Marketers have many promotional tools at their fingertips, but the known benefits of infographics have proven the informative visuals to be woefully underutilized. While their use in scientific circles goes back to at least 1626, it was the internet and a need to advertise in an educational manner that took them mainstream. This use will only continue to grow as business professionals recognize the benefits.
1. Infographics Increase Engagement
Social media is one of the most popular platforms for sharing infographics, and this is because of just how effective they are on the sites. People like sharing information, but they prefer to do so when it’s presented in a visual way. In fact, social media posts that are visual rather than text-based generate 650 times more engagement.
This statistic is far from insignificant. Posts that feature videos, for instance, only result in 300 times more engagement than their text-based counterparts. This isn’t to say that you should give up on video marketing. Instead, make sure you’re diversifying your promotional tactics and taking advantage of infographic benefits.
2. Infographics Increase Branding
One of the greatest benefits of infographics is the fact that they’re customizable to your brand. While sharing an informative visual created by another company can generate likes, shares and follows on social media, they won’t be effective at long-term growth. This is why you should share infographics customized to your brand.
Research shows that revenue can be effectively increased by up to 23 percent through consistent brand presentation. Not only do consumers enjoy consistency and knowing who they’re buying from, but branded infographics will also send people your way even when they’re shared on third-party websites by other professionals.
3. Improves Search Engine Optimization
When it comes to driving traffic to your website, search engine optimization (SEO) is your most powerful tool. Google and other platforms use algorithms that calculate the importance of a website based on a given search query. One of the most important factors considered is how many other webpages directly link to a certain website.
Due to the viral nature of infographic visuals, they’re likely to be shared across numerous platforms. Having just one third-party website using your creation often results in others finding it and using it to present information. If even a small number of these pages backlink to yours, it will drive up your search ranking and make it easier for potential clients to connect with you.
4. Infographics Improve Traffic
Brand recognition and social media followers are great for revenue, but when it comes down to it, they both mean very little without increased website traffic. Even though infographics are meant to be educational resources, you want consumers to use you for more than just informational purposes. This means getting them to your website.
Fortunately, this is yet another benefit of infographics. Statistics show that utilizing these visual aids can increase website traffic by up to 12 percent. More visitors on your main website equate to higher conversion rates and revenue. Use these powerful marketing tools to bring potential clients to every platform at your disposal.
5. Thought Leadership Through Infographics
When a company builds thought leadership within an industry, they effectively set themselves up as the “go-to” resource for consumers in the market. People are far more likely to do business with a firm when they trust that they’re dealing with experts. And while marketers underestimate its value, a full 83 percent of buyers believe thought leadership builds trust.
This is another important element of marketing success that infographics can build. It takes time, energy and research to create visual aids. Even more importantly, though, is that it takes expertise. Your followers and potential clients are looking for knowledge, and when you can present it to them in one place, you’ll secure your position as an industry thought leader.
6. People Learn Visually
To earn and maintain your position as an industry thought leader, you need to do more than provide good information. After all, you don’t see the average person running around sharing peer-reviewed articles from scientific publications on their social media. This is because most people learn visually, and when information isn’t presented as such, they’re more likely to forget it.
Research has shown that at least 65 percent of the population are visual learners. One of the main benefits of infographics is that they’re completely visual. They often take complex information and present it in a digestible and memorable way. By doing this, you can provide consumers with knowledge that they’ll actually understand and appreciate.
7. Infographics Tell Visual Stories
Infographics became incredibly popular back in 2014, but this led to an influx of subpar visuals that were more focused on landing easy links than being informative. Marketers forgot that it’s not all about the data and stories – it’s about presenting them in an easily digestible way. Fortunately, people still appreciate infographics that tell visual stories.
In fact, Forbes said that storytelling should be a part of every content marketing strategy. In doing so, they also pointed out how important visuals are to this approach. By presenting information in this way and using statistics, anecdotes, quotations, and questions, you’ll get the full benefits of infographics. When you tell a story rather than just throw numbers out, consumers will be more engaged.
8. We Know They Work
The many benefits of infographics make it apparent why companies are increasingly using them in their marketing endeavors. If there were just one advantage to take from this list, though, it’s the fact that they really work. Even though only around 60 percent of companies use them, nearly 85 percent rate their use as “effective.”
If it’s not clear just how significant this is, keep in mind that this number is on par with the reported effectiveness rate of video marketing. This means properly created infographics are generating just as much engagement and return as one of the most powerful marketing tools out there. If the benefit of a positive return on investment isn’t enough to convince someone, it’s unlikely that anything will.
The Benefits of Infographics are Undeniable
Although the latest data show that around 40 percent of companies still don’t use infographics, there’s no denying their overall effectiveness. These compact pieces of visual content can do everything from generating more traffic to building thought leadership in the market. As research continues, additional benefits of infographics will surely emerge. Any serious marketer cannot ignore this fact.
