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Piktochart Infographic & Graphic Design Tool for Non-Designers [Scenttrail Review]

Piktochart Infographic & Graphic Design Tool for Non-Designers [Scenttrail Review] | Curation Revolution | Scoop.it

Piktochart is an easy infographic design app that requires very little effort to produce simple and high quality graphics. Create free infographics here.

Marty (@Scenttrail) Review
I used Piktochart yesterday to create an infographic to support my 5 Easy Email Marketing Tips (http://sco.lt/7T6pTF ). I am NOT a graphic designer, but I found Piktochart helped me think like one.

Creation of my first "infographic", and I put infographic in quotes not to offend any true infographic pro, took about two hours. Piktochart's User Interface is excellent, intuitive and drag and drop friendly.

At first I tried to do everything IN Piktochart. Then I noticed they have a robust import tool so I created a draft in the tool, took a screen shot, sized the screen shot up to their 600 x 400 and worked on it in photoshop.

Piktochart, if you are reading this, you may want to make an export tool that is as easy to use as your import tool. If I could export a block at a time it would be ideal. Even when I was finished and published I manipulated some spacing of the infographic by selecting and moving blocks in Photoshop.

The tool comes complete with icons like the bulls eye and pad. I couldn't understand how to color my fonts (their styling options seem to not come up the way they are supposed too) so I added the text color in Photoshop and important the resulting block overlaying what was there.

My process made the graphic HEAVY since I had 2 copies of everything, so it would be great to export, work on a block in Photoshop, import it back in and then overlay on a blank canvas. The only way I can see to do that now is start over.

Creating visual support for our blog posts is so important Piktochart is a great new tool for any content marketer / blogger. Interesting to note my infographic of 5 Easy Email Tips got 3x the views and shares of my written Scoop. We know the visual marketing revolution is upon us, so getting as good as someone like Mark Smiciklas (http://www.intersectionconsulting.com/ ).

Piktochart is a great and timely tool! Highly recommended. Marty

malek's curator insight, February 21, 2014 6:47 PM

A guided tour into Piktochart by a no-designer. You can't help but like the story behind the infographic. 

Raj Nadar's comment February 22, 2014 5:35 AM
I had built my visual online CV on this and I'm a no-tech no designer guy, was very easy to create still, thank you for sharing
malek's comment, February 22, 2014 3:07 PM
@Raj Nadar great utilization of piktochart
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Top 10 Curation Revolution Scoops Of All Time

Top 10 Curation Revolution Scoops Of All Time | Curation Revolution | Scoop.it

Top 10 Scoops By Clicks

1. http://sco.lt/8Q8W6j Future of Markeing [Infographic] 


2. http://sco.lt/68zYfp 21 Content Types We Crave


3. http://sco.lt/91MkRF SEO, LinkedIn & The Real You, How LinkedIn Is Crowdsoucing You

4. http://sco.lt/7A3OAT New SEO vs. Old SEO Smackdown [Infographic]

5. http://sco.lt/8PV9Np How and Why Google Killed Long Tail of Search [Infographic]


6. http://sco.lt/8Jcwq1 12 Scoop.it Experts Share Top Cureation Tips

7. http://sco.lt/6UD0W9 Why Content Gets Shared: Social Mentions Study

8. http://sco.lt/6a2WVF  The Content Marketing Mix [Infographic]


9. http://sco.lt/88TIZd Six Ways To Expand Your Social Media Reach [Infographic]


10.  http://sco.lt/8eorNx Storytelling Is The New SEO [Slideshare]

 Wow, 5 Infographics contributing 52% of top 10 clicks, a study and a Slideshare. Will do views next and compare and contrast.

Have decided to extend into a Top 10 Scoopit Conversion Stdy combing Top 10s from each of my 12 feeds. Learn more: http://sco.lt/69HeAj

malek's curator insight, October 26, 2013 8:08 AM

Another proof what we call 'time' isn't chronological but spatial, the leap change in short period.

Rescooped by Martin (Marty) Smith from Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight
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Why Brands Must Embrace Visual Social Media in 2013 | Corporate Eye

Why Brands Must Embrace Visual Social Media in 2013 | Corporate Eye | Curation Revolution | Scoop.it

As 2013 begins, social media marketing has already grown a bit old school. Today, the marketing world is still hot on the social media marketing trail, but the trail has diverged. There are different paths with cheerleaders along the way no matter which path a marketer follows.

 

Ideally, marketers should find the path down the middle that marries all of the elements of social media marketing, but most are not there yet. Many of today’s marketers are still choosing a single path to focus on or jumping back and forth.

