“There’s something almost quite magical about visual information. It’s effortless. It literally pours in. If you’re navigating a dense information jungle, coming across a beautiful graphic or lovely data visualisation is a relief. It’s like coming across a clearing in the jungle.”
– David McCandless, writer and designer in a TED talk on beauty of data visualisation.
You’ve probably heard the oft-repeated expression “Content is King”. And thus far not many in the marketing world have challenged his reign.
But while content may be king, infographics and data visualisation are clearly his crown.
It is no surprise that websites featuring visually-rich infographics are recording a traffic increase 12% above websites without them. The Google search rate for “infographic”, at practically zero prior to 2010, was somewhere north of 300,000 searches a month by 2012.
Searching the term as of August 2016 kicks up dozens of examples posted over the last days, everything from The Decline in Adoption Rates to America’s Most Pest-Infested Cities, and The Science Behind Writing Drunk. One need only take a look at our daily routines to see how data visualisation is already all around in the form of road signs, schedules, instructions, maps and more. Norwegian electronic band Röyksopp even made a nod to this phenomenon as early as 2001 in an infographic-heavy music video.
It makes sense, then, that companies are increasingly curious about incorporating infographics into their content marketing strategy. According our research, the number of marketers using infographics increased from 57% in 2013 to 71% in 2015. Many have harnessed the power of data visualization for their own successful content marketing campaigns, like we see in these infographic-like microsites from The World Bank and Deloitte.
Infographics are easier to understand
If you’ve ever identified as a “visual learner”, you’re not alone. Studies show that humans process visual information 60,000 times faster than text. This is because 90% of the information our brain receives is transmitted visually. Real life example: High school students who studied geography using infographics performed better on tests than their classmates who were not exposed to infographics (and reported a better attitude about the learning experience on top).
This has wide repercussions for marketers, who by definition seek to communicate with the brains of their customers. In a study conducted by the Wharton School of Business, 67% of an audience was convinced by a verbal presentation that included visual elements, while only 50% was convinced by a purely verbal presentation.
Infographics are easier to remember
Do you remember what gifts you received for your last birthday? Now do you remember what your birthday cards said? If not, don’t blame your shoddy memory. Humans remember only 20% of what they read compared to 80% of what they see and do.
Instead of wasting resources on wordy blog posts, emails, and reports as the authors of this article have done here, enhance your message with images that imprint the relevant facts on the minds of your audience. They will be thankful for the time and energy saved, and you’ll be thankful for their increased engagement.
Infographics are more likely to be read
Between our computers, smart phones and televisions, we are literally bombarded with information. Ninety-five per cent of the world’s data was produced in the last two years alone; our brains are experiencing sensory overload and are exhausted. A clear sign of this: studies show that visitors read less than 28% of the words on a given web page.
So how do you make your message stand out? Using an infographic makes it 30 times more likely that your audience will read your content. Incorporate color and your audience will be 80% more willing to take a good look. Statista’s CEO, Dr. Friedrich Schwandt, reports that clients observe an opening rate 4-times higher when an infographic is in the preview.
Infographics improve your Google ranking
First of all, including an image of any sort will cause your page to appear on Google’s “image search” results on top of the standard text search. As explained by the experts at Seochat, the Google image database is smaller than the text database, giving your page a better shot at climbing to the top ranks and thus driving traffic to your site. Research shows that the first five search results on Google receive 67.6% of all clicks on average, so ranking well is vital to getting your content in front of your target audience.
All of the above shows that infographics and data visualization are quickly becoming a pillar of smart content marketing strategy. They have a wide-reaching relevance that can enhance any marketing efforts. We witness this even in the way researchers recommend to incorporate infographics to quell misperceptions.
But why waste your time reading this when you can see the benefits yourself? Make your infographic a share-worthy one that your viewers can pass on easily, then sit back and watch as your Google ranking climbs.
By Kristie Pladson & Robin Hüdepohl, global content marketing at Statista
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