How did a small search marketing software company become the lead “analyst” on Facebook’s advertising potential? It used pictures for its PR.In the days leading up to Facebook’s IPO, there was a great deal of debate around whether the social media giant’s ad platform was built for long-term success. This dialogue didn’t escape WordStream, a provider of pay-per-click and search services, which thought it could get a bit of publicity for a quick study it conducted comparing the value of display advertising on Facebook to that of Google’s Display Network. But rather than simply put out a press release, WordStream decided to tell the story via an infographic.What WordStream wasn’t prepared for was the massive reception the infographic received. Initial pickups came from a Wall Street Journal blog and Business Insider, both of which linked directly to the visual. But as the news cycle around the IPO heated up with GM’s announcement that it was pulling its Facebook ads, the infographic—a graded comparison of Facebook vs. Google—went viral. In a matter of hours, many of the top news outlets, including USA Today, CNN, Fast Company, The Economist, Fox Business and more, picked it up. Within a week, a Google search yielded more than 13,000 news articles mentioning WordStream, many of them embedding the infographic and linking back to the company’s site.