Scrolling through your social media news feed is sometimes like a slippery slope – everything is a blur and you never know where you’ll end up.
In this day of information overload, we, the information receptacles, thirst to know more, do more and connect more – yet most of us end up swimming in a pool of data that is impossible to weed out.
All brands have always needed to stand out from the competition but in 2020, brands’ efforts, especially on the social media front, need to surpass even themselves. What’s the next viral challenge? What’s going on in the social sphere that you can turn around and use for your marketing? When everyone, including your competition, is on social media, how do you get your audience to engage with you?
Visuals are critical at this juncture. And beyond photographs, there are graphics, video content, animations, quotes, links, data visualisations, infographics might do an even better job at sending our message across.
Here are some design tips for social media creatives that will stop scrolling in its tracks:
- You have one goal
A clear objective will lead you to knowing what designs work best. Before you even open your Adobe Design, Photoshop, or the design software of choice, think of these:
- What is purpose of this creative?
- Who is my target audience?
- What channels do my target audience use? (They are not the same)
- What emotional response do I want to evoke from the audience?
Once you are crystal clear on your objectives, the entire process should serve the purpose of fulfilling this goal.
- Colour Your Creatives, Wisely
We all know that colour is one of the key visual elements and can change an advertisement or product drastically. When customers are bombarded by a myriad of visuals, how do you ensure that your social media creative stands out?
Use colours to create contrast – this makes the visual eye-catching and attention grabbing. Use it wrongly and it will backfire – instead of engaging with the post, customers will shut it, and your brand, off completely. Find a colour scheme that conveys the emotion that you want your audience to associate with.
- Consistent Branding will be Rewarded
It takes an average of seven times to see your brand for someone to recognise it. To compound the marketing effect, incorporate your branding into your social media creatives.
Design a brand template and use it across your social media channels, discerningly. Repeat brand elements such as logo, font, colours, style to drive home a consistent brand message so that your audience will internalise it. This leads to brand recognition. For brand engagement, always ensure that you consistently put out useful content that will be liked and shared.
- Clear Typography
Text is still important in social media creatives – it now becomes part of the visual. Select a font that aligns with the mood and tone of the artwork. Most importantly, it’s about the readability.
- Do not overuse typefaces – limit to three typefaces only
- Ensure the size of the font fits the image and medium well – does it take attention away from the other elements, or is not enough attention placed on the text?
- The call to action is one of the most important elements – make sure people can identify it in one glance
And always, always, keep it simple.
