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Infographics are proven traffic generators. They offer infotainment with their eye-catching designs and concise information, and they have the power to add some serious oomph to your content marketing strategy, and in turn, your revenue.
It’s important to note, however, that success is not guaranteed. It would be naive to assume that one could simply throw an infographic into the void and watch as web traffic and sales shot through the roof like magic. Don’t get me wrong; that would be great, but the reality is that readers—aka your current (and future) customers— are quick to reject poorly presented infographics.
Here are five mistakes to avoid when creating an infographic for your business!
The charm of infographics lies in their ability to present data in a visual manner that is easily digestible to quickly engage the viewer. But if an infographic fails to depict the information visually and forces you to add a lot of supporting text then it has failed in its primary motive. It’s a letdown for the reader. Even a regular bar chart, suitably dressed up can be used as an infographic, the point being, keep the experience visual.
An unoriginal infographic reeks of laziness even if the data has been presented in an interesting manner. Poorly chosen topics tantamount to taking readers for granted. It’s as if you’re mass manufacturing poor quality infographics to make the most of the demand. Bland facts about a topic spruced up and presented as an infographic leave readers with a poor taste in the mouth. Keep things fresh, and research your topic thoroughly in order to come up with new and compelling content.
Just as a vague infographic is bad for business, so too is one that is overcomplicated. An infographic too complex to be understood in a glance or even a single reading is unlikely to resonate with your intended audience. If readers have to spend time and energy deciphering your content, then you can kiss prospective shares and desired backlinks goodbye. The solution is to break down a complex topic into smaller, easy-to-grasp portions and tie them to a whole.
Of course you want your infographic to lend itself to the promotion of your product or service—but—in order to be successful, you have to do this in a strategic and subtle way. A sure way to leave visitors feeling cheated is to promise one thing in the title or intro, and then proceed to deliver nothing more than a promotional pitch for your business, with little information or substance. Branding is expected, but over promotion is a temptation best avoided.
Colors and fonts make a big difference. If your choice of colors makes the reader work hard to digest the information, you haven’t really succeeded with your efforts. Choosing no more than three colors, their shades and black and white is a safe approach, and the lightest color should ideally serve as the background. Fonts are also powerful, and they subtly convey messages about your brand, so choose them wisely. For example, if you wish to project an image of reliability, then Baskerville Old Face may be a good choice. Comic Sans, on the other hand, would be a poor choice due to its cartoonish nature and inherent playfulness.
Bad infographics are destined for a quiet online burial, and that’s definitely not what you want for your business. In order to be successful, your visual content needs to be conceived and executed right. For many business owners or marketing managers, this means hiring a professional design firm to create your infographic for you.
It may cost a little bit of money, but in the scheme of things, the potential ROI is much greater because the people creating your infographic will know exactly what works and what doesn’t, and they’ll have expert answers for any questions you may have about visual content.
If you don’t have an in-house team or professional writers and designers, take my advice and look into some other options.
Regardless of how you go about creating an infographic for your business, the key takeaways here are to focus on quality content, expert design, and most importantly, always avoid the five success-killing mistakes I’ve listed above.
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