(Updated: July 9, 2020)
I am a visual learner.
I am one of the 65 percent of the population that learns – better or quicker that way.
We are visual then; we are still visual now.
Some human or humans (Homo sapiens) used a red-ochre crayon to draw a hashtag-like design on a rock flake in what is now South Africa about 73,000 years ago, said the researchers who analyzed the doodle.
livescience
That said, there is no doubt in my mind that in the digital world, people are drawn naturally to graphics.
Importance of social media graphics according to science
According to Psychology Today:
Based upon research outcomes, the effective use of visuals can decrease learning time, improve comprehension, enhance retrieval, and increase retention.
Visual content reigns supreme in the world of social media.
Past and recent studies confirm that.
Let me cite some recent data for you.
In a 2018 study by Social Media Examiner, they asked 5,700 marketers to identify the content they use in their social media marketing.
A whooping 80% use visual content in marketing their business in social media.
They also asked the marketers to single out the most important form of content for their marketing from these choices: visual images, blogging, videos, live video and podcasting. Again, they picked visual images.
A 2017 data stated that 93% of the senior marketers say photography is critical to their overall marketing strategies.
Yes. Photos. Visuals. Graphics.
These are essential elements to your company’s social media marketing communication kit.
Neuroscience says that our brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text.
Read that again–sixty thousand times faster than plain text. Also, 90% of information transmitted to our brain are visual. (Source)
Okay, let’s go to the social media platforms.
See these glaring statistics:
Twitter: Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images.
Facebook: Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images.
Instagram: There are over 500 million Instagram users active every day
Overall: Social media images are over 40 times more likely to get shared than other types of content.
Now, the next question is: How will you get your brand to stand out from among thousands of other brands vying for a viewer’s attention, which is, by the way, getting shorter.
Here’s a fact: You do not only have to do it right, you have to, also, do it fast, too!
Studies have it that, “Facebook users spend an average of 1.7 seconds with any piece of mobile content on the platform, compared to 2.5 seconds on the desktop.”
So, how will your visual posts stand out, attract the immediate attention of your viewers, and get them to engage? Learn, learn, learn.
Learn how to create competitive visual designs that will drive positive marketing results.
Again, there is no harm in gleaning from the best practices of social media marketers out there who know what they are doing.
Social media graphics tips for the non-graphic designer
Here are some of the best practices that social media graphic designers follow.
Your message should be clear and readable.
In the US, the average person spends 2.5 hours a day on social media using a mobile screen. In fact, I am editing this article using a mobile device.
Make the texts in your visual plain and large enough to read. Learn how to balance the colors that make it easy on the eyes. Clashing colors hurt the eyes.
Emote using colors.
Hence, choose your colors wisely.
The red and yellow shades; they stimulate and energize. Green symbolizes freshness and safety, while those in the blue spectrum connotes calm and trustworthiness.
Design your social media graphics according to the feelings you want to invoke from your viewers.
Learn the right color groupings that create balance and harmony.
Position the headings and sub titles accordingly.
Provide an order using elements such as color, font size and positioning that will help your skimming viewers comprehend information quickly and accurately. Do keep in mind that everyone reads top to down, and most cultures read from left to right.
Don’t go too crazy with pretty fonts!
Less text variations, the better.
A font represents your tone of voice. Click To TweetYou could use an italic font to emphasize a thought; while a whimsical font may appear fun and less serious. Other fonts are neutral.
Learn how to express with your chosen typeface and which combination works best together.
Again, the simpler, the better!
Also, your font should resonate with the photo you use and vice versa.
The white space is your friend
Don’t fill up a space because there is space. Let your texts – and your message, breathe.
Avoid cluttering up your social media graphics with texts and other design elements.
Grabbing your viewers’ attention is not the end of the process.
Your message is important!
Offer value to your viewers that would motivate them to share your social media visual content. (Yes, it’s really not about you!)
According to the New York Times Customer Insight Group, these are the underlying motivations why people share:
- To bring valuable, enlightening and entertaining content into the lives of people they care about.
- To define themselves.
- To grow and nourish their relationships.
- Self-fulfillment.
- To get the word out about causes they believe in.
So if you want others to share your content, help them by keeping the above in mind.
Alright! So these tips are the basic social media graphics tips.
It is about having an excellent design and adding relevance in your images–that is, if you prefer to create social media graphics from scratch yourself.
But learning is one thing, and having the gift to create eye-catching images is another.
Besides that, learning takes time, and for many companies time is money!
The solution? Well, some would go for hiring companies that offer done for you social media graphics, but for others there is another way.
Social Media Graphics Ready Made Templates–to the rescue!
Thankfully, there is a veritable cornucopia of ready-made social media graphic tools and templates that you can find online.
These visual content tools and apps can simplify your life as a social media content marketer.
Some of these visual tools are free, and some are not.
- GetStencil. I have been a GetStencil user since they began a couple of years ago. They are getting better and better.
- Pre-MadeTemplates by Design Wizard
- Canva
- Adobe Spark
- Bannersnack
- Desynger
- Snappa
- Pablo By Buffer
- Wordswag
- Google Drawing, image below
It’s a Wrap!
So now, you have the tools for your ready-made visual content templates…what’s next?
In the meantime, just holler if you need help with your visual contents. We are (always) ready to help at ask[at]socialsuccessmarketing.com or contact Your Social Success Marketing team here.
Exciting News: we just started selling pre-made social media graphics and the first set we created is for realtors. There will be more of these visual social media posts come for other industries!
