Should Infographics still be part of your content marketing strategy?

How to avoid the all-too-common mistakes of using infographics

Infographics have been around for centuries. According to the infographic entry on Wikipedia, one of the first IGs was published in Rosa Ursina sive Sol in which infographics were used to visually demonstrate the sun’s rotation patterns.

Fast-forward to today and infographics have exploded in popularity!  Simply typing 'infographic' into the Google Search bar pulls up more than 15,500,000 results. Visual content is taking over the web, with more people sharing visual content than text or links.

But first, let’s ask whether infographics should be part of a wider content marketing strategy. Of course they should be. It’s a no-brainer, right? But if it's so obvious, why do we see so many one-hit infographic wonders?  Many infographics are created in isolation to illustrate a trend or to convey stats without any other content types to support or complement them.

Instead, infographics work best if they add value to a wider content strategy, not necessarily act as stand-alone link-bait honeypots. We think this is why their value is diminishing.

Consider this scenario: you have some data and have identified some interesting trends that you want to publish. Yes, an infographic is an ideal way to visualise these complex data sets in a simple and effective way. But what about the broader marketing goal of the research?

Announce the findings through a variety of means and channels. For example, distribute a press release to launch the findings, write a blog post (or a series of them if the sample size is large enough and you have enough different trends to highlight), or even produce a white paper if the data is robust enough and statistically relevant.

Each of these can then act as traffic drivers to your site… or, even better, a landing page for the research. Too often, brands are getting trapped in the 'quick wins' business – farm out an infographic to get clicks and shares, then move on to the next one.  This gives them a short shelf life and they therefore add little lasting value to your content marketing strategy.

Too many static infographics?

That said, infographics, once a visual delight, are now becoming  saturated with the growth in popularity of content marketing. So no matter how you try to piece the content jigsaw together, there are simply too many of them and they are no longer unique. Many of them are becoming boring and 'samey,' no longer standing out and attracting the eyeballs that marketers crave.  Brands are making the mistake of populating them too densely with words and numbers, which simply turns people off.

Let’s face it, the web isn’t static and traditional static infographics are dying as a result.

 So what is the alternative?

Animated video infographics

Animated video infographics combine design elements, motion to convey data, and statistics. This combination produces powerful results – effectively making your content come to life.

• The dynamism derived from combining movement, sound and data makes them much more memorable
• By removing or spacing the text out across the video, they declutter the look and make it easier for the reader to focus on key takeaways
• They add personality, humour and entertainment value by including voice overs, music or sound effects
• The 'guided tour' of a video is far more engaging than a 'flat' infographic
• Video is a great way to extend your reach and enhance your SEO
• Video is a great way to boost your brand and drive engagement.

A recent survey by Animoto revealed that 64% of respondents find it helpful to watch videos to learn more about the company they will purchase from. Not only that but 58% of the respondents consider brands that produce video content to be more trustworthy.

Top tips for creating animated video infographics

Where do you start?  Below are our top tips on how to create an animated video infographic:

• The data – Infographics are only as good as the data.  Ensure your data is compelling, insightful, relevant and not boring! The best infographics visualize new, usually proprietary data. Derivative old getting recycled for linkbait is a recipe for failure.
• Storyline – Raw data on it’s own won’t engage so it’s vital that you create a compelling story. In an earlier post we wrote on the importance of storytelling and how to tell stories.
• Script – This is where you’ll manage the pacing of the 'guided tour'. Also ensure that your messaging is consistent with your brand.
• Headline –Grab the viewer’s attention with the title. Speed of engagement is imperative; the online world is moving at such a fast pace that it’s important your headline stands out –for the right reasons of course!
• Tools – Use GoAnimate to create engaging animated video infographics quickly, easily and inexpensively. We also provide a wide range of how to and tutorial videos to make the process as simple and fun as possible.

The future is still bright for infographics. People continue to be yearning for quick blasts of interesting facts. Infographics, if produced well, are not just visually beautiful, but can be the perfect solution for communicating complex (and hopefully new) information and data.  But if you want your infographic to truly stand out it’s worth trying video.

Incorporate these video infographics into a content marketing initiative or broader strategy… it could leave scope for you to have an animated video infographic, a static infographic, press release, blog post(s), opinion/bylined articles and even a white paper. This comprehensive approach will deliver more value to your audience and return more value to your marketing efforts.

Are you using infographics as part of your content marketing strategy?  Have you tried animated video infographics?  We would love to hear your experiences so please do leave us a comment.

Thanks to Gary Lipkowitz for sharing his thoughts and opinions in this blog post. Gary has been waiting for convergence his whole life. He has always loved media, entertainment and technology and is really glad he gets to ‘work’ in these fields. He joined GoAnimate in 2011, after spending ten years in Asia working with Wego.com, Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, Yahoo! Southeast Asia and MTV Asia. He also spent a few years dubbing anime franchises such as City Hunter, Legend of Crystania, Queen Emeraldas, Tekken and Sonic the Hedgehog for ADV Films.He holds a BA (Magna Cum Laude) from NYU, an MFA in Film from Northwestern, and an MBA (With Distinction) from INSEAD. He enjoys playing ice hockey and collecting Balinese art. You can connect via LinkedIn.