It’s a common assumption that the best way for financial institutions to explain their products, capabilities and investment strategies is through detailed written copy. But regardless of whether your organisation services everyday retail consumers or high-worth institutional clients, ignoring visual infographics could be doing your organisation a disservice. Here’s why.
Why infographics work
1. 90% of all information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals have been known to improve learning and retention by 400%. In other words, infographics help to deliver the company message clearly and in a memorable way.
2. Studies have shown that infographics are even more effective in helping people learn and retain information than other visual techniques such as PowerPoint and commercials.
Graph from IGW report on the State of Infographics
Infographics are liked and shared on social media 3x more than any other form of content.
3. Infographics encourage sharing – in fact, according to Hubspot, infographics are liked and shared on social media 3x more than any other form of content.
4. Infographics are adaptable – they can be promoted across all social media channels as individual posts or hosted on websites to distill lengthy reports or performance results. Once created, an infographic can even be broken down into chunks to create separate social media or blog posts.
Given everything we’ve just explained about the benefits of visual communication, we’re going to show you, not tell you, how infographics can work for finance brands.
Simple infographics with a complex message
ASIC
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is interested in all Australians benefitting from clear financial advice. This simple infographic educates consumers about life insurance, condensing three different scenarios into simple steps, providing information about premiums and payouts, using columns to guide the eye. It’s a great example of how to speak to customers about the different financial options available to them.
PWC
In the UK and Australia, PwC produces and curates hundreds of infographics. What’s interesting about the global approach is that they’re not used to sell a product, but to position PWC as a thought leader in technology and finance. The infographics are designed to take the reader on a snappy, informative journey through a timeline or a process. The below example outlines the development of robotics and AI, and the web version is interactive and animated making it super engaging for the reader.
CommBank
CommBank has a rich selection of on-brand infographics designed to represent the results of customer surveys and provide their customers with tips for navigating big life events. This example shows how emotional the average Australian is when buying a house, which equally applies across the globe. The bright colours and storytelling draw the reader in, and easy-to-read advice means that the message is more likely to be received and retained.
[Full disclosure: The Dubs is a member of CommBank’s content marketing agency panel]
Aberdeen Asset Management
While infographics easily lend themselves to financial literacy topics, Aberdeen Asset Management has found them to be the perfect format to deliver multi-faceted market reports. Through visuals and brief supporting explanations, Aberdeen’s fund managers deliver in-depth insights on market and economic conditions and the effects on portfolio holdings in a way that’s interesting and easy to digest.
[Full disclosure: The Dubs is the global content marketing agency for Aberdeen Standard Investments]
While the written word may seem like the simplest option, creativity will pay off for you, and your customers, when tackling complex financial topics.
For more inspiration check out one of our own infographics created in partnership with Reddit.
