Think about scrolling through Twitter or Instagram. Most posts you only glance at for a few seconds, right? Just enough to see if it’s worth interacting with further…
So, how do you get people to pause long enough to engage with your content? The posts that get that extra effort are much more often those with photos or videos, or even just text on colored backgrounds, than those with just plain text.
It’s worth repeating, remembering and engaging: Humans are visual creatures. The more visually interesting a given object is, the more time we’ll spend looking at it. This principle underlies design of every kind, from fine art to social media marketing.
Social Media: Most Visual
Social media is a very visual experience. No matter which platform you are on, images of all kinds undoubtedly dominate your feed. The prevalence of images on social media is predicated on the fact that visual content receives much more attention from users.
The ultimate goal of graphic design in marketing is to attract eyes to your content and, therefore, attention to your business and your content and products. On social media, appealing graphics result in higher audience engagement and a higher likelihood of your posts being shared. Converting individual engagement into sharing means reaching a broader audience and getting your content in front of more of your target consumers.
That means if you’re looking for a way to boost the amount of attention you’re getting through social media, jazzing up the visual elements you use to promote your business is going to be key.
Incorporating Graphic Design into Social Media Marketing
When you’re thinking about your marketing design, you’ll want to consider that your design choices can impact the mood your audience experiences when viewing it. So, basically, what vibe do you want clients associating with you and your content?
Viewers’ first impression of your business happens in just a few seconds, so you need to make sure those seconds make a positive impact. The immediate connection established in that moment will be recalled each time consumers recognize your posts in their feed.
Consider this early on in your marketing plan to ensure there won’t be a disconnect between the image or overall impression of your brand and the design choices you make. Attractiveness is a critical component of effectiveness in marketing design.
It seems fairly self-explanatory that people spend more time looking at things that are nice to look at, but — at least in this writer’s experience — the visual appeal of a design is often undervalued in marketing. If your design is immediately off-putting because of clashing colors or unreadable fonts, that will severely limit your potential to expand your client base.
Taking full advantage of that potential means retaining existing customers as much as attracting new ones. You’ve got a handle on producing high quality content and providing a pleasurable customer experience. Now you’ve got to make sure that is connected to the visual image of your brand in the customers’ minds. This leads to consumers, when they see your content in the wild, not only sharing it and expanding your reach, but remembering you and recommending your content specifically, as well as seeking you out again in the future.
The way you ensure consumer recognition is consistency! This is absolutely critical for marketing and brand identity design. Brand recognition is part of how you turn first time viewers into repeat clients, and recognition requires consistency in design.
Step it up!
Alright, you get it, you’re ready to step up your graphic design game. Your next step is deciding whether you want to hire a designer to make all this happen for you or make your own marketing materials. That’s going to depend on a balance of how much time and money you can spare to invest in promoting yourself, and how much more traffic you figure you’ll get from it.
Whether the effort is worth it is something you’ve got to assess your yourself and your business. If you decide it is, now you’ve got a solid starting toolkit of tips and ideas to keep in mind as you move forward.
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Monday Lovelace is a queer Black writer and graphic designer out of the Pacific Northwest. They’re out here to live their best life and help others do the same. Contact Lovelace via monday@ynotcam.com.
