Infographics seem to have devolved from the ideal of using visual images to enhance the effectiveness of communicating information to the quick and sloppy replacement of information with cute pictures. A case in point is the infographic you see below, which I came across on Pinterest this morning. It’s entitled Quickstart Guide To Social Media For Business.

This infographic may be quick, but it’s hardly a start. The actual informational content of this infographic is nothing more than a list of the proposed steps in a social media marketing process. The steps are rather general, leaving the reader without the knowledge of what they actually refer to.

All that we can really learn from this infographic is that it’s Weebles, apparently, who are best employed as social media marketers.

But then, learning isn’t really the purpose of the infographic. The link supplied to Pinterest for the infographic, after all, doesn’t lead to a page that explains what the infographic refers to. It links to a rather ugly web site for Talk Staff ™ TRAINING – a company in Derbyshire that conducts seminars in how to do social media marketing. The purpose of the infographic isn’t to inform anybody, but to bring people to the Talk Staff web site, in the hopes that they’ll pay to enroll in a seminar.

This infographic is only a bothersome piece of misdirection. As an instance of social media marketing, it’s an exhibit in what NOT to do.