Gone are the days when simply producing text-based content is enough, but this isn’t a new fad.
The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” was coined in 1921 by an advertising executive, to explain how images convey meaning better than words, and it’s still relevant to this day.
Psychologists also confirm that people recognise and remember pictures more quickly than written text or spoken words, a response known as the Picture Superiority Effect.
There has never been a time that this rings more true, as people now look to social media as a source of information and entertainment, which is dependent on highly visual content, visit copywriting services for more strategy. Creating social media graphics can greatly support your business in increasing brand awareness and visibility.
A good balance of textual content and visual content such as infographics, images and videos will help your brand stand out and most importantly increase the likelihood of converting leads into sales.
5 ways to create engaging social media graphics for your business
Before jumping into what type of social media graphics to use, it’s expected that you already have a solid understanding of your business: goals, product, target market, buyer persona and competitors.
This should have all been ironed out in your content strategy. Knowing all this will allow you to implement your marketing strategy and make knowing what graphics to use easier.
1. Establish your brand identity and personality
If your brand were a person what unique characteristics and traits would it have? Would it come across as friendly and approachable or professional and direct? Just as we have a personality, so too does your brand.
Your brand should develop a personality that is similar to your buyer’s persona. This helps to create an emotional association that positively resonates with your target customer. As humans are attracted to certain types of people depending on their personalities, the same goes for customers and brands they like.
Having a clear brand identity and personality can give a business a unique voice on social media, one that its target audience will be interested in interacting with. A brand personality can allow businesses to identify the type of content to create so that it aligns with their goals and values.
Starbucks is a prime example of a business with a strong brand personality on social media that connects millions of followers globally. The winning strategy for Starbucks’ global presence has been localisation.
It adapts to the tastes, aesthetics, design and even architecture of its local surroundings For example, in Saudi Arabia the Starbucks logo of a topless mermaid was viewed as indecent, so it was changed to a crown with waves opting to forego the mermaid.
2. Develop a cohesive brand aesthetic
A brand aesthetic refers to your brand’s overall look and feel as well as how your brand communicates to your audience. A strong brand aesthetic will allow you to create a consistent design for your social media graphics.
Aesthetics isn’t just about creativity, it has very practical importance since it has the power to drive sales and increase brand awareness. According to the Journal of Business Strategies, over 70% of buying decisions are made from a product’s packaging. Also, over 40% of consumers say that branded packaging makes them more likely to share the product on social media.
Chad Farmer from the Branding Mag article, believes that to evaluate whether a brand has a strong aesthetic, it needs to pass the ‘no logo’ test. This is when consistency is maintained across all design features including graphics, fonts, colours and the brand is still unmistakably distinguished. Everything that you publish and post across all your platforms must adhere to your brand aesthetics including your website, videos, images, blogs and captions.
Having a cluttered brand design or aesthetic can make social media graphics difficult to understand or enjoy. There needs to be a balance in using specific colours and fonts so that the graphics can ‘breathe’ and make it easy for the viewer to look at.
3. Simplify the message
People are habitually looking at their social media feeds in the free moments of their day. Since these in-between moments are brief, you want your message to come across loud and clear so the viewer understands it from one look.
Social media graphics are an example of ‘snackable content’ which is simple, short content to be shared on social media. Its objective is to instantly capture the audience’s attention and provide value, either in educating or entertaining the viewer.
It condenses your key message and entices the viewer to refer to your long-form content such as blogs or extended videos which require more focus.
Examples of snackable content include Instagram reels, video teasers, infographics and memes. Once you have your viewer hooked, they’re more likely to remember your business, browse through your products and become a customer.
Attempting to create multiple messages for a single piece of visual content can come across as confusing and vague. And too much information could cause viewers to lose interest or prevent them from understanding your key message.
4. Find inspiration from current trends and new content
When posting on social media, the content you share must be fun, exciting and attention-grabbing. You or your social media manager need to be updated on the latest trends not only within your industry but also with what’s trending on social media platforms.
Investigate what your target audience is interested in seeing in your industry and also check social media platforms to see what sound bites, formats, memes or videos are trending.
No doubt, people are familiar with the popular sound effect “oh no oh no”, a song by Capone that has been sampled in many videos. This music instantly triggers your expectation that something entertaining or unfortunate is about to happen, which compels you to watch until the end.
Our social media designer will often check what their favourite brands are posting and review the content that is trending and performing the best. Meanwhile, our multimedia designer looks to the works of vintage illustrations, particularly past magazine covers as these illustrators challenged designers to maximise layout and colours without the use of digital tools.
These are just some ways to inspire you, but you really can gain inspiration from many different sources, other relevant examples include using online forums, pop culture, checking other people’s social media content.
You may want to post something that is completely original or something that you feel passionately about, which can really cut through to your audience. Just avoid repetitive and boring posts that viewers will simply scroll through.
5. Humanise your content
People are looking for content that they can connect with. This is achieved by human interaction and a two-way conversation that prompts your audience to engage with posts.
Viewers want to see a face to a brand and this makes a much bigger impact than words. Connect with your audience by showing off your personality and raise your profile to become more recognised in the industry.
You can include yourself in your brand content by documenting your day and sharing fun snippets of what you do. Include not just what you do, but also what your team does. Footage of work life but also fun events, such as birthdays or team bonding sessions, humanises your business and can really spark a connection.
It encourages your audience to better relate to your brand because there are people just like themselves that represent it. According to Forbes Agency Council, some of the best ways to humanise your brand on social media include being consistently unique, authentic and true to your beliefs and telling a story.
Although you are marketing yourself and your brand, you need to avoid third-party language and sterile marketing techniques that are all about the product. Now, it’s all about the people and making a connection.
You can have some fun stylising your social media graphics. Short, snappy, snackable content is what people want on social media, so stop them from scrolling past your brand with graphics that get your brand noticed. Contact us and we will help you create impactful social media graphics.
