9 Social Media Graphic Design Tips That Will Work
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A well-known fact that we humans go enchanted by visuals. Whether we are passing through a billboard, flipping through a book, watching TV, or just surfing the web, we see content everywhere. But in the end, what are those we remember? Do you remember the Ad which popped last time while you were scrolling through your Facebook Newsfeed? The chances are that if you don’t remember, it probably didn’t catch your attention. To make your brand reach a larger audience, all you need to do is create the best content that stands out and is also visually memorable.
Our human brain has almost 30% neurons of the cortex devoted to visual processing, 8% for touch, and just 3% for hearing. Now you will be logically able to imagine to what extent images and visuals appeal to our eyes.
This is exactly the same reason why visuals play an important role in content marketing. If you are keen to make a sale, you are supposed to share. Share what? Some informative yet engaging content! But how? Through visuals! Gone are those days when people used to delve into reading long paragraphs. With reducing attention span and busy life, people prefer to consume content that is visually easy to comprehend. So, if you still haven’t incorporated visuals in your marketing strategy, you are sure to miss a few potential customers and the opportunities that are to follow.
We are in the peak of the social media trend where every company has a social media page. Be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, or even Youtube, the profile picture, cover image, and the background images act as a billboard space for companies to convey their brand. That’s where they would need a designer to come up with some stunning designs.
Your main aim in social media marketing is to have an appropriate design knowledge that helps you come up with visuals that communicate your message effectively as well as make users stop scrolling through and view your content.
For that, let’s dig into some creative graphic design tips for social media that make sure your content in social media is engaging and has elements that have the power to create everlasting impressions.
Find what’s your goal
The first and foremost thing before beginning to create social media content is to have a goal. Having a goal will not only help you figure out a design, but will also tell what you are trying to convey visually. Start by asking these questions to yourself:
- What is the purpose of this post?
- Am I trying to drive sales?
- Do I want it to increase my website traffic?
- Or Am I just trying to increase the engagement on my page?
While answering these questions, keep in mind who you’re target audience are. Research your competitors and also don’t forget these points while targeting your audience:
- Who are they?
- What are the platforms they are active?
- Do they use Desktop or Mobile devices?
- What do I want to convey?
Once you get to know your target audience, you can know your post’s purpose and, in turn, know your goal.
Color
One of the most important aspects of any design is color. It helps to create a mood, an atmosphere, and sometimes can even invoke a memory. With each color having a different meaning and psychology, finding the right color scheme to convey your emotion to the audience will establish consistency.
Your color can elucidate things like what your brand stands for? Is it fun, professional, or trustworthy? You should pick the colors which suit your brand which you can start by choosing 2 or 3 primary colors. Finding a color scheme is a crucial part. Remember the goal you just discovered? Know that will come handy while choosing the colors for your social media content.
Colors is also useful for creating contrast and balance within your social media graphics. Be completely aware of how certain hues and tints can influence someone’s perception. Once you are done choosing your color scheme, make sure to incorporate the same colors throughout your posts. Make sure to note down the hex codes so that you can use the exact same color.
A Bonus tip: Since social media is always displayed on a screen, make sure your color scheme is always set to RGB and not CMYK.
Text
This shouldn’t be confused with typography. Text is a sequence of words, whereas typography is a visual component of the text. As a brand owner, your brand is like your baby. You want to show it off and talk about it to everyone. You might also feel like you have to use every word you can to explain why is it the best. But while creating a social media graphic design, you should stay away from overcrowding an image.
Though words are powerful, too many words on an image can appear busy to your potential audience. The last thing you should do to your audience is to make them feel overwhelmed. Whether you are creating graphics for Instagram or Facebook, try to limit your texts to one or two lines. Another important point is to keep it short and crisp and also make sure it is easy to read. Most of your content might be seen through mobile devices; keep that in mind while choosing your font size. Using a light-colored font with the dark background can do wonders for your design.
