How to Create an Infographic for Your Business

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely noticed that lots of businesses are using infographics as a way to share content. And there are a few good reasons why – infographics are highly sharable, they really stand out on sites like Pinterest because they're longer than regular images, and they can be a really simple, effective way of sharing content in a way that plain written content cannot. Now, you might be thinking, "There's no way I can make an infographic that relates to my business".  I'll talk to you about that in a moment. But first, just what are infographics? Well, according to Wikipedia: 

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly.

 And yes, while it's true that many infographics do tend to present data in a visually appealing way (statistics, graphs, charts etc.), you can actually use an infographic to present any content in a visually appealing way. Think of it as 'a blog post on steroids' – stuff that you would usually share in written form, can be done up in a striking visual fashion. For instance, your infographic could contain a list of your top ten blog posts, a set of instructions that would help your customers "get" how to use your product, your most valuable tips, a how to guide for beginners, a convincing argument, a killer recipe, interesting facts, demographic information for your advertisers, and so much more! In fact, you probably already have content on hand that you can turn into an infographic!   

How to Create an Infographic for your Business

Remember when you said you couldn't possibly create an infographic that relates to your business? Well, here's how to get started. First, try this:

• Look at your most popular blogs posts
• Check your frequently asked questions
• Review your most popular Facebook threads
• Think of the tips that you seem to share with your customers over and over
• Consider something you wish every one of your customers knew
• Write out a set of steps you're always describing
• Go over your demographic info or traffic stats in your media kit

  See? Any of these can be turned into fun, engaging, memorable visual content with an infographic! Really.

How to get started creating an infographic for your business

You might be wondering how to actually create the infographic once you've found something that could be one. My favorite online tool for creating infographics is Piktochart . The free version gives you a few templates to use (you can adjust the colors, fonts, etc. to match your visual brand) and is loaded with a number of graphics that you can add. It’s a nice, easy way to make your own infographic. Other infographic tools you can check out are visual.ly or infogr.am. Or, try a free online editor such as pixlr or PicMonkey -  basically, any photo editing software that will allow you to be creative with text and graphics will allow you to create your own infographic. Next, break up your content up into a few steps or chunks of information. Pair each step or chunk with something visual like a photo, a graphic, a shape, or an icon. Even using blocks of colour or stylized numbers can be a great way to make each bit of content stand out. You can see an example of what I mean here. The infographic is simple, yet visually appealing. Then, be sure to incorporate your own branding elements (your colors, fonts, and overall brand style) and include your URL or logo so that the infographic remains linked to your business. Finally, once your image is complete, insert it into a blog post, pin it on Pinterest, share it on Facebook, tweet about it on Twitter, include it in your newsletter and more. Be sure to ask your fans to share it, and make it easy for them to do so with share buttons or embed codes. One last tip: to get your creative juices flowing, check Pinterest for examples of infographics. Start pinning them and use them as inspiration to dream up your first infographic.  UPDATE from TMM: New kid on the block Canva, makes it easier than ever to create gorgeous graphics. Pre-sized to perfectly fit in your social media venue of choice, and so much is absolutely free. Happy creating!