Do You Know When to Use Infographics?

People love infographics.

They’re visually stimulating, shareworthy, and provide a nice break from the monotony of writing endless paragraphs of text. Do you remember our previous Infographic for bloggers?

Strip Away the Flesh and Bone:

See Blogging Underneath [Infographics]

Or those cheatsheets about HTML5 and CSS3?

Imagine these babies were presented as text, this would be a lengthy piece of boring writing.

But still there's a dark side of the moon an Infographic, there could be an option of bad usage.

How to tell the difference?

By recognizing when infographics are appropriate, you can maximize your time and effort.

So here they come!

4 Situations Where Infographics are Appropriate

Infographics have gained an immense popularity over the past years, but popularity alone doesn’t make them worth the investment.

There are situations that call for infographics, as well as plenty of times where they don’t make sense. But when is the best time to develop an infographic?

Let’s outline four specific situations.

Lots of Data

The human brain has been developed in a specific way. As a result, an average person processes visuals much better than words. While there’s a time and place for spreadsheets, dense case studies, and academic white papers, the majority of people have trouble interpreting data when it’s communicated via text.

While there’s a time and place for spreadsheets, dense case studies, and academic white papers, the majority of people have trouble interpreting data when it’s communicated via text. This is the reason why you hate so much making monthly reports for your chief.

If you have lots of data – as in the case of a survey or study – an infographic often makes sense.

By turning cold statistics into compelling visuals, you’re able to ignite the visual regions of the brain and have greater influence over your audience.

Here's an example, how do you think a comparison list of features look like?

Something like this, right?

But what if it looked like this?

Sketch or Photoshop:

Choosing the Right Tool for Web Designer

Such presentation is definitely the game changer.

Written Content Doesn’t Do Justice

Attention spans are at an all-time low.

In case you haven’t heard by now, your goldfish has a longer attention span than your customers do.

So, if you’re attempting to develop a 5,000-word blog post, chances are high that your readers are only going to scan the article or make it through a few paragraphs before bailing, or getting bored to death.

This is frustrating, but don’t try to fight it. Instead, you have to find a compromise that allows you to deliver value within the constraints of dwindling attention spans.

An infographic is a fantastic solution.

Take this infographic from famous guitar instructor Tom Hess.

Notice how he’s coupled it with what would have been a standalone article of more than 4,000 words. In doing so, he gets all of the SEO value that a long article provides, while also being able to synthesize the main points into a visually pleasing infographic that readers can consume before getting distracted.

Audience Has Proven Interest in Infographics

Sometimes an infographic is a good choice simply because your audience likes them. People are naturally drawn to well-designed infographics and are much more likely to give them a chance than a standard, text-based blog post.

People are naturally drawn to well-designed infographics and are much more likely to give them a chance than a standard, text-based blog post, aka How to Create a Website [Ultimate Guide].

How to Create a Website in 2017 [Ultimate Guide]

Alex almost worked his ass off writing this guide, but I bet not a single reader will read his ass off getting to the end of this guide!

If you haven’t already, now’s a good time to poll your readers and ask them about your content marketing. Find out which formats they like, which ones they dislike, and what they want you to do in the future. Your content marketing analytics should also provide an indication of where to put your time and money.

Challenging Content Needs Simplification

Are you tackling a complex topic that can’t easily be explained in words? For example, are you trying to discuss a technical issue? An infographic lets you blend text and visuals for a clearer explanation of what’s really happening.

How to Create a Compelling Infographic?

Some businesses stay away from infographics because they don’t have the design skills to create them, or they assume that it’s too expensive to pay for someone to design one. Thankfully, neither of these perceived shortcomings have to hold you back. Here’s how any business can create a compelling infographic.

Use a free tool

Did you know that there are lots of free tools that actually make infographic design as easy as dragging and dropping different elements? You’ll need to do your research and be sure to find the one that’s best for you. Some infographic makers have a very limited selection of layouts, while others give you the ability to customize every little feature.

Hire a freelancer

There are lots of talented designers out there – and they don’t all work for agencies. If you’re looking for someone to quickly design a custom infographic at a good price, try hiring a freelancer from a gig site like Upwork or Fiverr.

Hire an agency

If you’re going for a grand slam production and want a custom infographic that’s guaranteed to be original and compelling, a design agency is your best bet. It’ll probably cost you a few thousand dollars to get started, but the return can be worth it if you have the right strategy in place.

Infographics aren’t always the best answer, but they tend to do a good job of conveying valuable information in a visual format that works with the human brain, as opposed to against it.

Keep in mind that if you're going to create a website to host your Inforgraphics you need to get a website template.