Typography
We can call typography art in itself. Selecting a perfect font that gets aligned with the images is the most challenging task. But when it is done right, it can bring your graphics to life. Similar to color palette, even the font you pick should reflect your brand’s personality. Don’t go overboard. You will need a maximum of 2- 3 fonts. More than that will only distract your audience. You want your customers to look at your graphics and say that it’s your company without having seeing logo. It should create a significant impact on your design and the message your brand sends across. So, choose wisely!
Some graphic design tips to keep in mind while choosing fonts:
- Serif fonts are best for print
- Sans-serif is best for web
- Limit to a maximum of 3 fonts
Use Contrast
Negative spacing ( also called white spacing) is an excellent method to make your image stand out. Contrast quickly catches attention and can be applied with font, colors, alignment, size, and much more.
A simple way to contrast images is through using colors. The right balance of colors can bring any social media graphic content to life.
Text is another aspect of contrast. Choose text sizes that contrast well, which in turn will make your graphics pop. Creating a flowing design with white space gives the required room for your elements to breathe.
Another bonus tip!: Use a light-colored background for dark-colored fonts and vice versa.
Visual Identity
So, now that we have covered the basics of social media graphic design, we can move to brand identity and how to incorporate that to elevate your story. On an average, it takes about seven times seeing or hearing about your brand for someone to recognize it. Make sure to include the logo in every post so that people will be able to associate it with your brand.
The important point of creating graphic designs for social media is to tell a story and attract your audience and then direct them to your website. If your graphic design lacks a brand, then it ruins the whole purpose. It doesn’t just stop with creating attractive designs; people must know where it is from.
Have Consistency
A core for building your brand is consistency. If your social media content looks and feels connected, it will offer a clear understanding of your message to your audience. However, if it is vague, it would only confuse them.
Make sure all the content you post is consistent with your brand. Posting in the same style might be taxing at times but establishing a strong brand identity through that will make it worth it. While having consistency in mind, make sure your designs are cohesive across all the platforms. An easy way to maintain consistency is taking the time to create templates for quick quotes, promotions, sales, and announcements. This will make the work easy for you and your team.
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Know your platform
Remember, each platform is different.
Knowing beforehand on what works the best for each platform will help you visually and make your job easier in the long run. Here is a list of four important social media platforms with its image specifications and tips, which might help you.
For the older generation
Makes excellent use of articles and promotions
Sizing: 852 x 315 for cover image; 180 x 180 for profile picture; 1,200 x 630 for regular shared post
For the millennials
Daily lifestyle shots work the best as the platform is specially designed for images.
Sizing: 1080 x 1080 for post; 1080 x 1920 for stories; 1080 x 1350 for portrait; 1080 x 566 for landscape; 110 x 110 pixels for profile picture.
Great for engagement
Great to collaborate with celebrities
Sizing: 1500 x 500 for header photo; 400 x 400 for profile picture; 900 x 512 for post
Great for business.
Great for networking
1584 x 396 for banner image, 400 x 400 for company profile picture
Now that you know what works the best on each platform, you have to resize each piece of your content to fit it in each platform’s dimensions.
Keep it creative yet simple
Believe it or not, creativity exists in everyone. Being creative not only lets you tie your brand and audience together but will also make your company stand out from the crowd.
Come up with variety when posting for social media content. Here are a few choices to get your inspiration rolling:
- Quotes in unique font and shape
- Infographics/ Charts
- Behind the scenes
- Themed days (Motivation Monday, Throwback Thursday, etc.)
- Reposts
- Mesmerizing Photos
Only when your social media page is appealing, it is most likely to be shared which will ultimately increase the engagement rate. So you might exercise this creative freedom while remaining simple too. Being simple is the best choice with all the trends and graphics. The most agreed-upon social media strategy is to stay simple. When viewing content through small screens such as mobile phones, there are high chances for overcrowding to happen. By reducing clutter, your’re more likely to take your message across.
Now that you have learned the essential tips for making amazing graphic designs for your social media, start right away! and create yours. It’s a vast platform, and there are chances for you to deviate from your purpose. Stick to it and spread the message of your brand through your visuals. It should conveniently convey your message without having to speak. If it happens, that’s when you need to pat yourself! Because it means you have aced social media graphic designing.
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