# Infographics: Most Popular Types for Small Businesses Infographics have gained a lot of popularity lately as an effective way for businesses and organizations to communicate important messages with the people they serve. The expression “a picture is worth a thousand words” is very true in this case. Infographics are becoming an essential part of marketing materials. ## **What is an Infographic?** The basic definition of an infographic is a visual representation of information. It is characterized by using eye-catching imagery, striking visuals, and very minimal text. The purpose of infographics is for people to quickly and completely understand a message. The best infographics are those that are unique, memorable, and catch people’s attention. They are designed to educate people and help them remember important content. Thus, the more interesting they are, the more people will remember the message, and the more they will understand it. ## **Why Do Small Businesses Use Infographics?** Small businesses want an easy and effective way to communicate information in a concise manner. Sometimes there’s complex information that needs to be broken down into small clear messages that people can easily capture. By adding a visual component to what you’re communicating, the reader is able to understand the message more efficiently by creating a visual imprint in their brain that they will be able to easily recall. Infographics help small businesses in the following ways: - Gives readers a quick snapshot of the topic. - Turns a complex message into a simple one. - Makes statistics, research results, and survey data more digestible. - Creates a summary of a long piece of information. - Provides comparisons and contrasts amongst various options. - Creates awareness about a particular topic. - Helps people quickly explain a topic when it is difficult to do with words alone. - Makes business websites more credible and helps gain new traffic by improving SEO rankings. As you can see, infographics are appropriate in any field or industry. Any business, even if very small, will look more professional with the use of infographics. Studies conducted about infographics have provided the following results: - About 90% of data that connects with the brain comes from visual stimulation ( [Source](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/effectiveness-infographics)). - On average, people read only about 20-28% of the words they see ( [Source)](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-little-do-users-read/). - Infographics are read approximately 30 times more than text articles ( [Source)](https://www.progressivecontent.com/insights#.WFGV36OZORs). - Web traffic can improve by 12% with the use of infographics ( [Source)](http://www.demandgenreport.com/industry-topics/rich-media/2906-the-power-of-visual-content-infographic.html#.VKtkmIc9-7m). - Compared to other content, infographics are shared three times more ( [Source](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/visual-content-marketing-strategy)). - Reports have confirmed that humans process visual content 60,000 faster, which is why we process visuals much better than we do text ( [Source](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/infographic-benefits/267781/#close)). Since infographics work across various platforms, it makes sense for small businesses to use them to create brand recognition, attract more traffic to their website, reach a new audience, and enhance their overall marketing approach. ## **How To Choose Infographics** The following tips will help you choose effective infographics: 1. **Keep It Simple:** You want to be very concise; the idea is to summarize a complex message into a very easy to understand design. It must be easy to interpret, which means less is better. Use only three to four colors and leave some space so that it is easy on the eyes. 2. **Make It Universal:** Everyone should be able to understand the message. Consider using icons that are widely recognized. There are symbols that are used worldwide to convey meaning. Stick to what is familiar to most people, and you’ll certainly reach a large amount of the population you desire. 3. **Be Unique:** Although it may be a message people have heard before, being unique allows your brand to build continuity. Be creative with colors, fonts, images, phrases, and proportions. Choose infographic types that are not commonly used or create a novel one new to audiences. ## **Most Popular Types of Infographics For Small Businesses** When it comes to using infographics for small to medium-sized businesses, they are an easy-to-read and fun way to convey messages. They are essential to building brand awareness, bringing more traffic to your website, boosting search engine optimization, and creating viral marketing campaigns. We’ll now review some of the most popular types of infographics that have proven effective for small businesses. ### **1. COMPARISON INFOGRAPHIC** When advertising a product or service, the customer will naturally think about comparing other options available on the market. A great way to help them make that comparison in an unbiased way is through a graphic that has two sides, either side by side (vertical), or top or bottom (horizontal). For example: ### **2. TIMELINE INFOGRAPHIC** Using a timeline allows the readers to visualize important dates, learn the history of something, or get a snapshot of events. ### **3. GEOGRAPHIC INFOGRAPHIC** To explain location-specific data, demographics, or a large quantity of information, using a geographic image is effective. ### **4. PROCESS INFOGRAPHIC** This type of infographic is used to show a condensed format of steps that accomplish a process. ### **5. STATISTICAL INFOGRAPHIC** To help people visualize data from various sources, survey results, or supporting evidence for arguments, statistical infographics easily accomplish it. ### **6. HIERARCHICAL INFOGRAPHIC** This type of infographic sorts the information from greatest to least. ### **7. LIST INFOGRAPHICS** To convey a list of tips, a collection of resources, an array of examples, or other types of lists. ### **8. CHART INFOGRAPHIC** A chart can be created for just about any topic. ### **9. INFORMATIONAL INFOGRAPHIC** One of the best ways to convey a specialized or novel concept is with a template that clearly communicates an overview of the subject. ### **10. HOW-TO GUIDE INFOGRAPHIC** Creating an educational and helpful infographic is a great way to promote a product or service. ### **11. PHOTO INFOGRAPHIC** Incorporating pictures into an infographic can be a great way to present something unique. ### **12. ANATOMICAL INFOGRAPHICS** Anatomical infographics let you show parts of any object. ## **Growing Your Business With Infographics** Your online presence has an unparalleled power to provide your business credibility. One helpful and enticing infographic can draw a vast number of unique traffic to your website. When it comes to SEO rankings, infographics remain an effective tool to generate a high amount of backlinks versus other link building techniques. They have become even better as the years go by because the graphic design has become more sophisticated. Besides being an effective marketing tool and helping your small business spread brand awareness, infographics are also a way to target your niche and allow them to link or share it with a similar population. If one of your infographics goes viral, you’ll be exposed to a high number of people that qualify as being part of your target audience. If you create a well-formulated infographic it can be used in many other places creating inbound marketing traffic for your business. Even if your business is very small, utilizing infographics will allow you to climb to a higher level in your industry. ## **Quality vs. Quantity** Be very selective with the infographics you create. It is better to have one amazing infographic than several mediocre ones. Always research your content extensively to ensure accuracy. Your business will be perceived as a reliable source of information and you’ll have strong credibility. Producing quality content is one definite way to increase traffic to your site and gain more followers, likes, views, subscribers, and eventually new clients. ## **Final Thoughts** To get the online presence of your business up-to-speed or to step up your marketing to the next level, it is never too late to start using infographics. We have covered the major types of infographics circulating the market, but why not get creative and come up with new categories of your own. The sky’s the limit when it comes to the artistic, educational, and marketable variations you can create. Your SEO rankings are very important especially when it comes to drawing new traffic to your website. Focusing on providing quality infographics will give your business the rankings it needs to continue to gain more clientele.