Did you know that visuals help encourage readers to stay on a page, rather than navigate away? Infographics, which are data visualization tools, have been a marketing trend for several years and continue to pick up speed, especially on social networking websites. They are a useful way for businesses and people to keep online visitors engaged. If you want to create infographics that rock, read these four tips.

1. Great Visual Design

Would you try and sell a home to someone if they had to walk through a maze of clutter just to get through the hallway? Great design is like a well organized home, where everything has a place and purpose. Studies show that people will still examine infographics like a page, reading from left to right and top to bottom. This is an easy way to layout your design. Bring focus to your showpiece graphics using color, shapes and patterns. Unify the infographic by sticking to a single color palette, typography, and border type for images.

2. Let it Breathe

Do you find yourself typing out how great your business is every other line? Not all marketing is about self promotion. In this case, you will be creating clicks and visibility for your brand by engaging users with information, not ad copy. Take a deep breath, then pull your promotion out of the infographic and stick to what works. Find unusual facts and statistics that will surprise people and make them want to share your graphic.

3. Clean it Up

Let your images speak for themselves, and leave out the paragraphs of text. Studies show that using a fair amount of white space, or blank space, between text and images increases reader comprehension by 20 percent. If your infographic looks like a cluttered desk, put some of the unimportant stuff away in the drawers. Create infographics that get to the point.

4. Explore Your Creative Side

Are you a pizza company that make infographics about your business? One interesting statistic is that 28 percent of pizza eaters will eat the crust. You could represent this with a plain pie graph, or you could make things interesting by using the inside of an illustrated pizza pie graph to indicate what percentage of people prefer toppings, while the outside of the pie has only 28 percent crust, to indicate the people who enjoy it.