We live in a fast-paced digital age where we are constantly surrounded by endless pages of information and data – with barely any time read it.

With new email subscriptions, blog posts, status updates, and endless notifications popping up every minute of the day, how do we get the important things out there to stick in people’s heads? Here in the digital marketing world, we call them infographics.

What Is an Infographic?

By definition, an infographic is a representation of information in a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance. This means that instead of forcing your important information into boring sentences and paragraphs, you can make your data visually appealing, and maybe even make readers WANT to read what you have to say (and remember the information long after they are done reading).

[Check out our latest infographic here!]

When Do You Use Them?

Now that you know why these graphics are so important, when should you use them? While it may seem easy enough to just squeeze all of your data into an infographic, there are times to use infographics, and times when they aren’t as necessary.

First, you need to determine the main purpose of your content. Does the data fit into an engaging narrative? Will people be able to easily follow the information? Infographics work best when there are multiple sources of information working together to prove the same point. There needs to be an end result, a common theme that you want people to walk away with once they get through all of the information. Otherwise, it could end up as just a bunch of little graphics and numbers that really don’t have much of a point.

Some topics that work best as infographics are:

  • Comparisons
  • Displaying statistics and charts
  • Showing a timeline of events
  • Explaining a step-by-step process
  • Persuasion on a subject

How Do You Create One?

There are a number of steps to creating a successful infographic. The first, and probably most important, is gathering data on the subject. Forming clear ideas and choosing the most important information on the subject is key. Then, you must choose the appropriate information to highlight, usually in the form of statistics or keywords based on the topic. These highlighted items are not only useful for design purposes, but they really capture the reader’s attention, as well.

Next would be mocking up a simplified layout overview to display all of the information. Keep the mockup filled with just text before you get caught up in the design. This will help keep the information the main focus, and allow you to move things around until you find the perfect layout.

Now that you have the information laid out, it’s time for the best part – the design! Starting with a solid color scheme for your topic, you can begin to play around with fonts. Use larger, bolder fonts for headlines, and keep the longer paragraphs in a smaller, yet readable, font families.

After the text is placed, it’s time to find all of the icons and graphics that go along with your topic. This part is open to your own creativity – just be sure to stay consistent with the types of graphics you use. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to think outside the box!

Infographics let the content and visuals work together to narrate the points you want to make. Have fun with it, and don’t forget the main purpose – displaying your valuable information in a cool, engaging way. By keeping these tips in mind, readers won’t easily forget your point!

About the Author

PCG Digital Marketing is an award winning digital agency headquartered in Eatontown, NJ. We help our clients get found online through innovative search, social and online advertising campaigns.