5 Quick Hacks To Radically Improve Your Social Media Design
Think social media design isn’t important? The numbers are in & social media is all about visual presentation, so up your game with these quick hacks.
Social media has managed to take over the lives of the masses. Currently, according to Internet Live Stats, there are over 4.5 billion internet users in the world. And a whopping 40 percent of it is on social media!
This makes social media platforms, whether it be Instagram or Facebook, a lucrative channel for all types of businesses. After all, in no other platform can you find such a staggering amount of your target audience.
This might explain why, as per Brandwatch, more than 38 percent of organizations spend over 20 percent of the marketing budget on social media marketing.
However, merely posting ads on social media won’t seal the deal. To grab the attention, you must make efforts to improve your social media design.
Why?
This is because there is a lot of competition online. Think about it. Every minute, 293,000 statuses and 136,000 photos are uploaded on Facebook, 350,000 tweets are sent out via Twitter.
With every passing day, the attention span of the masses is decreasing. When you add it to the sheer number of content posted online, it can become increasingly hard for your brand to grab the attention of the target audience.
Here are ways you can improve your social media design and hence boost your online presence.
1. Treat your cover photo as a billboard
First impressions matter a lot for brands. The bad news is humans form firm impressions almost instantaneously. A study was conducted by the Missouri University of Science and Technology to gauge the relationship. It discovered that visitors form opinions about a given page in 2.6 seconds.
When it comes to a business’s social media profile, you must ensure that your visitor forms the right impression of your brand from the get-go. A great hack to do this is by treating your cover photo as a billboard.
Whether it be Twitter, Google+, or Facebook, various social media platforms require you to set up a cover. And you can leverage this tool.
Design a billboard that best represents your brand. Make it attention-grabbing yet meaningful. Use it as a canvas to tell your brand story. Give the incentive to ensure that they browse your entire profile. For instance, you can use your cover to relay information about any new product or discount you are offering.
As per Forbes, consistency in brand communications is essential.
Brand consistency in all platforms can help boost revenue by 23 percent. So, when you are designing your cover, keep its style and tone consistent.
A great example of this is Target, which uses the same cheerful and vibrant style of photography in each of its social media platforms. You are bound to find their red and white palette in all designs.
2. Invest smartly
Handling a social media account isn’t easy. But, if you are a small business with limited resources, you will find it even harder to manage.
This is because to ensure maximum reach and engagement on the different social media platforms; you must invest in boosting different content. Gone are the days when brands could gain the required reach organically.
While handling different platforms might seem like an ordeal, you shouldn’t prioritize spending money on it. Instead, use a free Hootsuite alternative and use the money on boosting content and running ads instead. This will allow you to gain a considerable following, which in turn will boost your brand awareness.
3. Keep it simple
Regardless of whether you are talking about visuals or an entire social media page, one design rule remains valid- keep it simple. This tip can go a long way in ensuring brand recognition.
Why is it important to keep it simple? Well, social media users scroll away on their screens.
In other words, they consume content very rapidly. If you were to create a complex post, it wouldn’t grab their attention, nor will it mean anything to them.
To improve your online presence, create simple visual content. Break down information into a series of posts rather than bombarding your customers with information via a single one. Brands like Estee Lauder and Nike have mastered this.
This is also where your social media marketing campaign will come in handy. Rather than treating each social media post in isolation, create campaigns. This will make it easy for you to break information into pieces without seeming incoherent.
4. Include a call to action
Improving social media design doesn’t just mean improving its aesthetic. It also means improving its functionality. This is where Call-to-Action comes in. You must always include a call-to-action in your social media designs.
What is a call to action?
It refers to a piece of text that helps entice the audience to complete the purchase process. Phrases like “Buy now,” “Find out more,” and “Download now” are considered to be Call to actions.
Include a quality call to action in your social media design.
Make it engaging.
Use images and words that best appeal to the emotions of your consumer. This can include nostalgia, happiness, or humor.
5. Always integrate brand color
How do you ensure that consumers who are already aware of your business are able to connect your social media communications with your brand? You do so by integrating your brand colors into your social media design.
Your brand colors are a vital part of your visual identity. By incorporating them in your designs, you can ensure brand recognition and hence positive brand associations. However, to make sure that the right associations are made, you must first select the right set of colors to represent your brand.
It doesn’t matter which sector you operate in. The chances are that you have a logo. Based on your logo, come up with a color palette to include in all designs.
Ending Remarks
Use these five quick hacks to improve your social media design. Help ensure that the right impression is formed among consumers. With these tricks up your sleeve, you are ready to watch your brand grow and gain a significant market share.
Are there any other hacks you think can help improve social media design?
Let us know!
