How to Plan Your Infographic: A Simple Guide for Marketers

Why Plan Your Infographic?

Because of their versatility, infographics can support many phases of the buyer's journey, making them a powerful addition to your marketing and sales tool kit. But knowing what type of infographic to create depends on many factors, like your business objective, audience, the type of content you have, and how viewers will engage with it. To avoid wasted time and ensure success, it's important to consider all the above before jumping in.

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What is an Infographic?

At its core, an infographic is a visual representation of information or data designed to simplify complex ideas or concepts in a manner that is easy to understand. They can be created using any combination of text, images, charts, and other visual elements to convey information quickly and effectively. Infographics are perfect for sales presentations, reports, websites, and social channels.

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Key Steps for Planning Your Infographic:

When planning your infographic, consider these key details to ensure the result will effectively communicate with your audience and achieve your desired goals. 

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1. Identify your Objective

First, clarify the purpose of your infographic. Are you trying to explain a process, compare data or features, showcase statistics, or present a timeline? 

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2. Analyze Your Content

Once you understand your desired goal, examine the information/data you want to include in your infographic. Do you have—or can you get—the necessary content to achieve the said objective? Assessing the content will help you determine the most suitable type.

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3. Choose the Type of Infographic

There are many types of infographics, and although they can often be blended, each type is better suited for specific purposes and content. Understanding your marketing objective and data will make choosing the right type of infographic to build more obvious.

Here are just a few examples to consider:

• Statistical infographics: These infographics focus on presenting numerical data, statistics, and trends using charts, graphs, and diagrams.
• Informational infographics: These infographics provide information on a specific topic, explaining concepts, processes, or steps through a combination of text and visuals—typically in a more condensed and direct fashion.
• Timeline infographics: These infographics are exactly as the name states—a chronological representation of information, events, or milestones over time.
• Comparison infographics: These infographics are used to compare and contrast different elements. Comparison infographics are a great way to highlight why your company, product, or services are superior to your competitors. 
• Hierarchical infographics: These infographics display a hierarchical structure, such as organizational charts or family trees, to show relationships between different entities.
• Process infographics: These infographics illustrate step-by-step processes or workflows, helping viewers understand a sequence of actions necessary to complete a task.

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4. Determine Your Format

To optimize the design of your infographic, determine where and how it will be used. 

Ask yourself, will it be used in presentations, shared digitally, broken apart into social posts, or all of the above? Understanding the end use and platform informs your canvas.

For example, if primarily used in sales presentations, your design will most likely need to accommodate a landscape format like 1920x1080. Additionally, content may need to be disseminated across slides.

Alternatively, if it will be shared digitally and viewed on phones, a vertical format makes more sense. The most common size for digital viewing is 750px width with varying heights. 

Sharing across social channels? Consider how content can be broken up into individual posts.

One of the most common sizes for social distribution is 1080x1080

Finally, can content be static or do you want users to interact with your data? If the latter, none of the above formats will work at all. Instead, you’ll want to build an interactive infographic, typically a web-based infographic that allows users to explore and activate information.

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Conclusion

With all of these details considered, you’re ready to start refining content and designing your infographic. Checking off the above boxes will help provide a better definition of what you are trying to build and give your creative team the information they need to make informed decisions.