Did you know that people only retain 10 - 20 percent of written information after three days? This study confirms what you might have been wondering -- a blog might not be the most effective way to engage your audience.  

Although publishing a frequent blog that adds value is an essential part of your marketing mix, infographics can help you drive traffic to your website and make more conversions.

From 2010 - 2012, infographic searches have increased by over 800 percent. That’s too large of a trend to ignore!

Infographics are easy to digest and they’re a lot more fun to look at than text alone. Infographics are great at visually representing data-heavy research, numbers and statistics, especially since most readers only skim articles.

Infographics are shared 3X more than text-only documents on social media!

Here are the three things to focus on when creating an infographic:

• Visual appeal: You want your infographic to be designed well for maximum effect and shareability. Maintain a constant theme of colors, images and minimal text throughout the document. If you’re not a master of visual design, don’t worry. There are many professionals you can hire to create a well-designed infographic for you. We’ve used Growth Geeks in the past and they have done an incredible job.

• Fresh content: Find new and interesting information to publish that hasn’t already been shared. Publishing new research can be a great way to build thought leadership and authority within your industry. Try publishing case studies or success stories from working with your clients or put together data from the top three companies in your industry.

• Be generous: Infographics take time, and money if you’re having one made. The best way to maximize your ROI is to make it as widely shared as possible. Publish a complementary article, post it to your social media channels and include the embed code on your website with the infographic, so anyone that wants to use it can simply copy and paste it wherever they’d like.

Remember, making an infographic shouldn’t be hard. If you’re making one on your own, there are a lot of free tools to help. But paying for one is often times a great investment.

Have you seen a ROI on your infographic? Have you found a great resource for building them? Let us know about your experience with infographics in the comments below.