For a business of any size, visual content is now one of the most important components of growing your brand and bottom line.
According to Social Media Examiner, 37 percent of businesses said visual content was the most important focus for 2017. Why? Because visuals:
- Help your audience retain more information
- Attract the eye and hold attention
- Allow a business to create branded, cohesive content
- Can be shared in multiple places to increase reach
Infographics are one of the most popular options for visual content, as they combine information and graphics in ways that appeal to every audience. But infographics also do something that other forms of visual content can’t always do:
Infographics visualize ideas that are hard to put into words
Your company’s vision – your goals and the purpose of your products or services – can take pages of copy to explain, but you can convey it in less time with visuals. Companies often overlook visuals when it comes to sharing their vision and values, but they help you show your audience what your company stands for.
Visuals are a universal language, so what better way to show the world your company’s vision than by using infographics?
Your vision
Whether you have a brand new business or an established one, you started it for a reason – and it wasn’t just to make money. Maybe it was to fulfill a need you saw in your industry’s market, or maybe it was because you were passionate about creating specific products. Whatever your reason was, it reflects the vision of your business.
According to The Balance, a company’s vision is its inspiration and “serves as a framework” for everything your company does. If you haven’t already created a mission or vision statement for your business, start there.
There are plenty of resources available to help develop a vision for your business, but basic elements include:
- What your company provides the public
- Standards and ethos
- Practices or methods unique to your business
- What you want to achieve in the future
- How you want your audience to perceive you
This simple infographic from the Rezidor Hotel Group makes this succinct and simple:
Your company’s vision and values should be at the core of everything you do – the “framework” of your products, services, content, and so on. The image below does a great job of highlighting how the company’s work relates back to their central focus. Their attention to safety, collaboration, products, and services, etc. are all connected to their vision of becoming “the leading partner for infrastructure renewals.”
They even add a little “extra” at the bottom to highlight why these components are so important to their overall service as a business. In less than 100 words and with the right branding, this image tells customers all they need to know about this company.
Another unique way to share your company’s vision is to create infographics for internal use. After all, everything your organization creates should come from the same point of view. If your employees all know the purpose of their work – and what it results in – they will reflect the vision you’ve put out.
Vision infographic campaigns in action
Infographics can unlock your business vision by bringing it to life for your audience. You can also share new company goals or missions with an infographic. For example, companies like PepsiCo shares their vision for the next 10 years in the infographics below:
Pepsico’s Sustainability Agenda 2015
While there was extensive planning involved in creating these goals, PepsiCo shared the projected outcomes in simple visuals. Anyone who looks at this visual can see the breakdown in goals, thanks to the large fonts, icons, and simple organization.
An important note on style and branding
To make sure your infographics (and other images) are showing off your business’s vision, use your business branding – or create a style guide. This should include your company’s logo, colors, fonts, etc. These branding guidelines serve as a major connection between your company and your audience; make it easy for them to recognize what you create!
Research shows that:
- Specific colors evoke certain feelings
- A logo can influence how well a customer remembers you
- Infographic design can establish authority
Ask yourself if your colors, fonts, and/or logo seem to reflect the essence of your business. If it does, it’s time to start creating! If it doesn’t, you might want to spend some time here before moving on.
Send the message loud and clear
Choosing visual elements and copy within your infographic is about more than the aesthetics; it’s about what people take away from your visual when they see it.
Sharing your vision with visuals is SO important, which is why you really need to hammer down your vision and how you’re going to relay that in your infographics.
Without it, you’ll just be creating an aimless visual campaign. Today’s consumers are too smart for that, so always make sure your infographics – and any other visual you create – tell your audience who you are, what you do, and why you do it.
In today’s competitive market, consumers are focusing on a business’s vision and values before they make a purchase. Make sure your audience can see what your company stands for.
Want to dip your toes into infographic design for your company’s vision as a non-designer?
Try our free infographic maker tool! If you’re pressed for time, hire our team of professional infographic designers.
*Editor’s Note: This post was updated on December 17, 2019 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.