“Content is King” has been a prevailing statement about online marketing ever since the days when people referred to the Internet as the “information superhighway.” Those days are long gone (along with dial-up modems, flip phones, and Geocities web pages) but the “content is king” concept still rings true for marketers because the main reason consumers go online is to gather information.
In the B2B space, that information often is lengthy and complex, so the challenge becomes how to convey it as quickly and clearly as possible. Behold the king’s new clothes: the mighty infographic. The written (or typed) word has been long overdue for a makeover and the infographic hits a home run when copy alone might only get you a bunt single.
For the companies that create them, infographics offer a better way to get their messages across. They also encourage their content and design teams to work together toward the common goal of informing and inspiring their audiences.
Regarding the end users – the consumers of information, and ideally, your products and services – there are three primary reasons why the infographic is the ideal way to get their attention… and their business.
1. People Are Distracted
The proliferation of digital devices and an increasing number of companies that are embracing digital marketing (especially in the B2B world) have combined to make modern communications a very cluttered and noisy environment. Cutting through all of that chaos is a task made easier by the trusty infographic. Using graphs, charts, and icons to represent quantitative data is a more effective way of delivering your marketing message instantly.
2. People Are In a Hurry
The Internet and the various devices people use to connect to it have brought an unprecedented level of convenience to the 21st century. At the same time, this convenience has led to busier lifestyles. Now more than ever, people are staying connected to work when they are not physically in the office, and have been conditioned to expect immediate results from online sources when they are searching. When those answers are presented as a string of text that’s several screens long, many consumers will move along to something they can process more quickly. An infographic is much more likely to attract attention and provide the instant gratification people are looking for, in addition to earning engagement according to HubSpot.
3. People Are Visually Stimulated
Blocks of copy may be informative but they are not as eye-catching as a colorful graphic that delivers the same message. Creating something that will stop consumers in their tracks, as they are clicking through web pages on their computers or scrolling through screens on their smartphones, is the challenge every marketer faces. Not only are infographics interesting, engaging, and aesthetically appealing, they are also proven to increase retention of information according to Nielsen Norman Group.
“Eye-tracking studies show internet readers pay close attention to information-carrying images. In fact, when the images are relevant, readers spend more time looking at the images than they do reading text on the page.”
Attracting attention and being memorable is the ultimate win-win in marketing. Infographics check both boxes when words alone do not.