For example, those paths include the data and metrics focus, the storytelling focus, the visual focus, and more. This article hones in on the visual focus with the help of two great infographics that visually share the data and tell the story of visual storytelling. Appropriate, don’t you think?...


Via Jeff Domansky
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Truer words have NOT been spoken. Embrace the visualization of EVERYTHING or get passed over. Rocking great scoop by Jeff. 

Jeff Domansky's curator insight, January 4, 2013 4:03 PM

Some smart thinking and insight for marketing and PR pros...

Martin (Marty) Smith's comment, January 4, 2013 4:13 PM
Jeff. Funny thing is I was just arranging to video a session for tomorrow. Visual is king in 2013. Great Scoop. Marty
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Think VISUAL ASSETS Not Infographics [VIDEO] Rand's Friday Whiteboard

Think VISUAL ASSETS Not Infographics [VIDEO] Rand's Friday Whiteboard | Curation Revolution | Scoop.it
While infographics are touted by some as wonderful examples of making information accessible, in today's Whiteboard Friday, Rand shows us a very different view of them, making the case for using individual visual assets instead.
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Great Rand Fishkinn Whiteboard Friday on why your marketing should think in terms of "visual assets" not infogrpahics. 

No comment yet.
Suggested by Christino Martin
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Infographics ROCK Twitter and LinkedIn, Leave Facebook Cold: Measuring ROI [Infographic]

Infographics ROCK Twitter and LinkedIn, Leave Facebook Cold: Measuring ROI [Infographic] | Curation Revolution | Scoop.it
Infographics on Return On Infographics ROI on business for sales and conversion of product with search engine ranking, social interaction, page views
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

What Is The Value Of Data Visualization?
I appreciate the information about where infographics work, great to know Twitter and LINKEDIN love 'em, Facebook not so much, but this is NOT how I would create ROI. 

An Infographic's ROI is more than the immediate surface acceptance it creates. All websites communicate in OVERT and COVERT ways. Infographics help send an overt message of being easy to understand and so easy to work with. 

Infographics also work on visitor and potential customer psychology, the covert layer. Covert communications include:

* Contemporary risk takers. 
* Intelligent, smart.

* Fast moving. 
* Careful to create mutual benefit.

* Expert.
* Good teachers.
* Listen well (because you knew what to create a graphic about).

* Cool, fun and engaging.

 

Can the infographic you create undo these inherit values? Sure, the devil is always in the details, but the covert communication created by infographics and the visual presentation of data is an undeniable trend. 

Some say we are at the end of the trend; the end is near for infographics. All things form a power distribution. 5% or less of all infographics created will get 90% of the views because they are perfectly timed, more visually engaging or promoted by the right people. 

The measure of a marketing tactic is what if your result lands squarely in the middle of the bell curve of acceptance. What if you only achieve an average response, can the effort pay for itself. The way this infographic suggests to gauge ROI based on metrics might make the tactic fall short or say you can't afford average, you must be GREAT. 

Who doesn't know they must be GREAT to achieve an audience these days? There are two ways to greatness: win the lottery or listen, learn, test and improve. I come from the school of test, tweak and test again and am confident any infographic P&L properly weighted AT THIS TIME would show positive ROI. 

"At this time" is large and in charge in the previous sentence because the market is alive and may change. We marketers tend to FLOOD winners and so drown the tactic. Could happen, but don't think we are there yet AND costs of infographic creation are coming down so continuing to work on visual support for your marketing is a good investment.  

 


Lynn O'Connell for O'Connell Meier's curator insight, February 8, 2013 4:05 PM

Facebook doesn't show enough of a infographic to allow it to have impact. To share there, make a photo of the top and link to another site.

Ken Morrison's curator insight, February 18, 2013 6:22 PM

Ken's Key Takeaway:  

I am sharing this link for two reasons.  I like that it shares a list of the most popular infographic.  I also like that it shows how to attempt to evaluate the ROI of an infographic.  

255's comment, February 20, 2013 12:21 AM
Could be that infographics tells something in an easy way about relevant point ?
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Social Media Marketing - 10 Inspiring Infographics | @jeffbullas

Social Media Marketing - 10 Inspiring Infographics | @jeffbullas | Curation Revolution | Scoop.it

In 2011 social media marketing continued to make its impact. Google+ was launched (with an investment of over $500 million in development costs), Twitter became embedded in the new Apple iPhone 4s and Blogging didn't die.


Via maxOz, Antonios Bouris
maxOz's comment, November 28, 2011 3:54 AM
Thanks Jenny a Good One!
Cheers
Michele
maxOz's comment, November 28, 2011 7:27 AM
Thanks Antonios, Glad you liked them. Take care Michele