An annual report is an ideal way for organisations to show their employees and other stakeholders how they performed the past year. A lot of time and energy is put into compiling the annual overview. The result: a publication that contains a lot of numeric data and descriptive text that looks overwhelming to read. The go-to way of sharing is often as a PDF file. However, that does not even provide you with insight into your readers behaviour. How are you sure that people are reading your report?
A snackable annual report
Static communication via a PDF is becoming obviously dull. But how do we make sure readers stay engaged in today's noisy media landscape? Nowadays, readers prefer to consume content that is visual. That is where digital publications come in. They are the perfect alternative to the static PDF.
A digital annual report can transfer a lot of complex data and information in an interactive and visually appealing manner. A 100-page publication can be shortened into 10 pages supported by visuals and enriched with interactive animations. Especially infographics and embedded media such as video are great visual devices to explain complex ideas in a snackable format.
In this blog, we demonstrate several advantages of digital annual reports. In summary, digital annual reports are:
- Visually attractive
- Responsive design
- Easy to share
- Measurable results
- Always up to date
1. Visually attractive
We remember up to 80% more of what we see visually - in contrast to a small 10% of textual content. Just like the offline version, you can place images in a digital annual report. But unlike a PDF, you can also add and embed other visual media in a digital publication, for example animations and videos. Adding media makes your publication more visual and brings it to life. 70% of marketers also see better results with visual content.
2. Responsive Design
The aim is to make an annual report inviting to read. That means we need to account for multiple screen types. Making a visually appealing report for desktop screens must also translate to smaller screens, for example smartphones. You would be surprised how most content is consumed on a mobile phone nowadays. Therefore, we must give our audience the opportunity to read an annual report where and whenever they want. The definition of a scalable design is also referred to as responsiveness on the web.
3. Easy to share
I think we can all agree that sharing a document online is much quicker and easy than sharing a printed document. That is because a digital publication has its own URL. It enables you to share it, for example, via social media, blogs, your website and email (to mention only a few). Are you sending your publication to a large group of recipients, but worried about the document falling into the wrong hands? Not to worry - a digital annual report can be secured by a magic link or with a password.
4. Measurable results
Digital publishing can be done in various ways. Maglr is a digital publishing platform that facilitates modules for creative content creation in the broadest sense. If a publication is live, an integration with Google Analytics provides you with data of your readers. This allows you to understand your readers interests. Interested in how we do this at Maglr? We dive deeper into the topic in our November update: better insights in reading behaviour.
5. Flexible and always up-to-date
A digital annual report allows you to make adjustments on the go. Discovered a typo? Forgot an additional graph? A digital publication provides you with the flexibility of editing and publishing whenever you need.
6. Environmentally friendly and cost-effective
Unfortunately, printed publications often end up unread in the bin. Besides, once printed, they can no longer be edited. Switching to digital publications also falls under the new corporate social responsibility policy for many organisations due to its environmentally friendly nature. Going digital is better for the environment and beneficial for your wallet too, as you will no longer have to account for any printing and shipping costs.
Ready to visualize your annual report? Maglr guarantees interactive content that grabs attention and increases reader engagement. Get your free 14-day trial or demonstration now.
