Why Infographics Work

Infographics have been a trend in internet marketing since the early 2000s, so it stands to reason their popularity must be fading, right?
Wrong.
Sure, we’ve reached a point where they’re being abused, either as clickbait or by companies who are just using them because they’re trendy. But used properly, infographics are still an effective way to convey data. The key is to be sure you’re actually providing info in your infographic.
Tips for making effective infographics
- Be sure you’re sharing information that is important to your audience.
- Keep text as simple as possible.
- Always cite your sources.

Why are infographics effective?
In a world where the average adult’s attention span is a mere 8 seconds, text that’s accompanied by visuals tends to catch the eye more than plain text. In fact, statistics show that people are 30 times more likely to read an infographic than a text article.
Aside from the fact that infographics look more exciting than their plain-text brethren, there’s some actual science behind their effectiveness. Research shows that our brains process visual content 60,000 times faster than it processes textual content. Maybe that’s why they say a picture is worth a thousand words?
An experiment
While the text of this blog post includes more useful information than the infographic to the left, a couple of the same statistics are shared in both. Which did you read first?
