Whether you are surfing the web or slowly building your online course, chances are that you’ll run into a few infographics along the way. Infographics have been growing in popularity over the years and they are typically educational, entertaining, and useful tools. But what exactly is an infographic? Well, it is a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data. Basically, it collects and organizes data and creates an easy-to-understand visual out of it. Sounds simple enough, right?

There are many pros and cons to using infographics in eLearning. But let’s focus on these five benefits.

Infographics are (most of the time) easy to understand – simply because the data and information is turned into graphics with minimal words explaining them. People retain approximately 83% of what they learn visually as opposed to 20% retained by reading. That’s a pretty strong number.

Infographics are easy to share. If you have a strong infographic and catch the eyes of readers, chances are it’ll go viral pretty quickly (hello, Pinterest!).

You can be creative! There is no one template for designing infographics. Each one is different and you can always change colors, formats, and styles!

It’s brand awareness. When you create an infographic, always embed your logo within it. Once it is shared, it’s like free advertising and brand awareness.

Show your expertise. The large amount of research required for creating an effective infographic will show your knowledge and position you as an expert on your topic.

Convinced yet? If you’re not sure that an infographic will be beneficial to you and your eLearning materials, just try it and see! Check out these 8 free tools to help you get started!