Infographics have become very popular of late because they have a tendency to go viral quickly. If you’re not familiar with the infographics craze yet, then let me start by telling you what an infographic is.
Infographics is a fusion of the words information and graphics. Infographics are visual representations of complex information. Typically, they are very colorful and highly visually stimulating, and they deliver a large amount of information and data in a concise manner.
I often find links to interesting infographics in my Twitter stream. People do share infographics with their own audiences, and they can be a great way to spread information about your brand or company or simply to educate consumers in an effort to provide useful content to them. With that in mind, I found 5 great infographics from Infographicslab that quickly tell the stories of some of the top online and social media brands. Take a look at the infographics included in this post and see for yourself why infographics are shared so often. First of all, they just look cool. Second, they really are useful.
The World of Facebook
Curious about how Facebook became a dominant brand in the world of social media? Click on the image below to view the full Facebook infographic.
The Meteoric Rise of Twitter
Few companies and brands have experienced the fast and amazing growth that Twitter has. Click on the image below to view the full Twitter graphic and relive the explosive growth of Twitter.
A Visual Look at Google
Who would have thought back in the days when Altavista and AOL were the dominant online brands that Google would become the powerhouse that it is today. Click on the image below to view the full Google history infographic to see how it happened.
The World without Apple
Could you imagine a world without Apple? A decade ago, such a thought may not have been that shocking. Today, that’s definitely not the case. Apple has infiltrated our daily lives, and if you click on the image below, you can view the full infographic that tells the story of life without Apple.
A Close up of Zynga
If you’re not familiar with Zynga, chances are you’re familiar with one of the social games that the company offers. In fact, Zynga owns 6 of the top 10 Facebook games, including Farmville, Mafia Wars, and Texas Hold ‘Em. Click on the image below to view the full Zynga statistics infographic to learn more about why and how Zynga became a social web leader.
Now that you’ve seen how interesting infographics can be and understand their potential virality, start thinking of what kinds of infographics you can create for your organization. Infographics can directly or indirectly promote a brand and company. In fact, the exposure popular infographics get in terms of being viewed by and discussed by a global audience is huge. Start brainstorming now about ways that you can get involved and harness some of that potential!
Images: Infographicslab
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
Apple has truly passed the test of times. Steve Jobs is fabulous in turning Apple from an *almost* dying company to one of the most talked about company in the world. I don’t see Apple is not a technology company but a fashion company since people of all ages want to be seen with an Apple. I can’t think of any technology company making that kind of impact to the world.
Nice post Susan. Thanks!