In this age of digitization, information, and social media, one must be able to express their ideas, thoughts, and views in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. The use of infographics is a powerful tool to capture the attention of your desired audiences and readers. These are tools to help you build your brand or image, and engage with your audience. To know and understand the different types of social media infographics, will surely help and guide you to express your thoughts, data, information, and ideas in a simple, concise and clear format.
Infographics, nowadays, have been a medium and tool that most administrators, businessmen, entrepreneurs, influencers, social media managers, students, and others have been using to communicate, engage and reach their respective audiences, or readers. It helps them build their brands, and explain complex ideas. Communication is indeed an important element that is central to our day-to-day endeavors; and to be able to deliver and express complex data, information, thoughts, and topics in a clear and condensed format is a way to save the day. Social media infographics are one of the most common examples of infographics.
What are Infographics and what are the different types?
Infographics come from two words that were put together, information and graphics, which denotes a diagram, format, or an illustration that uses graphical elements to present information in a visually creative manner.
Hence, here are some of the different types of infographics that will certainly help you express your thoughts and information the way you wanted it to be presented.
1. Statistical Infographics
This type of social media infographic is being used if you want to convey statistical data and information. It is usually presented by using icons, graphs, charts, and/or pictograms. This type of infographic is best used if you want to present a poll, survey data, demographics data, data from different sources, and social media marketing data.
When designing for statistical infographics, the following social media tips must be observed:
Statistical data, facts, and figures must be available and with easy-to-understand descriptions;
Use correct, simple, and understandable charts, graphs, or pictograms to deliver your information clearly.
Use engaging colors and look for a theme for your statistics to tell a story.
2. Timeline Infographics
If you wanted to present data and information that happened over time visually, then this type of infographics is the perfect way to do it. From the word itself, a timeline is a presentation of events in a chronological sequence or order. It is being used to show information about something that has happened over time. One best example to use this type of infographics is to show how a company or establishment was founded and evolved over time, or when preparing your resumé citing your work experiences.
To use this type of social media infographics, you must:
Be able to explain and present long and complex stories by using simple icons to show important historical points.
Identify and label major significant points with a short description and connect them with a line.
For social media marketing, these infographics are best used to show the historical development of your brand.
3. How-to Infographics.
It is a type of infographic that shows a step-by-step way of explaining a process. In social media infographics, How-to infographics are being used to show how the process is to be initiated, or created. Here, the process is presented in a series of steps.
Like a flow chart, this infographic helps explain the steps involved in a process and gives a process description every step of the way. For example, this type of infographics is often used to explain a registration process online, creating a login account to a product website, or business account, or even a process of making a sound decision.
To make effective How-to-use-social-media infographics, the following best practices are to be observed:
Use this type if you wanted to simplify a complex process into simple and easy-to-understand steps of information;
Use boxes and labels to better understand your infographics;
Assign each step with engaging colors that are limited to four or five for cohesiveness; and
Use some directional cues like arrows, lines, or numbers to direct your audience or readers to the next step of your process.
4. Informational Infographics
This type of infographic is used to show information visually. Unlike other infographics, this type relies mainly on words or texts arranged with an eye-catching scheme and attractive colors. In short, word-driven infographics; not graphs and charts. This type of infographic is best used to present an overview of a specific topic, agenda, or objectives of a specific event; and/or used to introduce a new concept or plan; and/or to show specific information, or report an overview. For you to be able to create an effective social media informational infographics, you must be able to observe the following:
Use illustrative icons and catchy descriptives for better engagement;
You may use numbers or bullet points, if needed, for each section of your infographics for readability; and
To show more cohesiveness, you may limit the color palette of your infographics to four or five colors.
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5. Map Infographics
Also called Location Infographics, is an infographic used to show demographic data and trends based on geographical location, may it be worldwide, national, states, cities, towns, or municipalities. This type of infographic is ideal for communicating survey results or comparing product statistics based on location or region. When using this kind of infographics and for social media graphic design, be mindful of the following:
Map color conventions, such as blue for bodies of water, green or brown for land, and vegetation. You may use dark colors to highlight the region or location you are comparing or reporting;
Use of correct labels, map legend, and data source; and
Make your map infographics clear and simple for better understanding.
6. List-type Infographics
This type of infographic is popular among all infographics as it is an excellent option for summarizing ideas, topics, and information of your presentation. It can also be used for sharing a collection of tips, or to support a specific claim.
Here are some of the best practices to effectively create list-based infographics:
Keep your list brief, concise and direct to the point;
You may use boxes, borders, numbers, or outlines to group the same elements or ideas together; and
You may use icons to highlight significant points of your presentation.
7. Data Visualization Infographics
This is the best infographics that use charts and graphs when communicating complex data and information. This infographic is beneficial if you want to make a data-driven argument or perspective, and present facts and statistics more impactful and interesting. Furthermore, the purpose of these infographics is to provide a visually appealing presentation of numbers or a set of numbers. To effectively prepare this kind of infographics and for social media tips, follow these best practices:
Choose the correct and right chart, graph, or pictogram for your data;
You may label your charts and graphs clearly for readability, and
You may choose colors that will match your texts and icons and pay attention to your theme.
8. Comparison Infographics
This is another popular type of infographics. It is often used in social media marketing, blogs, emails, and advertisements. This infographic aims to compare two ideas, concepts, or products in order to visually contrast and compare apparently contradicting things to highlight similarities, differences, and relative advantages.
Here are some social media tips to effectively prepare this type of social media infographics:
You may use colors strategically to highlight the pros and cons of the subject, and their similarities and differences;
You may use borders and tables to present your infographics clearly and easily; and
You may use boxes or charts to group similar thoughts, ideas, or topics.
9. Flowchart Infographics
A type of infographics that offers specialized answers to a question, presents solutions, simplifies workflows, shares possible consequences or scenarios, brainstorms ideas, visualizes chain of command, and showcases how multiple situations can lead to the same conclusion. Flowchart infographics describe processes with multiple paths, clearly and concisely. The following are some of the ways to make this type of social media infographics more appealing and clear:
Most flowcharts are read from left to right, and top to bottom. Hence, you may start the flowchart at the top left corner of the infographics; and
You can customize the lines and shapes to create any type of visual flow on the infographics to share with your readers;
You can use arrows, dots, or numbers to guide the audiences and readers to follow along.
10. Interactive Infographics
This type of infographic is a fusion of traditional infographics design, motion, and interactive elements that allow your audiences and readers to explore and uncover new information based on their interests and increase their time spent on your infographics. Interactive infographics follow some best tips and practices:
Always have an end goal in mind for your audiences and readers that will interact with your infographics. What action do you want them to do after the interaction they have with your infographics?
Always keep the interaction short. This will make your audiences and readers curious about your infographics and will leave them an impression of wanting more as you guide them to the next course of action.
Just always keep in mind the purpose and intention that you would like to communicate with your audiences and readers for you to use the right social media graphic design that is well suited to the data and information that you want to convey. You can create your own icons that are more appealing and appropriate to your own brand. If you were still undecided and not sure what tool to use in demonstrating your goals and plans, then these are some of the types of social media infographics that are very useful in delivering and expressing your thoughts, ideas, and topics to your audiences and readers. Communicating with them through a simplified, clear, and easy-to-understand format makes a big difference. It makes your work more attractive, engaging, and fun!
Worry no more if you need to remove the background of the icon or image that you want to use on your infographics, you can always use a background remover
. With that tool, you are free to incorporate whatever images or icons that complement your theme. So, start creating your own infographics now and unleash the creative energy in you!