Focus On Graphic Design That Will Fit Your Social Media Strategy

Social media is the easiest way to reach your audience – if you know how to appeal to them, that is. The specific focus on social media marketing over the past few years isn’t surprising. After all, statistics tell us that daily active social media users have reached 3.5 billion in 2019, as reported by Oberlo. That’s 45% of the entire population! With all the noise online, however, it’s vital to use an approach that instantly catches attention: graphic design social media marketing.

Whether you’re using Facebook, Instagram, or other social networking sites, making the most out of creative images is essential. In fact, according to BioMed Central, people are naturally drawn to pictures because our minds process it at a blinding speed. With this info, it’s safe to assume that using sharp images can be more productive and time-efficient than other forms of communication. People interested in this subject would love to hear more detailed information about it. It will be a great topic to discuss in the podcast. Have a spotify account and want more visibility? The easiest way is to buy spotify plays.

If you’re looking to hire a graphic designer to optimize your use of social media tools, check out Penji. Offering unlimited design at a fixed monthly rate, you can move your business forward and create a stronger branding, or if you were hiring an SEO agency and confused about selecting from the SEO packages to see what works best for you, the best way to clear the confusion is to schedule a demo call before hiring and talk with them in numbers, and the results.

1. Social Media Images

A social media strategy can include countless platforms including, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. We’ve only named a few but with each social platform comes a new set of rules. Let’s start with Facebook Covers. They actually have two sets of parameters. For a desktop, the dimensions are 820 pixels wide by 462 pixels tall. If the image is being displayed on a smartphone, the best image size is 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall. With two options and no control over how your cover image will be viewed, how do you decide which image size to pick and how do you even create an image that size?

Twitter has very similar “if, then” parameters on its social platform. Profile images are displayed at 200 pixels wide X 200 pixels tall while headers are 1,500 pixels wide X 500 pixels tall, and we haven’t even talked about images you want to post within your Twitter feed.

Then there’s Instagram, Instagram is virtual art. If you peruse some of the finer Instagram feeds like National Geographic (@natgeo) or Sharpie (@sharpie), you’ll notice a certain cohesive aesthetic. Instagram is a branding platform that makes it perfect for your business, but they display their images using a 1080 x 1080 pixel dimension.

2. Blog Thumbnails

Have you ever shared a blog post to Facebook but the image that accompanied it was some random image from your website that was not related to the topic of your blog post at all? Because Facebook is looking for very specific dimensions, they will pull the first image that fits those requirements and add it to your post whether it is related or not. Fix this issue by including several potential blog thumbnails in your social media strategy for Facebook.

3. Infographics

Infographics are a great way to share information in a colorful, easy to understand way. Since social media is visually driven, a colorful infographic explaining your services or products is a killer way to extend the life of your post and get more eyes on your content. Using infographics in your social media strategy gives your audience an easy way to consume information.

4. Pinterest

Ah, Pinterest. If you’re not familiar with this platform, you’ll want to get acquainted. Pinterest is a phenomenal tool that can be used to drive traffic to your website. According to Sprout Social, “90% of Pinterest pages are external links”. That means countless opportunities to get viewers to go to your website! From the outside looking in, Pinterest appears to be a virtual pinboard and nothing more. However, it is quickly turning into a very promising avenue for driving traffic to your company’s website. There’s a catch, of course. They too, have very specific image sizes and actually give priority, in their feeds, to those that are sized appropriately.

5. Social Media Branding

You’ve spent a great deal of time and resources on establishing your business’ brand. Your brand colors, logos and fonts extend from your website to your letterhead. It’s in your email footer and on your business cards. With so much work put into consistent branding, wouldn’t you like to have your social media branded as well? You’ll recall that a post lasts less than a day. With the demand for ongoing content creation, it can become exhausting to keep up. It takes a great deal of work to continually provide brand-consistent images.

6. Use Illustrations

Unique and original illustrations, like vector images, greatly help in creating a social media post that stands out. People will want to share posts that they think are beautiful or awesome. When you include amazing illustrations on your post, it’s likely that people will share them and get more engagement for your brand like youtube to mp3.

For this, you’ll need the services of a graphic design company that can create customized illustrations for you. You can use the images however you want without worrying about copyright issues. In addition, they will grab attention more than just a post that only has texts in it.

7. Create Brand Recognition

For your social media strategy to be as effective as possible, you need to create brand recognition. All your colors, images, even typography has to have harmony. This means using the same graphic design all over your social media platforms. One look at that image will clearly tell your audience that it’s yours. 

Being consistent is important in making your target market remember and recognize your brand. This can be hard to do, but with the help of a dedicated graphic design team, you can be sure that all your graphic design needs have that one look that’s uniquely yours.

8. Facebook and Instagram Stories

Instagram and its mother company, Facebook, launched their stories feature following Snapchat’s surge in popularity a few years ago. It has become a useful tool for businesses as it allows for more spontaneity and candidness compared to feed posts. 

Whether you’re an agency, a startup, a merch business, or anywhere else in between, be sure to take advantage of FB and IG stories. The feature offers emojis and GIFs you can use to breathe more life into your posts. For businesses, however, it’s essential to break from the mold. Instead of posting stories similar to what others are doing, include expertly-designed images in your regular posts. Doing so will make you seem more professional and reliable. And at the end of the year you can highlight your most 'liked' post by using a photo collage maker and posting it on your story

For example, when Magnolia Bakery launched their Black and White Cookie to commemorate Seinfeld’s debut anniversary, they posted a well-designed graphic on their IG story instead of a simple smartphone photo.

9. Promotional Posters

Typically, a quick post on Facebook or Twitter can be enough to announce info to your audience. However, you should never do this if you’re launching a crucial event. For special announcements that need your audience’s attention, create promo posters that properly express the message.

Is it required to have it designed by a professional? It is if you want to boost your social marketing strategy and rake in sales and support. A professionally-made poster uses the right design elements to direct viewers to the essential info. It should also catch their attention and arouse their interest. 

10. Cover Photos

facebook cover image example

Many brands use their logo as a profile photo on their Facebook Business page, and that’s alright. However, the cover photo is a different story. It’s a chance for you to reiterate your brand identity and set the vibe for page visitors. Thus, a generic image won’t cut. Look at Target’s cover photo, for example. It uses the same design elements as the logo on the profile photo, but it paints the brand as energetic and dynamic.

It’s Easier Than You Think With Penji

Printer

It would be so much easier if every social platform had the same image requirements but, alas, it doesn’t. Wouldn’t it be nice if the images you’ve painstakingly designed lasted more than a day? But they don’t. That’s why we’re here to help. We can create Facebook Covers and posts that look great no matter what device is being used to view your page. We can help with your Instagram aesthetic and make sure those Tweets get retweeted. We’ve got you covered for Infographics and pins for Pinterest. With Penji, we can provide unlimited images that maintain the branding of your company. We’ve already designed well over 1,000 images to date! Get back to working on your business and let us cover the images for your social media platforms!