DesignHill is a marketplace for creatives. From highly interactive design contests to all-inclusive, end-to-end design gigs to artificial intelligent design tools, Designhill has fulfilled the design needs of more than 100.000 businesses. They have aboard 150.000+ world-class designers that have created so far 5M+ designs. In short: they know the drill! This is why we’re so excited to have them as guests in our “Learn from” series! It’s time to find out how to design for social media. Let’s roll!
With over 4.20 billion users worldwide, social media platforms have immense potential for businesses. It does not just help you stay connected with new/existing customers but also lets you achieve success.
Each social media platform such as — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, and more — is usually visual-based. Hence, design plays a vital role in unleashing its potential. Even marketing experts highlight that social media posts have to be appealing to get your message across.
Remember, you only have a few seconds to captivate your target audience. Once you succeed in that, there is no looking back. But when you fail, you’ll be lost in oblivion.
So, to help you out, we have created a list of designing tips and tricks for social media. Let’s check it out.
Mind the dimensions
There are no shortcuts to succeed on social platforms. All it needs is perseverance. Be sure to post your visual content regularly on each social media platform. Visual content garners more engagement than plain links or text. Social media platforms have been the most used and effective channels to grow business and brand building!
For your visual to surpass your competitor, consider the different dimension needs. Each platform has a pre-specified dimension needs for posts. Consider the dimensions used for Instagram frames and posts, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., and optimize your visual content accordingly.
Consider this Hootsuite resource for your reference.
Be creative with color
Color is yet another important element for appealing social media designs. Colors help create the atmosphere, set the mood, convey emotions, and evoke intense experiences.
Researchers found that customers’ 90% of snap judgment regarding products is based on color in a study.
Instead of aligning with any typical color, make posts to portray your brand’s personality through the use of colors.
Choose colors that take your audience through a story. For this, you need to understand the principles of color theory. Every color has a specific meaning, and that’s the best way to start. Let’s take a look at different colors and the notions associated with them.
Blue = Trust & security
Black = Powerful & sleek
Red = Energy & urgency
Green = Wealth & relaxation
Orange = Aggressive
Pink = Romantic & feminine
Yellow = Optimistic & youthful
Purple = Soothing & calm
Combine two colors to create a visually appealing contrast to stay away from color bleeding. But make sure the contrast shouldn’t be strong, or it may create a visual shuddering.
And you do not need exquisite design tools to be able to create something creative. Just take a look at this visual from Audible.
Go for the right typography
Typography isn’t just an arrangement of words but an art. Choosing the right font combinations that work seamlessly can breathe life into your social media image. It also plays a pivotal role in how people take your design plus getting your brand message across.
When you choose a font or font combinations, keep the readability element in mind. Be it a sans-serif font or serif or any combination in between; it should be readable for your audience. If your audience can’t understand or read what’s written, they will not build a strong connection with your brand.
Follow these pro-tips for the correct font use:
- Use kerning in your titles
- Use a maximum of three typefaces in your design
- Follow the rule of thumb — sans-serif for web and serif for print
- Select the font size that fits well in the image or medium you’re publishing to
Shift viewers’ focus at the right place with lines
Lines are one of the essential visual elements. They let you shift your audience’s focus to the right place. Curved lines provide the image prearranged movement, while straight lines give the image a tidy look. Lines let you visually communicate to your audience.
You can use lines to connect, organize, and separate design elements and information.
Pay close attention to hierarchy.
Declassifications or disorganizations lead to a chaotic social media design. You may be working with many elements in a single image. Connecting a component to another in a hierarchical manner ensures your message gets across based on priority.
Leveraging the hierarchical design value starts with a thorough knowledge of your goals. Once you’re clear about what exactly you want from your social media design, it becomes easier to place elements hierarchically.
Take a consistent approach
No matter how impressive your social media design is, if it doesn’t have consistency in themes, fonts, colors, etc., people won’t remember your brand.
Whenever you see the social media posts of brands like CocaCola, Nike, and Adidas, you will find consistency in all their posts. They all practice posting their logo, follow a consistent color pattern, style, and theme. We don’t say that there shouldn’t be any variation in your social media content but make it in such a way that people should be able to connect with your specific visual approach.
