Would you like to know an easy way to get ahead of your competition by 12 percent?

Use infographics.

That’s what recent research has shown. Here are a few additional outcomes regarding the effectiveness of infographics:  

• When businesses use infographics, they can boost traffic 12 percent quicker than those that don’t.
• When businesses publish high-quality infographics, consumers are 30 times more likely to read them that text-only articles.

Infographics simplify your message

One of the primary reasons that infographics get such a good response is consumer behavior. You see, many people prefer to visually engage with information. Along the same lines as why text content gets more engagement and traffic when it includes visuals, infographics shine for conveying information in an easy-to-consume way to which consumers respond.

People are visual

Half of the human brain is devoted to visual functioning, with the eyes acting as the brain’s driver. And more, 90 percent of the information the brain receives is visual. Research also shows that two-thirds of the population learn visually.

Visuals are easy to digest

Text requires more “chops” for humans to consume, whereas visual information is nearly effortless. In order to consume text, the brain has to go through a number of “steps” to digest it. Consuming visual information, however, is a one-step process. In effect, the brain is able to process the image in its entirety. As a result, the brain processes visuals 60,000 times quicker than it can a chunk of text. Further, people can generally recall about 20 percent of text they consume.

Kind of dismal stats about text-centric content when you think about it.

Consumer response

Infographics get a great response on social media platforms. As proof that consumers like to share infographics, consider these stats compiled by an infographic design agency:

• In the past hour, 540 people tweeted an infographic
• In the past week, 87,000 people tweeted one.
• In the past month, 354,000 people tweeted about an infographic.
• There have been 6 million tweets about infographics in total.

Clearly, infographics are one tool you’ll want to have in your marketing arsenal.

Infographics 101

What do you need to know to create infographics? Here’s a breakdown of what’s involved and how to develop a strategy.

What is it?

An infographic is a visual platform on which businesses can compile and convey data, creating a story through the data. Effective infographics educate consumers about a particular topic. It’s possible to create an infographic around almost any idea, from statistics about death to how to give your dog a bath to why LinkedIn works for B2Bs.

How to use it

The goal behind creating an infographic—like almost any marketing content—is to engage consumers, drive traffic, and generate leads. Here’s how to start:

• Identify a topic that is relevant to your audience, and use an eye-catching title.
• Gather data from a wide variety of sources.
• Start making sense of the data. What story does it tell?
• As a rule of thumb, use as little text as possible. Let the pictures, graphics or numbers tell the story.
• Promote the infographic on a variety of marketing channels, namely, social media platforms. Be sure to include code for embedding the infographic so that it’s easy to share.
• Identify bloggers and other websites with whom you can network, and let them help you to promote the infographic. This strategy will drive infographic views and increase shares.

If your marketing strategy doesn’t currently include develop infographics around relevant topics, it’s clear that it should. Infographics appeal to a wide variety of consumers, they get a great response, and they drive engagement. What more could you want from a content marketing campaign?