I love infographics. I know some people think they're "out," "so last year/two years ago/whatever," etc. but I don't think they're going anywhere. They make conveying information easier (and prettier, and I love pretty!), are a strong tools in any content marketing strategy, and, let's face it, pretty fun sometimes.
But, as with most things, there's a right way and a wrong way to share an infographic.
Sharing is caring, but when it comes to infographics, be sure to share with care (Tweet this).
Of course, the "right" way to share an infographic depends on the platform on which you're sharing it.
Sometime's I'll see someone share someone else's infographic, or even their own, on a blog or social media and just want to go "yuck."
Luckily, Lemonly has put together a handy little infographic going over a few great best practices for sharing infographics on social, but let's look further into rules for sharing:
Best Practices for Sharing Infographics on Your Blog/Website
- If it's your own infographic, make it easy for others to share it. You can either include an embed code (learn how to create one here), or upload your infographic to a site like Visual.ly or SlideShare. Generating your own embed code ensures that those who share the infographic link back to your own site, which is good for SEO. While uploading it to a third-party site takes that away, it does expose your infographic to a much larger audience: those who visit your site, and the huge audiences of those types of websites. You can even do all three.
- If it's someone else's infographic, the first thing is to make sure they're okay with it being shared. If they've included an embed code or uploaded it to Visual.ly or Slideshare or a similar site, they obviously want it to be shared (why wouldn't they?). If not, try to get their permission. For example, I tweeted to Lemonly to see if I could share this very infographic, and they were cool with it.
- When sharing someone else's infographic, use the embed code given to you. If you have to modify it to make the infographic work with your site, always keep any attribution links in there. This includes links to the creator's website and the original source of the infographic. Give credit where credit is due. I also like throwing props to the creator in the blog post copy, as I did above.
- No matter where the infographic came from, don't just upload the infographic to a blank website and call it a day. Always introduce the infographic and try to create content that can stand on its own, with or without the infographic.
Best Practices for Sharing Infographics on Facebook and Twitter
- Facebook will resize almost all infographics. Photos on a Facebook page's timeline will all be displayed at 404 x 404 pixels, so even if you do have a small infographic, only a portion will be displayed on the timeline.
- Instead of uploading a thumbnail, take a screenshot of part of the infographic that is more Facebook-friendly. This could be the header, an attractive image in the infographic, or one point or statistic that stands out above the others.
- Upload the screenshot with a brief description and a link to a full version of the infographic. If other companies are mentioned in the infographic, you can tag them.
Best Practices for Sharing Infographics on LinkedIn
- LinkedIn lets both individual users and pages attach a photo to an update, although I unfortunately don't know what the rules for dimensions are. I do know that thumbnails of large images will be shown in the news feed, and you need to click to see a larger version.
- If one of your content marketing goals the infographic is supposed to achieve is driving traffic, I recommend uploading a thumbnail to LinkedIn, and including a link to the full version in the description.
- If you're sharing someone else's infographic, I definitely recommend linking to the full version.
Best Practices for Sharing Infographics on Pinterest
- People have mixed feelings on infographics on Pinterest. A lot of people don't love really long images, although they do tend to perform well. Pinterest now cuts off some long images and users have to click 'Expand Pin' to see the rest.
- That being said, infographics are hugely popular on Pinterest, especially for the B2B audiences. I definitely recommend uploading the entire image.
- You can add more power to your infographic's punch by also creating a board centered around it. Take screenshots of different parts of your infographic and upload them separately. For example, if your infographic has 5 "sections," upload images of each section separately. Just spread them out so they don't clog your followers' feeds. Go back and edit the pins so that they link back to the original source of the infographic.
- For increased visibility, add some hashtags, and if it could appropriately fall under more than one board of yours, you can repin it to anywhere it fits, including group boards. Once again, space out your pins.
Now, on to Lemonly's full infographic:
Do you have any tips to add to the ones in this post? Comment with your best ideas!