is all you have to go by. It can get quite confusing if there is a lot of data.

But using images, graphs, or other visuals to explain the concepts increases understanding. And as already mentioned above, humans process images faster than text. You can be sure of a more successful pitch with infographics.

5. Establish Brand Authority with Infographics

Content marketing provides a fantastic way to establish brand authority. The trick lies in being consistent about putting out relevant, factual, and value-adding content. Over time, people will start coming to you for information or solutions. In their eyes, you become a valuable and trustworthy resource.

You can take it a step further by making it easy for people to understand your content. And therein lies the power of infographics. The ability to demystify or simplify complex data is crucial. This is critical in technical fields where the information can be hard to explain.

Let's say you are an advisor in the cryptocurrency sector. You're interested in getting people to invest in bitcoin. Explaining the concept to beginners can be quite hard. Imagine trying to explain how cryptos work with text.

But if you use images to show how the blocks, hash, chains, etc., come together, it makes things much easier. And you achieve the effect of appearing knowledgeable in your area of expertise.

6. Improve Your Link-Building Strategy with Infographics

Your content marketing strategy should have a whole section dedicated to link building. It is a challenging yet very powerful way to increase brand recognition. Up to 41% of marketers acknowledge that link building is one of the most difficult SEO aspects. Yet, 52% agree that link building directly impacts organic search rankings.

There are many tactics digital marketers use for link building. These include guest blogging, outreach, broken link building, unlinked mentions, etc.

Infographics also make it to the list of effective link-building strategies. It is important to pick the right topics. Also, include plenty of visuals and helpful statistics. That will increase the chances of people sharing the content. High-authority websites will have no problem linking content that is relevant or useful.

If you want to create content that will get you links, focus on the following:

• Research your topics well to ensure it is factual. Include relevant and newsworthy content to increase interest. The latter is especially useful if you're reaching out to news outlets.
• Strive to put out unique or exclusive content. Identify a topic that is relevant to your audience and do some research. Publish the results of the study. You will have generated new information that is exclusive to your brand.
• Make sure your narrative is compelling. That brings in the point of storytelling as a way to increase engagement and interaction.

Take time in designing the infographics. It should be attractive enough to grab and keep attention. Be careful about the elements you include and how much of them. Avoid clutter and make the information easy to digest.

Final Thoughts

Content marketing is a robust, flexible, and versatile way to increase brand awareness. But, it is also one of the most challenging parts of marketing. How do you ensure that audiences will like whatever you put out? How do you also compete with so many other brands using the same tactic to get to audiences?

Infographics are an excellent way to establish a point of differentiation. Humans tend to gravitate toward visual content. The brain processes such information faster.

There is also greater retention due to memorability. Start creating your content marketing strategy by adding infographics to the web design.

Remember that humans form an opinion in a matter of seconds. If you give them something interesting, it will immediately catch their attention. They will then stick around for a better look. If they find your content relevant and engaging, they will interact with it longer. That will impact your SEO, thus, greater brand awareness.

Finally, we reiterate an earlier point. Please take time to learn how to create compelling infographics using an infographic maker. That is the only way you will see how impactful they are to your content marketing strategy.