Boost Your Viral Marketing Efforts with a Clever Infographic

When you need to get information across quickly and make it resonate, an infographic is a much better method that strictly plain text; reading through large amounts of text takes time and can be less than interesting. Infographics are a visual way to present data such as statistics or key facts. They utilize imagery, color, and photographs in addition to text, making them far more engaging than paragraphs of the written word or even charts and graphs.

Since they are often shared on social media or email, infographics are an effective way to give a boost to viral marketing strategies. Here are few tips and tricks to make your infographic go viral.

Humor

People like to share funny things on the Internet, and they probably always will. Get a chuckle out of someone, and you can persuade him to share your infographic with his friends, family, and colleagues. Whether it’s a single funny graphic or quote within the infographic, or a humorous message that extends throughout the entire infographic, being funny will make people remember your work and think about passing it along. Humor might include a caricature of a famous person, funny tagline, or humorous depiction of your company mascot.

Striking Facts

Another of the best ways to create interest and buzz around an infographic is to use it to display a surprising fact or statistic. Highlighting a striking piece of information gives a purpose to your infographic beyond just being funny or attractive. While it’s great to create recognition about your brand or product by developing an attractive infographic, adding some useful information will keep people talking and add more clout to your work. Show off the high percentage of users who prefer the product you’re marketing, the number of people who prefer your product line over the competition, or how much money you can save someone in a year.

Sharing

An infographic should always be created with a link, which makes it easy for people to share it on social media sites or via email, and guarantees that you will drive traffic back to your own site. The easier it is for someone to share your work, the more likely they are to do so. Infographics can also be developed with an embed code, so other bloggers or Internet users can embed your infographic on to their own site. The more your infographic is shared, the higher it will appear in search engine results around relevant terms, bringing more traffic to your website. Don’t be shy: ask people to share your infographic via social media and email.

What to Include

If you’re using an infographic to market a product, promotion, or company, then remember to keep several key components on the graphic. Keep the infographic in line with your overall branding efforts; use the color scheme, tone, and imagery that customers have come to expect from your brand. Remember to include your brand name somewhere on the infographic, so that people can easily see who created it, even if its link is somehow disabled. Group facts and statistics together in reasonable clusters, and keep dates in chronological order, so your marketing is coherent – not confusing.

Infographics provide an opportunity to market in an artistic, eye-catching way. Gone are the days of sending out long winded text or confusing charts – most people are visual learners, and can gather more information from scanning an image than reading and comprehending the written word. Taking advantage of visual graphics in your marketing, and linking your infographic to your website, can give you a boost in website traffic and increase your online visibility.