A Professor and a Marketer Walk Into a Bar…

I love infographics! Those wonderful, visual graphics break down complex concepts and data into pretty pictures and one line statistics. What’s not to love?! So, imagine my surprise when I plopped a new infographic in front of a friend and she bristled. “I hate those things,” she said. Say what?...

Infographics are currently the little black dress of marketing – everyone’s go-to design. They’re everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Just enter “infographic” on a Google image search and you’ll see what I mean.

But here’s the trouble with the current infographic craze- not everyone is a visual learner. Marketers could take a lesson from professors who pay heed to adult learning styles in order to deliver content that’s meaningful to everyone. So, in the interest of continuous learning, here’s a breakdown of the most commonly recognized adult learning styles:

The Visual Learner

The visual learner absorbs information most easily from, you guessed it, visual sources, such as charts, symbols and graphs. Does this mean visual learners love infographics? You bet we do! About 60% of the population can be categorized as having a strong visual learning style.

The Auditory Learner

The auditory learner absorbs information most easily when it’s heard, spoken and discussed. Think of them as explorers of their environment. They listen, they discuss, and I’m guessing they’re lovers of music. About 25% of the population can be categorized as having a strong auditory learning style.

The Kinesthetic Learner

The kinesthetic learner absorbs information most easily with a hands-on approach. They learn by doing, so don’t expect them to read your instruction manuals. If your product requires instructions, you might take a cue from Ikea and keep it simple. About 15% of the population can be categorized as having a strong kinesthetic learning style.

The Read / Write Learner

A sub categorization of the visual learning style, the read / write learner needs to go beyond visual cues to application. You know the co-worker who still takes hand written notes in the meeting? Yep, they’re probably a read / write learner. I can relate. You can talk to me about something all day, but until I read it myself or write it down, it’s just not relevant.

So, what does this have to do with marketing? A lot! As marketers, a big part of our job is educating the target audience so they understand how great our products are, why they should buy them, and how to use them. If you’re only integrating one technique, you may be missing a large piece of your target.

The next time you have a brilliant idea for an infographic, go ahead and design it. But be sure to build a fully integrated plan around it to ensure relevance for your auditory and kinesthetic learners as well.

Curious to know your personal learning style? Take the free online VARK assessment.

 

It Takes a Village

I work daily to educate clients on the difference between graphic designers, marketers, copywriters and web builders. It takes all of those elements to create great marketing and it can be confusing to sort out just who does what. Some business owners expect to get it all from one person. In reality, the chance of finding someone who can do it all effectively is slim. Here is the most simplistic explanation I’ve come up with:

·         Graphic Designers are educated in art and aesthetics

·         Marketers are educated in business and strategy

·         Copywriters are educated in communication and grammar

·         Web builders are educated in technology and computer programming

Every once in a while, you’ll find that rare gem of a person who can do more than one of those things effectively. More often, it takes a village to create great marketing. What you don’t often see is what happens behind the scenes. A good marketer can set clear business objectives, analyze your market and financial data, research to fill the gaps, develop a strategy and plan to meet those objectives, and measure, measure, measure to ensure success. Once the strategy and plan are developed, other experts are brought in to effectively execute the plan. Copywriters write compelling copy, graphic designers create beautiful artwork, and web builders code that copy and art into functional websites.

If you’re staffing a marketing department, be sure to hire appropriately for the role and set expectations accordingly. If you’re searching for marketing resource, be sure to ask what kind of village is available to support the project. At Marketing Flexibility, we work with a talented pool of affiliates who are educated and experienced in marketing, design, copywriting and technology. We can put our village to work for you today!