How to capitalise on Infographics

Infographics are taking the PR world by storm largely because of their versatility. When most effective they provide structures for organising, planning and studying information. This can help to reveal connections between information that are not as visible without graphic representation.

Location: Show where something is in the form of a map or another visual representation as opposed to just referring to it. For example different places where the promotions for your new places could be depicted visually showing some kind of link between the places that could lead to a possible marketing spin off.

Comparisons: Visually compare two things by placing them side by side with appropriate enhancing visuals and supporting text. For example show how your latest offering is a step above your previous one by contrasting the two visually.

Highlight important points: Infographics can allow you to show the most important pieces of information by using different colours for example. This can place a great emphasis on stats and numbers making them easier to analyze.

Use animations and drawings: Some things are better and more quickly represented when animations and drawings are made use of. This can also be a great starting point for representing ideas quickly that can be further developed later.

Organise items into groups: Show relationships and connections between certain items by grouping them together. For example if research is being done on the consumers of the organisations products they can be grouped according to their age group or gender etc.

Break things down: Use graphics to break things down into individual components which can help you better explain the “whole” that they form collectively.

Show structure: This is the opposite of breaking things down; you can use graphics to show how an entire system operates or what an entire structure looks like.

Use flow charts: Showing something such as an organisations strategy for example can be done with ease using a flow chart.

Look Away/Cut inside: Show how something is internally by using this method. For example in engineering the internal structure of a building can be 3Dimentionally represented while the outside is still visible.

Investor Relations for Africa

<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/17017951?rel=0" width="427" height="356" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #CCC;border-width:1px 1px 0;margin-bottom:5px" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/SuzaAdam/spindle-communications-investor-relations-agency" title="Spindle Communications investor relations agency" target="_blank">Spindle Communications investor relations agency</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/SuzaAdam" target="_blank">Spindle Communications</a></strong> </div>

How to maximise your brand's efforts on twitter

Think before you Tweet

 ·        Before you begin to put your brand out there on twitter it is wise to consider who you are targeting. This will allow you to make use of twitter in a way that will be attractive to the people you want your brand to be associated with. Your communication on twitter must then be geared towards your selected audience.

·         Prepare a social media policy which outlines how the company will use and conduct itself on twitter. It should also have certain rules and regulations specific to the organisation's needs on how the organisation will deal with certain issues that could arise on twitter. For example the organisation receiving negative comments from dissatisfied consumers.

·         A consistent look and feel should be maintained on twitter, this can be done by having a distinctive brand personality. This should be visible in the way the organisation conducts itself on twitter and also in the content it shares.

·         Determine audience goals, this is the primary message you want to communicate to your key audiences. This will also allow you to select the most relevant messages and content to put up on twitter.

·         Use twitter as an additional means to drive traffic to your primary website as well as other platforms such as your blog for example. If used strategically the organisation's twitter account could be the vehicle that drives key audiences to other platforms you are interested in interacting with your stakeholders on. 

·         Engage with the media by involving them in your social media activities. Mention a journalist or perhaps a publication when you post interesting content for example. This can be seen as a subtle yet very strategic and effective way to pitch news and get the organisation some publicity.

·         Attract followers by making your twitter account an experience rather than just another organisation that tweets. This can be achieved by making posts engaging and innovative, tell a story that captivates your audience. Involve your audience and create a sense of community and movement.

·         Always measure your social media efforts, this will allow you to calibrate your social media efforts according to your corporate goals. This will promote twitter from a useful tool to something that actually makes a tangible contribution to your organisation's bottom line.