Sparkle and shine with social media.
A woman blowing confetti in front of a graffiti wall.
Sparkle and shine with social media. Ways to boost your business using visual promotion strategies for social media and graphic design.
Selling your business online with visual impact.
Are you keen to boost your business's visibility on social media? Whether it's a small company or an international giant, having a reliable content and design plan for the brand is crucial.
By taking advantage of eye-catching designs as part of your marketing approach alongside keeping up with recent trends in digital promotion, you'll be able to sell what you have online and get more people aware of it!
In this blog post, we will go through digital marketing and how to make visuals that should work alongside your brand guidelines.
Who is your audience?
Which social media platform should you use?
Social media is always a hot topic in marketing, the latest trends, the use of hashtags, algorithm changes, reels, videos, and not to mention name changes - the Twitter bird has gone and been replaced with an X. With so many platforms out there how do you choose which can work for you? X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest and blogging on your own website (or others as a guest) can genuinely benefit your business. The potential for tapping into new customer bases via social media is currently unparalleled and continually expanding.
The best thing is - you can start today for free. When you are comfortable and ready consider paid/promoted ads and how you can help your business via content marketing over social media.
However, if you do go down the paid ad route you should consider it, as the Hootsuite annual survey revealed that annual spend via social media ad spend is $213 billion worldwide* You can read more about it here.
“What is Social Media marketing?
Social media marketing is the process of creating content for social media platforms to promote your products and/or services, build community with your target audience, and drive traffic to your business. With new features and platforms emerging every day, social media marketing is constantly evolving.”
Creating a social media content plan for your business.
Before you start creating your graphics it would be advisable to have a content strategy in place.
You will need a plan and some ideas to get going to promote your business on social media to gain the most visibility.
Content strategy implies the material you post and share with followers including videos, pictures, and text posts; this should be relevant and engaging for your target audience if you want it to stand out from other businesses.
Visual elements are vital when pushing content through social platforms as they grab the attention of potential customers or clients - after all what's more likely to get someone interested, a block of plain text or an eye-catching image?
Nowadays visuals are useful tools to grab the attention of viewers and transmit your message quickly. It is especially crucial when you want to promote your business on social networks. If you’re feeling confident and ready it may be a good idea to incorporate video clips into the overall content scheme since people usually interact with videos much better than they do with text posts or just images. Also, remember that people are time-poor they will move on after a few seconds if it does not grab their attention.
A simple paper plan is a great to start with. After incorporate schedulers such as Buffer, Asana or Trello to name a few.
“The Top Marketing Trends of 2023 - Short-form video will see the most growth in 2023”
Try to incorporate your branding that demonstrates the type of goods or services that you supply so people can get a better understanding of what they'll receive from you. Have these visuals got customers intrigued?
You might also want to try out different formats, such as GIFs or infographics. This could help make complex info easier for viewers to take in without having to read long chunks of text at once. It's vital that what you decide on visually matches the branding identity of your firm; this ensures people recognise who they’re dealing with when interacting with things related to your business online – be it through search engine results or direct discovery from their feeds! Sometimes memes and gifs can inject a little fun into your content.
Utilising Graphic Design to Boost Business Visibility
Graphic design is one of the key ingredients to your business.
Everything from logos to infographics can be used when crafting visuals on social media with this aim - standing out from competition and increasing chances of success.
It is vital though, when creating graphics intended for your organisation’s accounts across various platforms, to consider how they'll look there - could anything be improved? Is everything as clear as possible? How will it come across differently compared to other devices such as desktops or mobile screens?
Different platforms have distinct sizes and shapes of images that look the best on their interface. Take Instagram for instance, photos should ideally be either square or portrait shape whereas Twitter pictures usually work better in landscape format. If you don't take this into consideration it could lead to your image appearing distorted or not very attractive when posted online which would affect potential customers' perception of your business negatively - what does a blurry photo say about its author? That’s why it's important to get familiar with all social media requirements before posting anything!
Creating content that looks attractive is also essential. Instagram and Pinterest are visual-led platforms - so you don’t have to worry about writing too much here. Pinterest is often undervalued as a social media tool. The content is searchable on Google and other web search engines. Consider creating a pin in Pinterest that has a link that directs traffic to your website, online store or blog.
Pinterest is a great tool to drive traffic to your business and requires little effort
So, get inventive with your graphics - if you need a helping hand and you don’t have a design department just yet, maybe think about hiring a freelance graphic designer.
Use your brand colours from your branding guidelines; include eye-catching images; add icons/symbols into designs; make proper usage of typography: and maybe even try animation if feasible. Make sure everything ties together visually so viewers recognise it comes from you and your business.
Laptop showing social media graphics
Implementing Brand Guidelines in Social Media Marketing
It's obvious that the way your brand looks visually is an important part of promoting it on social media. If you get it right, visuals can draw more attention and give potential customers a favourable impression of your firm. To make sure everything remains consistent across channels, when producing visual content for campaigns related to social media marketing, following these guidelines should be a top priority. Brand guidelines are basically rules that help companies maintain their desired appearance both verbally and visually in all types of communication.
