Infographics are still one of the best ways to turn dull information into sharable content. While the concept of infographics is nothing new, how they are created, shared and used for online marketing and branding continues to change.

As CEO of How to Start a Blog, I love using infographics in my own content creation and branding, and I can tell you it works better today than ever before. The common problem that many brands and businesses see when creating infographics is not knowing how to best create the content and then distribute it once it goes live.

Here are some of the most effective ways to create an infographic that not only looks great and provides value, but also repeatedly gets shared and brings valuable traffic and links to your site.

Know Your Data Before Going Into Design

I often write about how to successfully make money with a blog, and I know this to be true when it comes to its design: offering visuals and step-by-step instruction along the way is crucial in addition to content.

Infographics are all about bringing your data to life and making it visually appealing for people to view and share with others. With this in mind, you want to make sure your infographic has all of the right data and visuals to complement it well. Far too often, we see infographics overstuffed with data and text, which can distract and disengage your readers.

Before handing over your data to a design team TISI +% to create your infographic, make sure only the most important data points are included, with minimal wording. You should include images that relate to your audience, and colors that stand out, while also looking professional enough for other sites to want to publish and share as well.

Turn Your Infographic Into A Video

As an entrepreneur and marketer, I love turning written content into exciting new mediums like infographics and video. YouTube is the largest video search engine today, with over a billion active users. Converting your original infographic into an interactive video is one of the best ways to bring your data and branding to life, as well as reach new audiences.

Infographic Design Team has an excellent portfolio of infographics they have brought to life through the use of video: take a look at these examples to see how you could bring your infographics to life and take advantage of the massive online video audience.

Infographic Outreach Is Key

Having written thousands of articles over the past several years, I can truly appreciate the value in outreach and contributions to other sites. Not only does it help grow my brand and expertise, but it also introduces me to new audiences at the same time.

Once your infographic is created and live on your site, don’t just sit back and expect the world to share it with millions — this is another area when many brands go wrong. It’s not just about the content creation; it’s also about marketing and outreach. Make sure you’re putting in the necessary time and effort to make sure your content is being shared.

The best way to approach this is through manual outreach, as well as by making it easy for other sites within your niche to share your content. Such opportunities include guest blogging on other sites, offering original articles and premium content along with your infographic for other sites to promote, adding copy/paste embed codes on your infographic site, and of course, using social media to reach new audiences.

Neil Patel wrote a great article on how to make your infographic go viral. Try some of his methods and tips to stay ahead of the competition, and get more out of your infographic than you’d ever expected.

After working in the industry for 20 years, the common denominator I see between sites and brands that stand above the competition is those that are willing to put out great content for all platforms possible. Turning your existing site content into infographics and sharing them with other folks in your industry is simply one of the best ways to accomplish this.

When planning for the creation of your next infographic, plan for an effective outreach and marketing campaign too. With people actively viewing your content and other sites sharing your infographic, you’ll see a solid return on your investment.