If you’re responsible for any type of content marketing, whether it’s for a small dental practice, a large marketing firm, or anything in between, odds are you know the power that visuals have. We all use thumbnail images, blog header images, and graphics scattered throughout our emails or blog posts. But infographics have a special impact on your marketing efforts, making them an invaluable resource.
And yet, you’re probably reading this, thinking: “I don’t really want to spend that much time/effort/money on creating an infographic. I don’t think they are that important.” There is no denying that creating a worthwhile infographic takes time, planning, and care, but the difficulty drastically decreases as you learn. Of course, the variety of infographic creation tools available makes it easy to create infographics on a budget and without any graphic design background. You’d be surprised at how naturally infographic creation comes when you sit down and try.
But why do you need to use infographics? What are you missing out on?
The Proof is in the Pudding
There are virtually countless case studies out there showing how much infographics have:
- Increased leads and conversions (subscriptions, followers, even sales)
- Increased web traffic (a great bonus if your site is monetized)
- Increased social media shares / visibility
- Boosted product / business launches beyond expectation
- Simplified a business’s content marketing efforts
Essentially, for minimal investment, you’re going to see massive returns and growth that you can’t see from other types of content marketing. And the best part? Infographics are highly versatile.
One single infographic (which takes you maybe an hour or two to create) can be used in:
- Social media thumbnails
- Unique social media platforms that cater to images
- Tumblr
- Snapchat
- Blog headers or images inside the blog itself
- Whitepapers
- Web copy
- Ebooks
- Print advertising materials
- Online advertising
- Email marketing
- Free promotional materials and handouts
Name one other form of content that is so adaptable. Don’t worry, we’ll wait…
Even video, which is becoming a hot commodity these days, cannot be used for the majority of these content delivery systems! And the best part is that you can use the same infographic over and over again. The time, effort, and/or money you place in creating these infographics establishes a “one-and-done” content creation process.
Using the same infographic across these content delivery systems also allows you to:
- Test which platforms get the most response to your infographics
- Develop brand unity
- Provide consistent information to your audience, no matter where you reach them
- Play with ideas, styles, information, and format in your infographics to see what works
In the current climate, you won’t see a content marketing tool that provides better ROI than infographics. Unfortunately for you, though, more and more people are getting on this bandwagon.
Get Started Today – or Lose Out
Did you know that the number of infographics on the Internet increases by 1% every single day? That’s a staggering amount of infographics, and one that is concerning to any content marketer worth his or her salt.
The reality is that the more content that is created in one format, the more any message gets drowned out. Look at the history of blogs. In the mid-2000’s, having a blog was a unique prospect, and it meant you had something to say to a very willing and ready audience. Now, having a blog usually means that you have a brand, business, product, or service that you’re trying to promote, and a blog gets you foot traffic.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of great blogs out there, though. There definitely are. What this does mean is that the people who were established before everyone and their dog had a blog are the ones who still have the most loyal followings, and are the ones who have people sharing their content day-by-day. How does this translate into infographics?
Well, the more people who create infographics, the less an audience is going to be able to hear your message over the din. We already experience content overload daily, and with 60% of marketers producing at least one piece of content daily, it stands to reason that, eventually, infographics will become the new blogs.
The idea is to get in on the ground floor; be a visual content marketing innovator. Spend time creating relevant infographics, make them great, and share them everywhere you can. This way, when everyone realizes what you’re up to (and how much it works), you’ll already have an established infographic content platform, and your “competitors” won’t be able to touch the content you provide.
Ready? Set? Create!
The beauty of today’s technology is that you can create an infographic using just about any platform available. Many are free or downright cheap, and can help you get started creating infographics that will set you apart from the crowd today. Your content marketing campaign will always be there, sure, but with infographics you can cut through the drudgery and get right to the issue at hand – sharing your message with your audience.
You don’t want to watch your competitors take their place at the top, do you? Beat them to the punch, and jump on the bandwagon while it’s still got room!