Having a well-defined set of brand guidelines can be beneficial when it comes to your social media posts. Not only does this ensure visual consistency in what you post, but also makes creating new content so much simpler! So, if you're just starting out with setting up the look and feel for each of your postings or campaigns on social media, begin by determining which elements should be included: such as colours, fonts logos and images that will remain constant all throughout. This way not only do they reflect the standards associated with your business - but also make crafting fresh material so much more convenient!
If you want your team to create visuals that are in line with the intended, look and feel of a social media campaign – it's important to provide them examples so they know exactly what kind of content is required. Along with this, clear instructions need to be given as well: where logos should appear on the image or how specific shades of colours can/cannot be used etc.
With all these details set out beforehand – now comes the time for applying them across different platforms when creating posts related to visuals needed for campaigns etc. Templates come really helpful here - if someone needs something simple like an image with a logo overlayed, then there's no point wasting time starting from scratch but using pre-made templates instead while making slight improvements wherever necessary (guaranteeing uniformity).
This not only saves loads of energy but also helps maintain brand recognition throughout multiple channels without having to worry about maintaining an identical format for each single instance (as long as the general style remains the same).
Also if you have these in place you can pass them on to a virtual assistant or a graphic designer who has these in place and you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself.
A set of iphones with a various social media posts
Practical Steps to Selling Your Business Online through Visuals
To wrap up, promoting your business visually on social media is a great way to gain attention and find the right customers for you. Performance of effective content strategies, creative design, branding rules and marketing designs can help ensure that what you want people to see or read will be able to reach them.
Think about ways to create your content. Some ideas are:
Text Posts:
Status Updates: Share brief text updates or thoughts.
Quotes: Share inspirational or thought-provoking quotes.
Questions: Engage your audience with open-ended questions.
Announcements: Share news, events, or updates about your brand.
Images:
Photos: Share high-quality images related to your brand, products, or services.
Infographics: Create visually appealing infographics to convey information.
Memes: Use humor and pop culture references to engage your audience.
Illustrations: Share custom illustrations or drawings.
Behind-the-Scenes: Offer a glimpse behind the scenes of your business or life.
Videos:
Short Clips: Create short, attention-grabbing video clips.
Tutorials: Share how-to guides or instructional videos.
Live Streams: Interact with your audience in real time through live videos.
Stories: Use ephemeral content on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
Audio:
Podcasts: Share your insights, interviews, or stories in podcast format.
Voice Memos: Share quick updates or thoughts using voice recordings.
Interactive Content:
Polls: Engage your audience with interactive polls and surveys.
Quizzes: Create fun quizzes related to your niche.
Contests and Challenges: Encourage user-generated content with contests and challenges.
Interactive Stories: Use interactive features like Instagram's "Ask Me Anything" or "Poll" stickers.
User-Generated Content:
Share content created by your customers or followers, with their permission.
Highlight user reviews and testimonials.
Stories and Reels:
Utilise the story content feature on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Carousel Posts:
Share multiple images or slides in a single post, often used for storytelling or tutorials. Great on LinkedIn and Instagram
GIFs: Use animated GIFs to add humour or convey emotions.
Hashtags:
Include relevant hashtags to increase the discoverability of your content.
Captions:
Write compelling captions that complement your content and encourage engagement.
Scheduling:
Use social media management tools to schedule posts for optimal times.
Consistency:
Maintain a consistent posting schedule to keep your audience engaged.
Analytics:
Monitor and analyse the performance of your content to refine your strategy.
Engagement:
Interact with your audience by responding to comments, messages, and mentions.
Remember that each social media platform may have its own preferred formats and best practices. Tailor your content to the specific platform and audience you're targeting. Additionally, stay updated with the latest trends and features on social media to keep your content fresh and engaging.
Another tip to remember is that it is social - engage, share, educate and sell. There is a rule of 80:20. 80% share and educate, 20% sell. So don’t be the company that sells sells sells, as you will soon lose subscribers as they won’t want to see your pushy sales content.
Creating a memorable brand and visuals is vitally important for any business - small, medium or large. With the stiff competition out there, it's essential that something unique is showcased in order to attract your target market. That means taking control of your branding and creating something that really embodies what you do as a business.
Lyons Creative can provide brand creation which includes the social media template required to get the ball rolling!
I’m an experienced designer to help craft your brand which includes: logos, colours and font selection which will make sure you stand apart from everyone else. Also available is starting advice regarding SEO & web design so let us show you how having an impressive identity can take your company further than ever before!
Don't hesitate – let’s talk for more information and book a 20-minute call at no cost whatsoever; get in touch to start your company brand visual journey.
Hi! Thanks for reading!
I’m Angela Lyons and I am the founder and graphic designer at Lyons Creative.
I specialise in both print and digital design, I aim to help businesses enhance their visual appeal by creating compelling and distinct designs. I also help freelancers and share my experiences of freelance life.
If you are interested in learning more about my services and how I can assist your business, please feel free to contact me via direct message, and we can discuss your design needs further. Hit the button below!
* Survey by Hootsuite: 85+ Important Social Media Advertising Statistics to Know. You can read more about it here
