We’ve written before about how infographics are a powerful communication tool. They’re 30-40 times more likely to be viewed and shared than text alone, and they appeal to the visual learners that make up 65% of the population. We’re sure you’ve viewed infographics, and maybe you’ve even created one. So—now what?
Just like any other type of marketing tool, making something good is only half the battle. The other essential part of the equation is how you share your creation.
Most infographics live on a company blog or website. The quickest and most natural way to share infographics is through social media, both through Facebook, Pinterest and other general social networks and through infographic-specific channels, like Visual.ly. All these networks are extremely image-friendly, and social media allows your infographic to influence people beyond your immediate network. Your infographic might find its way to other blogs or make it to the front page of Visual.ly.
And that’s where most people stop. But you shouldn’t! Infographics can live beyond the blog. There’s plenty of different uses for infographics—and with a little imagination, you get more out of the hours and resources you spent creating them.
A prime example: we recently created a flowchart infographic to help explain all the different attractions at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show—a choose your own flower show adventure, if you will. Our client loved it, particularly because it communicated that there’s more than just flowers at the show—there’s kids’ activities and cooking classes and a photography competition and more shopping than you can shake a spade at.
We blogged about the infographic and shared it through social media, but we wanted to get the piece in front of more people. So we decided to print it. We know, crazy. Infographics are typically pretty long and vertical—not the most straightforward thing to put into physical form. But we have some pretty smart designers, and they figured out the specs and folds necessary to make this puppy print.
And it turned out that the show’s home, Navy Pier, was head over heels for the infographic too—so we made them one of their own, and printed it on the back of the flower show infographic to make the printing more affordable for everyone.
We didn’t stop there, though. This was the Little Infographic That Could. We were also able to repurpose the infographic into the centerpiece of a newspaper wrap promoting the show. One design, used three different ways, and in front of way more potential show visitors than would have ever seen the piece if it only lived online.
Imagine your infographic as a direct mail piece, a magazine insert, an eblast, a poster, a forearm tattoo. The possibilities are endless when you think outside the website.
