How to tell a story with infographics and win business

Here’s a little known fact: It was Napoleon Bonaparte who first uttered the immortal phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

Speaking of phrases and words, one of today’s newest and hottest, not just in China and the Asia-Pacific region - but around the world – after ‘social media’ - happens to be ‘infographics.' They have become almost ubiquitous on business and technology blogs. It seems like they pop up almost everywhere online today – colourful graphics, filled with cartoon-like bar charts and line drawings.

Infographics weren’t a major part of our collective vocabulary before early 2009. In just the last few years though, our vocabulary has changed. Try saying the word 'like' - without thinking of Facebook. Try saying 'plus' without thinking of Google. Or saying 'Google' without thinking of... you get the point. The list goes on.

Presenting data visually is by no means a new concept. After all, a good old-fashioned map is actually nothing more than an infographic, showing us an abstract piece of information, like the continents and oceans, in a simple scale drawing on paper. And things like maps, as we know, have been around for… well, for a very long time.

Welcome to the world of digital storytelling, where stories meet visual design.

Today’s infographic takes an average bar chart and attempts to educate us a little more by being just a bit more creative. Sometimes that creativity falls flat and is uninspiring, while at other times it can be pure genius.

A truly great infographic can be something of an artistic vision. It can induce real impact, even bestowing a form of transcendent, meditative inspiration on its viewer.

Like a masterfully-crafted story or song, a good infographic tells a compelling story, and everyone who experiences one views it slightly differently. Sometimes the effect is good, spurring more research and animated discussion around a given topic; at others, you just turn the page and move on, forgetting that it was ever created.

This might explain why infographics are increasingly being developed by agencies and featured in communications and marketing campaigns, in the both online and offline arenas. Infographics tell stories – and that is also what agencies and PR firms do, or are commissioned to do by clients – concisely and well.

Infographics, at their heart, are ways to make complex data and concepts about any topic easier to digest. Have a look at this showcase of some amazing infographics collected in one place for easy viewing. And in an age when we are bombarded by information at an unprecedented and even alarming pace – by literally thousands of distinct pieces of information each and every day – stories told, whether by governments, institutions, companies or individuals, cannot afford to be long-winded if they are to have a chance at grabbing the attention of audiences.

Think of an infographic as a music video or a 30 second TV spot, but told in just one, single frame or image.

Here are four quick tips to keep in mind when creating awesome infographics to win business:

1.  Get the right information/ data. This is critical, as the information you decide to present will drive your storytelling and the ultimate design of your graphics.

2.  Ask the right questions and find your story. Your questions will help you understand what style and tools you will need.

3.  Search for trends, patterns. These will be important differences to layer your story with.

4.  Start designing. Think of your audience as you start the design process.

Of course, increasingly we are seeing animated infographics – which are essentially 30 second TV spots of the social media age. Check out Nigel Upchurch’s, a graphic designer in New Zealand, very smart and well-made video infographics here and here.

If one defines an infographic as a story that is graphically visualized, then perhaps no brand ever did a better job than the Coca-Cola Company, when it released a TV advert called 'The happiness factory'.

Whoever thought of that one, obviously won a nice piece of new business with his or her idea – and a good piece of new business, at that! Trust me when I tell you that advertisement wasn’t made on the cheap!

Some of my favorite infographics tell stories from history. Here’s a great one that I admire and could spend whole minutes looking at and absorbing.

In the Asia-Pacific region, infographics are often used to explain a myriad of topics, such as the rapid rise of the continent's national prosperity indices, to the region’s diverse digital landscapes and communities.

For example, at Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific, we recently created an infographic recently, to tell the story of how diverse our region is when it comes to social media and networks across markets.

Creating a good infographic; one that tells a story is by no means a simple task.

Doing so successfully takes research, a deep understanding of the data set at hand, and a creative mind.

For a beginner’s guide to infographics and data-driven storytelling, watch (what else?) but this cool short video infographic called “How to Tell a Story with Data.”

If there’s one thing I leave you with, please let it be this: That infographics are an integral part of how we will tell stories about the world that we inhabit, and the lives we lead, the businesses we grow.

Moving into the future, no business will be able to tell good stories without visualizing ideas and data. It is a concept that needs to be embraced, and embraced well. Just as there is nothing quite as horrible as a badly-told story, there is also nothing quite as unseemly as a badly-developed infographic.

My prediction is that agencies will win and lose business based on how they are able to better visualize their ideas.

Now, you might ask me, with bated breath, “…so, what’s next?”

Let’s see… Google+-sponsored augmented reality audio infographics, anyone?