Social Media + Graphic Design
The widely spoken truth of social media is that even if you post terrific content with wonderful copy and an innovative idea, it’s hard to get through to your market unless you have a beautiful picture to go along with. Humans are visual beings, and most social media platforms have been designed so you see the post first, and then you engage with the accompanying copy.
This is something that frustrates many, especially those people who are just starting their businesses with no graphic design education to support their ambition. In a world where everyone can be a photographer, given the right tools and the right exercise, taking the pictures to the next level with graphic design is a must. It will help your profile distinguish itself from others, especially if you want to make money from your social media efforts and even more so if the platform you use is Instagram.
Instagram is one of the social media applications you can’t hide from or ignore. It’s one of the biggest platforms and hit one billion users this past summer. No matter their interest and no matter their purpose for being online, users are likely to satisfy their search for content on the platform through hashtags, location specific tags and following a community of profiles surrounding their interests. So, even if you are a private person looking for likes or a big business looking to sell its product or create brand awareness, sourcing from graphic design will help you achieve your goals.
Here are some important tips to consider when implementing graphic design into your social media profiles.
1. Make a plan.
The first and most important part of any execution, in any field, is to have a plan! Sure, you can improvise sometimes and certain occasions require you to be flexible, but you should always have in mind the overall idea and the mood your profile is willing to convey. If you are an individual or brand whose content focuses generally on lighter, positive topics, you have to be able to adapt any subject to that type of online personality. Once you have an idea of who you want to be as a person or as a brand online, then it will be easier to create visual content which will feel like it belongs to you. This will help your audience to avoid being confused or feeling like you are not professional and consistent and help solidify your online identity. So, make some bullet points or even create a full business plan style strategy of your brand, and avoid unplanned content – not all things that are funny, pretty or engaging can be adapted, so be careful about choosing your style. This is especially important if you plan to use more than one social media platform; your profiles should still be recognizable as your own across all channels.
2. Focus on color.
When making a plan or a strategy, you need to think thoroughly about the dominating color and visual style of your posts. Each color has its own meaning and its own purpose, it helps set the mood and create an overall atmosphere. There is even an entire psychology behind each color and how it affects the person in touch with it. Be free to think of color in aspects of a genre, just like you would when it comes to music or literary art. What you need to do is to find and stick to a color scheme that best suits your brand. Ask yourself questions like: what mood am I trying to set? What are the current trends? By keeping your color scheme in line, as well as choosing other colors that are complementary, you will create a clearer brand image of your profile. If you already have a website, you’ll probably have an existing color scheme that defines your brand (i.e. Beyond Design’s orange). It’s a good idea to make these colors a running theme throughout your social presence as well.
3. Be modest with text on pictures.
Playing around with typography is one thing, but deciding which words should go on a beautiful picture can really create a problem and should be considered with care. Too much text will create an unnecessary distraction that will make your post appear crowded with information and less appealing to look at. If you do feel like you have something important to say, focus on this in the copy that follows the image – but be concise and to the point even here. Words on an image are generally detracting, but if you must write something, try to focus on a single word or a short sentence like you would with a motivational quote, for example. It’s even better if you can make that word a question or a teaser to entice your audience. Just be sure that such text is absolutely needed and that it improves the image, instead of distracting from it.
Hopefully, this advice from Crunchy Social will help get you started on your journey through graphic design in social media. If you’re having trouble finding the right strategy for your social media, or it’s simply taking too much time away from you while providing your core business offering, get in touch with their experts at http://www.crunchysocial.com for affordable and effective social media management.