Presentation at the New York School Public Relations Association annual conference, March 2016.

1. Evelyn McCormack
Mack Digital Communications
NYSPRA 2016

2. › If you’re still posting mostly text, you’re not going to get views
› Having at least one image in a post leads to more than double the shares on
Facebook and Twitter
› Using an image on Twitter increases retweets by 28% and favorites by 36%
› Engagement-grabbing social media images are like a magic wand on social
media. Social media users are looking for photos, videos and graphics
› Plenty of mostly free (or low-cost) options for creating graphics and
infographics that work well on social media sites

3. › Keep it simple! Don’t try to do too much in one picture.
› Research your facts and statistics.
› It’s a visual essay: ensure your arguments work and are
relevant.
› Remember that it’s all about quickly conveying the meaning
behind complex data.
› Viewer should be able to draw conclusions.
› Reference your facts in the infographic.
› Include a URL so people can be sure who made it and where
the info came from.

4. • In 2007, there were 750 online
graphics
• In 2011, 2 million online graphics
• Provide more variety to the content
we’re digesting daily
• Infographics give us more content,
links and web traffic.
• Infographics tend to go viral

5. › Timelines
› Annotated maps
› Graphs
› Venn diagrams
› Size and other types of comparisons
› Viisual article
› Numbers, numbers, numbers
Infographic Types

7. › Lots of numbers and a little
visualization to aid
comprehension. The figures
themselves need to be
impressive and the design
must be engaging (noone
wants to look at a
spreadsheet)

9. NSPRA infographic based on
results of a membership survey
regarding social media use.
Attribution and website at the
bottom

10. NSPRA infographic on mobile app use
based on Electronic Communication
Survey.

11. Sophisticated
marketing infographic
by Blackboard, Fix the
Disconnect.

12. Comparison infographic –
Pinterest vs. Facebook
Produced by
whiteglovesocialmedia.com,
which used as its source Bizrate
study of 2012.

13. A simple explanatory
infographic from a social
studies teacher.
A bit more engaging than
two pages of written text,
no?

14. › Canva (free and paid versions)
› Infogram (free)
› Piktochart (free and paid version)
› Assorted mobile apps I love

15. • Two versions
• Free version is free, except whe/if you want to purchase
individual graphics to dress up your design
• Can download your own photos
• You can purchase individual graphics or backgrounds for $1
each. All paid graphics are labeled with $1
• Canva for Work offers more options. Free for 2 months, then
$9.95 a month if you pay annually, $12.95 per month if you
pay month to month.

21. › Go to Canva.com
› Create a FREE account. You’ll need your email address and
a password.
› Follow along with me once you’re there.

23. › Free desktop version
› Works a lot like Canva, but more limited
› You can install a Chrome extension to use whenever you
see cool stuff on the web
› Sizes graphics for use on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook
and Twitter
› 50,000 images available, copyright-free

24. https://buffer.com/pablo

26. › Allows you to upload a group
of photos and create a collage
› Desktop and mobile versions
› Ability to add frames, filters
and text
› Limited, but great for creating
collages and saving them to
your hard drive for use on
social media channels.
› FREE
› https://pixlr.com/

28. › Allows users to create infographics using
range of templates.
› Uses HTML publishing capabilities to
generate search engine readable
infographics and user clickable elements.
› Free version limited to 11 templates for users
to choose from. Pro users have access to
100+ templates designed by professionals
and uploaded monthly. $40 a year for
individual education accounts.
› Free version = Piktochart watermark at the
bottom of all infographics

30. Mobile Apps I Love
• Over – allows you to
superimpose text on
any photo.
• You can then
automatically post the
photo to Twitter,
Instagram or Facebook.
• I often email these to
myself so I can use on
websites or print
materials.
• FREE

31. › Fontcandy:
› Perfect for beginners
› Search for their copyright-
free images or choose your
own image.
› Easily edit photo, add text
with fun fonts or choose
pre-made sayings and
quotes.
› Basic version is free but will
include watermark
› Full version is $2.99 - worth
it for all extra artwork and
fonts.

32. › Canva tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nShmwzh879g
› Canva for beginners:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VMhwlCnMbg
› Piktochart Education pricing:
› http://piktochart.com/pricing/education/
› Piktochart video tutorial:
› https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzI9RzvnwZA
› Using Pablo:
› http://www.pageonepower.com/linkarati/pablo-creating-social-
images