Creating Simple Informative Social Media Graphics Will Increase Your Click-through rate.
Social media graphics are an opportunity to summarize your blog content easily. The old cliché “A picture is worth a thousand words” applies to images in social media graphics as well. Many small businesses are using Social Media Marketing as part of their marketing strategy. Content marketing is a very affordable option for smaller shops. If you’re in charge of someone’s Social Media Marketing or you’re doing your own company’s marketing, here are some pointers to make your social media graphics better.
Size your graphics to the social media platform
Different mediums use different dimensions. Squished or incorrectly cropped images make you look lazy and unprofessional. Check each media channel’s development pages for instructions and updates to their sizes. A quick Google search will also reveal image sizes. Remember that social media channels often leave text describing your page or feed on the graphic. For instance, Facebook business cover photos will have your page title and description on the bottom of the image.
No faces if stock photo!
I’m guilty of this one. People memorize faces. If you’re using stock photos try to steer clear of people directly looking at the audience with their glossy white teeth and lame smiles. Screams of an advertisement. If you must use a stock photo with a person’s face, try a profile shot or looking away from the camera. Otherwise, no direct eye contact.
Crop images in interesting ways
Variety is key. Make images interesting. Boring images translate to a bored audience.
Colourize photos or add a filter to change it up
Audiences are becoming savvy with recognizing stock photos. Content marketing fills up social media feeds every day. If using a stock photo, change it up so your audience doesn’t get fatigued of seeing the same image everywhere.
Less text
People read differently online then they do a printed piece. Often people will skim your content, reading the first few lines, then skimming section headlines, and then skipping down to the final summary.
Keep headlines simple
The headline should summarize the article. Similar to a news headline, you should be able to capture your audience and entice them to click the link by using emotional and informative language.
Your image should summarize your topic
I used to work in television news as a graphics artist. The graphics I created were used to support the topic the news anchor was talking about. They would introduce a story while the graphic was beside them on-screen. The viewer had less than thirty seconds to see the image so I had to create images that were simple and clear to understand. They also had to be enticing to keep the viewer interested.
Social media graphics are very similar in that regard. Limited attention spans give you probably less than 5 seconds to make your audience want to click-through. Make your images simple and summarize what you’re saying, just like your headlines. Create emotion with your graphics. Make people curious.
Social media graphics are an important part of your digital marketing campaigns. People are visual. Appeal to people’s curiosity by creating simple, emotional graphics that summarize your topic very quickly. By creating enticing graphics you will increase your click-through rate and direct more traffic to your website.
I hope these pointers on how to make your social media graphics better have helped. If you have any other suggestions on social media graphics, please share!