Each post has to be parallel enough for brand recognition. You can use templates for a certain level of consistency.
Social media design tools
These social media tips and tricks may sound basic but are essential for creating engaging graphics. Now, let’s see what tools you can use for social media post designing.
Designhill Studio
Designhill Studio is a newly launched platform that allows people to create social media posts for free. It comes pre-loaded with templates that you can customize according to your needs. Be it a cover image, profile pic, or regular posts for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., you can use this tool to create impressive graphics.
Its best features include:
- Works great for both designers and non-designers
- Clean, simple, and user-friendly interface
- Extensive template library with icons, text, and elements
- Upload your designs/artworks
- Download graphics in JPG, PNG, or PDF format
Canva
When it comes to image design, Canva is a well-established name. It brings hundreds of templates, images, and illustrations in just one click. It has both paid and free templates that you can use as per your convenience.
Best features:
- Clean, simple, and user-friendly interface
- Extensive template library
- Upload your designs/artworks
- Choose dimensions or enter custom dimensions
- Download graphics in JPG, PNG, or PDF format
Snappa
Snappa is a great tool for non-designers. From banners to ads, it lets you create varieties of posts for your social channels. With a simple interface, it makes social media post design super simple.
Best features:
- Decent library of templates
- Simple and clean user-interface
- Easy-to-use editor
- Add graphics, text, and effects in a snap
- Schedule/share your graphics
Besides, there are many other tools such as Pablo by Buffer, Adobe Spark, Photovisi, Infogr.am, Aviary, and more. You can use any of these tools to make great graphics for your social channels.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the best social media posts that left people with no other choice but liking, sharing, and even talking about them.
- Coronavirus/Covid-19 response by WHO
The outburst of COVID-19 changed social media feeds drastically. Social-savvy organizations and brands modified their content marketing campaigns in a crisis like this. Unfortunately, many accounts spread rumors, whether intentionally or unknowingly.
WHO worked immediately in Feb 2020 the previous year and called it a “massive infodemic.” It stated that this overabundance of information includes both accurate and inaccurate info. It makes it really hard for others to find the correct info, reliable guidance, and trustworthy sources.
The organization took the responsibility to improve the quality and reliability of the information. This
It is one of their steps to inform people. It tells people about mask safety. The Do’s and Don’ts while wearing a mask to generate awareness. It got a massive response from people you can analyze through their likes, comments, and post-sharing.
- The “Wanna talk about it?”s campaign from Netflix
Netflix, through its campaign, found an innovative way to engage and help its audience during the corona pandemic.
As we stated earlier, social media marketing shifted from standard tactics to pandemic-proof strategies. The whole world halted for a few months, and people were in the tremendous shock of their lives due to this global pandemic.
Netflix leveraged social media to help and connect with its audience in a meaningful way.
They started the Instagram Live series to help people get connected with mental health professionals. They’re encouraged to ask questions as well as share their problems. Such an innovative way to connect with customers on a personal level is beneficial for any brand. It’s also a great strategy to nurture customer loyalty while being helpful.
The pandemic situation is a challenging phase for everyone. Start meaningful conversations with your audience and strengthen your relationships.
- National Geographic
The visual storytelling of National Geographic is truly unmatched. They let people experience the planet and cultures through a unique, natural view. Their photographers have creative control, which makes their content authentic and unforgettable.
Each post that National Geographic publishes on social media has the purpose of educating its audience about global warming and other issues. For this, they have partnered with many prominent brands to amplify their reach. They partnered with Stella Artois to launch their ‘The Moment’ series in 2018 for World Water Day. They posted related content that garnered 2.7 million engagements in a day.
Conclusion
The power of social media is not hidden. It’s also not a rocket-science to attract, engage, and influence people.
The suitable designs, tools, and strategies will let you win in the long run.
Henny Kel
Henny Kel is a graphic, web designer, and blogger at Designhill with over 7 years of experience. He is very passionate about anything related to design and spends copious amounts of time hidden behind a book or a screen and reading about design.
