How designs play a powerful communication tool in social media marketing

Today, we’re living in the digital era. Most of the information, entertainment, knowledge, and other content we replenish ourselves with are consumed through this mode of communication. Thus, it’s clearly a no-guessing game that social media is a primary, essential, and one of the most influential marketing tools.

The social media program as a whole is designed for quick and captivating updates. Do you know what holds the attention of users scrolling rapidly and impatiently through screens? Research has shown that people respond better to visuals than literal information. Social media posts with graphics have a higher engagement rate than posts that have written content. The perfect recipe to hold the attention of your consumers is choosing the right strategy that accommodates both – visual designs and content. Thus, maintaining a balance between the graphic and brand philosophy.

Here’s how you can use design to your advantage on social media.

1. Use a profile picture

Using a brand’s logo as a profile picture is a general rule of thumb. The logo represents a strong statement about the brand. For example, if Amazon’s smiley arrow communicates how the company sells everything from A to Z, one can make slight alterations in the profile picture as per the events that matter.

2. Define your visual brand

To create compelling social media content, it is essential that the brand is visually well defined. A visual mood board includes the brand colors, typefaces, and other design elements that should be used consistently throughout all social media posts. Also, the overall visual language of your brand should be compatible with your brand’s philosophy; although it may vary depending on the platform and target consumers.

3. Create consistent branding

Consistency is the key ingredient for brand recognition. To create consistency one must build a style guide for every social media post. The style guide will include the mood board and will have all the elements to be used for visual communication. This includes the brand colors, typefaces, logo size, etc. It will also include other style elements such as the types of images, captions, hashtags, etc.

4. Use stock images

Stock images that go well with your brand are a good and economical replacement for product photography. When you use stock images, it is essential to remember one thing. Do not use stock images that have been overused by other brands.  Keep your posts as unique as you can.

5. Implement design practices

If you want to create appealing designs for your social media posts, where your audience can connect and engage with you, it is important that you use some classic design principles. They are:

1. Hierarchy: Arrange your visual elements in order of importance.
2. Balance: Having equal visual weight creates harmony in an image.
3. Contrast: Putting elements with opposite colors, sizes, or textures that visually stand out.

Remember, your visual designs build a stronger relationship with your audience. It is how the mere sight of your brand evokes emotions for your target customers; and graphic designs help do that. They occupy an exclusive space for your brand in the consciousness of your potential clientele.