Creating educational content for your audience can help your business as much as it does its recipients. In fact, reports suggest that consuming a brand's educational content makes potential clients 131% more likely to buy. (Hubspot)

But whilst we might think of educational content as course materials, e-books and instructional videos, the infographic has earned its right to be top set of the class; and it has a few nifty tricks up its sleeve ...

What is an Infographic?

Information graphics - infographics for short - are bite-sized images that can be static, dynamic or interactive - but always entertaining to read and easy to process. Versatile as they are, simple, infographics are a great way to deliver a visual summary of any key data you want your audience to remember - and interact with. In fact, as images drive around 650% more engagement than text-only content, (Webdam) marketers deem the infographic as a critical element of their content strategy.

Included alongside your regular content, they can help pique your target audience’s interest with anything from fun facts to overviews of complex data - without making their brain ache.

Why you should use infographics in your content strategy

There are many reasons why infographics are the fourth most-used type of content marketing; here are just a few:

Studies suggest that we process images around 60 000 times faster than the written word. This makes the snappy visual format of infographics more effective than the written word in social content.

Thoughtfully crafted infographics are more share-worthy than other visual content - which makes them an effective marketing tool. In fact, an infographic is 30 x more likely to be read than the same information as an article.

Infographics have instant visual impact. And with a lower attention span than we used to have (around 8 seconds) - every second counts! Infographics, therefore, hold a significant advantage over written content to this end.

Infographics are more accessible than text-only content, and are an ideal way to help visual learners process data. It's also easier for younger audiences or those with learning difficulties to understand.

A good infographic is like a free gift for your audience. It is, in essence, a useful little nugget of information that isn't overtly trying to sell to them. This generosity is important, as content without a 'catch' helps to build trust with your audience.

Boost your brand image - and reputation

Infographics branded with your company colours, font and style, make it easier for your audience to remember and recognise you. Indeed, you want to be recognised as an informed brand to help build that all-important relationship with prospective customers. User satisfaction is everything, and infographics help to deliver a positive customer experience as part of a wider content strategy.

What makes a good infographic?

A share-worthy infographic will incorporate a good design which:

a. Represents your data with visually stimulating infographic elements

b. Uses a simple infographic layout to make it easy to understand

c. Aligns with your brand style, imagery and tone of voice

d. Has the appropriate alt text and meta description to help Google understand the content

Your infographic should also give the reader sufficient visual prompts to understand the data without much explanatory text. Remember, these are 'at-a-glance' visuals! Where possible, it's best to avoid non-essential visual elements to keep the reader's attention focused.

Even the most seemingly mundane of subjects, like a financial report, can be energised with some creative license - bar charts included! We just need to find our inner creative (or hire one!) to bring our data to life.

Made you look! The power of creative infographics

For instance, the infographic below was designed by Marion Luttenberger for CARITAS/Steiermark in Austria, and represents end-of-year data on the organisation’s work with drug addicts. Instead of what could have been a rather unexceptional pictograph or bar chart, Luttenberger used people and everyday objects to create a graphic that demands attention.

...that’s another perk of using infographics; they keep your audience on your page for longer. And as we know, Google pays great attention to session duration for ranking your website ...

So, if you're looking to educate, and connect with, your audience, consider the humble infographic; the visual knowledge-nugget that packs a share-worthy punch.

Because, regardless of your business field, we are all in the market for a captive audience …