Whether you’re trying to spread the word on an exciting new project or share your insights on an important social issue, an infographic can help — as long as you know the most effective ways to share it. At Killer Infographics, we’ve created thousands of viral infographics in just a few years. Here’s what we’ve learned about how to ensure your infographic gets the attention it deserves.
1. Share on social media
If you’re not sharing your infographics on social media yet, you’ve got a lot to learn. From Facebook and Twitter to Pinterest and Tumblr, every social media site offers some way to share infographics with friends and followers.
But here’s the key: You’ve got to make an infographic that’s shareable in the first place. If it reads like an advertisement, no one is going to want to re-post it or share it with friends. On the other hand, if it includes stunning facts or humorous statistics on a topic that is truly relevant to people’s lives, it’s more likely to get shared. In fact, humor is one of the surest ways to help your infographic spread. Limit mention of your company to a call-to-action or logo at the bottom.
2. Utilize your website
Infographics are great for livening up text-heavy web pages and keeping visitors on your site longer.
An infographic can serve as a quick, visually engaging way to introduce your company. On the other hand, the infographic doesn’t have to be about your product at all — at least not right away. If you sell an exciting new software product, engage them with a catchy title and stats that reflect the problems your software ultimately aims to solve. Set up your argument, then explain why your product is the solution.
If you’re planning to share your infographic more broadly, hosting it on your website is important, since you’ll always want to link back to your site on social media and other posts. These links boost the number of visitors to your site and, as you create more and more infographics, will soon form an integral part of your SEO strategy.
Of course, if you are hoping for a lot of shares online, try to find a topic that isn’t a sales pitch. People don’t like sharing advertisements, unless they’re from iconic brands so don’t make your infographic a sales pitch if you want people to share it in social media or to post it on their blog.
3. Get links from blogs
So now you’ve got an engaging infographic that’s more than just an advertisement. That means there have to be people out there who are interested in this same topic. It’s time for a little (virtual) footwork.
Seek out bloggers who are passionate about your topic — no matter how niche, they’re out there. Contact those bloggers asking if they’d be interested in sharing your infographic with their readership. Because it’s your content, it makes sense that you would require a link that credits you as the source. As long as your infographic is quality, a webmaster will be excited about sharing it with their readers.
4. Connect with media outlets
Many infographics get to the core of important social issues or current events. Others explain how to do complicated things — how to start your own business, for instance. Plenty of online media outlets may be interested in sharing the information your infographic has to offer.
Seek out both specialized and general markets: for instance, Mashable loves infographics, but if yours examines a niche topic, like medical technology, seek out specialty sites, first. These might ultimately get you just as much traffic, since you’re targeting a truly captive audience.
Prepare a short press release to accompany your infographic, and remember: your goal is to spread the word, not promote your company. Most journalists will turn you away if they catch more than a whiff of self-promotion. Help them out by dropping in a list of keywords related to your infographic — keywords you’re hoping to rank for across the web. And see if they’ll share a link to your blog or Facebook page, where you’ll be sharing more useful infographics on similar topics.
5. Market by email
Infographics are a great addition to your email newsletter. You can even target specific demographics within your email list by sharing only pieces of the infographic that are relevant to them. (More on that below.) Since email marketing is still going strong (especially among small and medium-sized businesses, according to a 2012 iContact/Vocus email marketing survey) integrating infographics into your current strategy is sure to pack a punch.
6. Share enticing thumbnails
Individual stats or sections from your infographic could be of interest to particular groups. Post pieces or thumbnails of your infographic on sites like SlideShare, or on the social media pages of interested parties, then link back to the full infographic on your site. This helps you appeal to smaller niches, and boosts traffic for your site in the process.
The same can be done in emails and newsletters, or in releases to media outlets — inspire them to learn more about your topic by appealing to their particular interests. You can even use these thumbnails as targeted display ads online.
7. Submit your infographic
There are a lot of infographic sites where you can submit your infographic for review or posting. It’s a great way to get some links, especially on those sites with more Facebook and Twitter followers and RSS subscribers. Among the sites with the most followers are Visual.ly, CoolInfographics.com, and Killer Infographics’ own site, SubmitInfographics.com.
These are also great sites to check out if you want to learn more about infographics in general — whether you’re looking for exciting new design directions or figuring out what kinds of infographics garner the most online response.
Whatever your tactic, remember that infographics are designed for maximum shareability: all you need is a little networking and some killer content to spark a dialogue.