How can the use of Infographics make your SMM more effective and efficient?

What are Infographics? To put it simply, Infographics are visual representations of information which uses images and data to simplify otherwise complex ideas or information. But why explain it rather than use an Infographic?!

Capture

(Source: customer magnetism)

When it comes to Social Media Marketing (SMM), the use of Infographics can help any organisation be more effective and efficient with their marketing. According to research by Smiciklas (2012), the benefits of Infographics for SMM can be broken down into three key areas:

  1. Grabbing Users Attention
  2. User Comprehension of Information
  3. Retaining and Sharing the Information

Click here to read the full journal by Smiciklas.

Grabbing Users Attention

A fact of modern day life is that we are all constantly on the move, which inevitably impacts how we use social media; we simply flick through and check for updates throughout the day when we have an opportunity.

Therefore, it is important to gauge the user’s attention immediately, and maintain that attention to deliver the desired information. And we’ve seen this trend with newspapers, for example the ‘Google Newsstand’ app (Click here to see) has changed the way news articles are offered; from long articles to sharp and concise paragraphs of information.

What are the implications of this for SMM and the use of Infographics? Well, its all about how we understand information; the human brain processes visual information 60,000 times quicker than text information (Sibley, 2012). This means that by using Infographics, an organisation can stand out to its followers and engage them much faster than by simply using data and text; allowing the user to gain the maximum information from a minimal amount of time.

User Comprehension of Information

When it comes to comprehension, I think we can all be honest and say that when we’re faced with page upon page of information, we all switch off a bit.

The principal of data retention is, that on their own, data and visual information are both imperfect forms of communicating information. Written information allows a deep analysis of unlimited information. However, images are easier for the individual to read but obviously offer a lot less information (Gutierrez, 2014).

The combination of both visual and text information that Infographics allows for the advantages of each while minimizing the negatives. By offering the option of accessing further more detailed information through an attached link users who want a more in depth comprehension are able to do so.

Compatibility also falls under comprehension, I don’t know if any of you have had the nightmare of receiving an important document on your phone only to realise that every time you open it, it comes out in gibberish. The same happens with large PDFs on some mobile devices, the great thing about Infographics is that they are compatible across all social media platforms and all internet enabled devices.

User Retention and Sharing of Information

A study by Paul Lester (2006) shows that we remember 80% of what we see, 20% of what we read and only 10% of what we hear.

Infographics utilise several forms of sensory information. Therefore, because individuals have understood it further, and engaged with the information more, they are more likely to retain this information.

But the real opportunity is the way these images often get shared, becoming viral. Sharing this information, when branded with an organisations logo, would produce a snowball effect of respondents; potentially producing huge level of reach for a minimal cost. An example of this is the Infographic below developed by ‘Thrillist’, which shows London rent prices for a one bedroom flat by each tube stop; this image got shared over 500,000 times on twitter alone.

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(Source: Thrillist)

Too good to be true?!

Infographics are pretty great, but they’re not perfect. To keep it effective and efficient, it is important to follow these points (Easelly, 2015):

  • Make it directional and relevant
  • Make sure that the images reflect the data (i.e don’t use images of planes if you’re business is talking about cars)
  • It is most efficient when part of a broad SMM strategy
  • Most importantly don’t include too much (it makes it very difficult to even look at)

Here’s an example of an Infographic that got it very very wrong.

US

(Source: Telegraph)

Can you make any sense of it? Because I couldn’t. If you look at the tiny key in the bottom left it turns out that it represents an overlay of the three maps in the left hand column. This is a classic example of an Infographic that is just trying to do to much.

In conclusion, Infographics offer a fantastic opportunity to make SMM more effective and efficient, however they’re also pretty easy to get wrong. If you want to learn how to make your Infographic as effective as possible, then click here for a fantastic article.

References:

Easelly. (2015). Top Tips from Experts on What Makes a Great Infographic. Available: https://www.easel.ly/blog/top-tips-from-experts-on-what-makes-a-great-infographic/. Last accessed 13th Jan 2016.

Gutierrez, K. (2014). Studies Confirm the Power of Visuals in eLearning. Available: http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/350326/Studies-Confirm-the-Power-of-Visuals-in-eLearning. Last accessed 13th Jan 2016.

Lester, P. (2006). Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication.Available: http://paulmartinlester.info/writings/viscomtheory.html. Last accessed 13th Jan 2016.

Sibley, A. (2012). 19 Reasons You Should Include Visual Content in Your Marketing . Available: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33423/19-Reasons-You-Should-Include-Visual-Content-in-Your-Marketing-Data.aspx. Last accessed 13th Jan 2016.

Smiciklas, M (2012). The Power of Infographics. United States: Pearson Education. p6-98.

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