How to Effectively Use Infographics in Your Blog

With millions of articles being published each day, bloggers need to be extra creative when it comes to their marketing strategy. A modest budget will help you to launch display ad or video marketing campaigns. But for cash-strapped marketers, investing in visual content like infographics can be the best step forward.

Not only are infographics affordable, they are also incredibly effective in capturing the attention of your target audience. They can also help get your point across by visually presenting data-driven information.

However, merely adding infographics into your content mix will not magically carry your brand all the way to the top. It doesn’t matter if you publish top-notch infographics on a consistent basis.

To maximize your success with them, here are the top 5 strategies you need to consider:

1.  Make Social Sharing Easier

Statistics show that infographics are 3x more shareable than any other form of content in social media. If you want to get the ball rolling, you need to make it easier for your audience to share your infographics.

There are several tools you can use for this. One of my personal favorites would be AddThis, which makes it effortless to generate image sharing buttons for your infographics. Simply create a free account, use the visual editor to configure the social media sharing buttons, and generate the embed code.

If you use WordPress, take note that you also need the AddThis plugin in order to use social sharing buttons for your images on your site.

Another alternative would be SumoMe, which can help you create a floating social media bar that follows your audience as they scroll through your content. This is useful for infographics that have a long format.

2. Be Consistent with Your Brand Image

Versatility is a key advantage of infographics. With different sizes, styles, and data visualization types, they can be designed to fit any brand identity and suit every audience type.

If you’ve built an audience by writing in a conversational and humorous manner, then don’t be afraid to have a similar approach when designing infographics. Also, pay attention to design elements that your audience may have already associated with your brand. For example, Yoast SEO included their iconic, cartoon version of Joost De Valk in their infographic.

You end up underutilizing your infographics if they don’t follow a consistent theme or content voice. Remember, building and establishing your brand fast is one of the keys to entrepreneurial success. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a blog or a commercial bank. If you want to establish an online presence, be sure your brand is identifiable with every single content you publish.

3. Optimize Infographics for SEO

Search engine optimization — also known as SEO for short — is a fundamental pillar in modern internet marketing. It helps make your brand visible to millions of search engine users who could be seeking what you offer.

However, written content and infographics require different optimization techniques for SEO. Since infographics are essentially images, you need to focus on three key elements for optimization: the file name, alt text, and meta description.

•  File Name – Since images can’t contain crawlable text for search engine bots, they use the file name instead to determine what it’s all about. Remember to use fewer words while being as descriptive as possible.
•  Alt Text – While the file name is crucial for crawlers, the alt text or alt tag is aligned more to the reader’s needs. It’s the line of text that displays when the image fails to load properly, and it must provide human readers with some context on what an infographic is about. Whatever you do, you should avoid stuffing SEO keywords into alt tags.
•  Meta Description – Lastly, the meta description is the paragraph that describes your content in search engine results page. This can be modified with a tool like WP Meta SEO. Some of the rules you need to remember are to be straightforward, include calls-to-action, and limit the number of characters to 160 or less.

4. Set a Content Goal for the Entire Post

When using infographics, a common practice is to accompany it with a full-length blog post. The text portion is usually used to elaborate what’s already shown. You may also introduce new information by building upon the direction set by the infographic.

What’s important is that the text content, along with the infographic, contribute to a single goal. Don’t throw in infographics haphazardly to avoid confusing your audience.

Do you want to teach them how to make infographics? Or do you simply need to highlight the key selling points of a product?

A good strategy is to establish what you want to achieve with each post, including the infographic, before spending your resources to create them. Since you’re running a blog, you should be familiar with what an editorial calendar is — use it to streamline your content development efforts.

5. Try Something New

The world of content marketing will never stop changing. If you want to stay ahead of your competition, you need to adapt quickly to trends that dictate what works and what doesn’t.

But instead of always waiting for the next “big thing”, don’t be afraid to explore your own innovations. Infographics, for example, have seen plenty of unique modifications from inventive brands — from interactive charts to simple animations.

Don’t worry if you think you lack the skillset to come up with something similar. With freelancing marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork, you only need to come up with a workable concept.

Conclusion

Just like with any other content strategy, using infographics doesn’t have a specific blueprint for success. The strategies above are merely guidelines that can help you understand what infographics can do for bloggers.