5 Simple Tips for Creating Stunning Social Media Graphics
As the old adage says, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Who said the adage first, anyway? Whether it was Confucius, the Syracuse Advertising Men’s Club, or another wise mind doesn’t really matter.
The point is clear — images are powerful and often stick in memory longer than words alone.
Thus, it’s essential you make the images you use impactful. Using captivating images brings you more web traffic, more conversions, and more success online.
Here are 5 simple tips for creating stunning social media graphics to boost your presence on the web.
1. Create Social Media Graphics With Purpose
What thousand words are you trying to say with your images?
Before creating any graphics, think about what the purpose of them will be. Will the image stand alone, like an infographic, or will there be a caption or a blog?
Keep your intentions at the forefront as you’re creating marketing and advertising materials. This will keep you from looking scattered and random on social media.
Images should be relevant to the message you’re communicating and to the branding of your business.
Bringing us to the next critical point: branding.
2. Stick With Your Brand
Regardless of your target market, you should have a consistent look and feel to your content.
Create a theme or two based on the mission of your business. Do you want to come off clean and professional, youthful and fun, or innovative and chic?
Whatever you choose, stick with it. Create consistent graphics to match your brand. The best way to do this is through subtle repetition of fonts, language, and colors.
Color specifically is a huge factor, as it can increase brand recognition by up to 80%.
3. Get a Feel for Aesthetics
Aesthetics is “dealing with the beautiful”.
Aesthetics plays on the thematic elements listed in the last paragraph. To get an idea of what your target market finds aesthetically pleasing, check out what’s popular on the social media platform you’re marketing in.
For instance, look at trending posts on Facebook or look up competitors in your industry on Instagram.
Pay attention to balance, lines, fonts, contrast, and white space. You want to create graphics that are easy to look at and easy to understand. Don’t be afraid to use some white space (empty space) in your graphics rather than filling in the graphic to the borders.
4. Keep it Simple
More isn’t better in terms of stunning graphics. You don’t want to create an image with so much going on that it feels like a Where’s Waldo scene.
Stick to a couple of fonts and a couple of contrasting colors. This ideal goes well with keeping brand consistency, too.
If you think from the user’s perspective, simplicity is much more appealing. They are scrolling on whatever platform you’re marketing on, seeing hundreds of posts in one given sitting. Creating simple graphics makes it easier to cut through the clutter and communicate with these overloaded consumers.
5. Create Graphics Simply
Finally, the key to creating simple, stunning graphics is to make it simple for yourself. Use programs like Adobe Spark Social Media Graphic Maker to choose the correct size, design with ease, and upload directly from the application.
Finding what works in your target market is a process of trial and error. Save time and effort by streamlining the process by using efficient programs.
Keep Checking Results
No matter how you go about creating social media graphics, you should understand that there’s no secret formula to success. The landscape of the Internet changes constantly, meaning what works today might not work tomorrow.
Keep tabs on the feedback your graphics get to determine what works for your business. Don’t be afraid to try new things.
In the meantime, check out other social media tips on our blog.
