Graphic designers and artists who produce marketing graphics wield some serious power when it comes to communicating exactly who you are as a business or organization. Their design-savvy knows no bounds – they’re experts at using their skills to communicate and enhance your social presence and capture viewers with stunning visuals that truly shout out your brand identity. That’s right – no matter the industry, these talented creatives can make marketing success happen for you!
Social media includes channels that drive brand awareness, e-commerce purchases, community engagement, event registrations, and so many other business drivers. And those channels and campaigns require a lot of strategy and design! How much time and effort does your team put into social media graphic design? How much do you invest in social media graphic designers? If you want customized graphics and customized artwork to work for your brand on various channels, some key concepts will help you navigate the challenge. Let’s dive in.
What is social media design?
Social media design is the process of creating custom visuals for social platforms that reflect a brand’s identity and message. Custom graphics are essential for social media to provide the best visual representation of the message being conveyed. Customized graphics or digital illustrations can be used to communicate an emotion, draw attention, and make content more engaging for social media viewers. Custom artwork can also be used to create unique branding and help establish an identity for social media accounts.
Tips For Successful Social Media Graphic Design
- Find the “Why?” of your graphics for social media.
You know what they say- if you don’t have a goal, your social media strategy is kinda like shooting an arrow into the void. Set yourself up for success by figuring out exactly why and how you want to use those posts – whether it’s increasing traffic or getting more engagement, choose wisely! The “why” should inform the rest of your approach, so make this step count! (And if you’re not sure, this is a great opportunity to test a new hypothesis!) - Develop a perfect-fit creative social media design specific to the platform where it will be published.
Each platform has its own flavor and requirements, so be very specific with each design, from colors to size and every detail. From LinkedIn’s B2B focus to TikTok’s vertical format, there are so many nuanced considerations for each platform. For example, does your message make sense on that platform? If so, go beyond just resizing the post, and make sure it makes sense for the audience you’re reaching on that platform. If it makes sense to post on multiple channels, don’t skip resizing all your graphics! Take just an extra moment to request posts of specific sizes to ensure your design fits the dimensions of its destination and no details get cut off. Great composition and intentional design can make the difference between something snazzy and share-worthy versus unpolished and sloppy. - Get creative but be consistent with your branding.
You can be unique and different, but be cohesive and create predictability with your aesthetic, branding, and “look.” Consistency is the key to success in branding. Once people start recognizing your mission and design style, it will drive more brand recall, more perceived value, and trustworthiness. Being able to create a strong identity has high rewards. Leverage this in your social media graphics to create brand recognition and awareness, with the added benefit of removing any chance of confusion with your competitors — then sit back and reap the benefits of this long-game strategy. - Spice it up with social media animation.
If you’re looking to stop scrolling and make sure your brand, products, or services stick in someone’s mind – animated digital ads are the key! You can have an eye-catching ad with just one creative concept without breaking the bank. It sounds too good to be true, but trust us – it isn’t! Not only does animation help capture more attention, it can also help convey key concepts and messages, and results in more shares! Capture way more free impressions by just making a share-worthy post! - Incorporate UGC (user generated content) in design.
If you have clients and consumers who use your product or service, leveraging social proof with a branded template or social graphic is very powerful. Even better, if you can incorporate smiling faces and/or your product in your social media graphic design for extra engagement and brand recall. This is a great way for your graphics to say, “you don’t have to take our word for it,” and keeps content from going stale. Consumers are more likely to purchase or try a new service or product when they see recommendations and reviews from other users, so why not showcase those experiences on social media?
What is a social media designer?
Social media designers are the modern-day Picassos of our time, crafting one-of-a-kind works specifically tailored to tantalize and entertain social media users. Great graphic designers are knowledgeable in the latest design trends and can design amazing content to best represent a business or organization through social media graphics. Businesses and organizations are increasingly relying on specialized graphic designer services to create custom graphic designs as social media platforms continue to enjoy more and more active users, and more platforms are added to the channel mix. Great social media graphic designers have the skills to create compelling visuals to draw attention and engage viewers, making social media graphics one of the most valuable tools for marketers these days.
Social media designers’ skills specialize in customizing layouts based on a brand’s message and identity, creating custom graphics that reflect the brand’s values and mission. They are also well-versed in optimizing visuals for each social platform, ensuring that artwork is tailored to fit the aesthetic of each site. By providing custom graphic design services, social media designers help businesses and organizations create powerful visuals to make their brands stand out across social media platforms to ensure their message reaches the right audience.
A social media graphics package can include everything from logo design to profile pictures and cover images, giving businesses a comprehensive social media branding solution. With the right social media graphic design services, businesses can create visuals that will captivate viewers, drive engagement, and generate more leads for their organization. Don’t forget the profile pizzazz; once your posts make it into someone’s feed, if their curiosity is piqued enough for them to visit your profile, you want to wow them with a very cohesive, branded look, so that they have a great first impression that sticks with them. Ultimately, these profile visits should drive conversions, so skipping this step or forgetting to periodically update and refresh your brand profiles leaves money on the table!
Why Social Media Ads Design Is Important
Social media has quickly established itself as one of the leading channels for marketers, and brands are designing ads for social media platforms like never before. Designing ads for social media isn’t just a trend that’s here to stay. Data from Design Pickle predicts an expected 2-3% increase in requests for these types of assets in 2023. We’ve observed more vertical format social media ads, motion graphics for social media posts, and lots of template-based output happening as well, proving that brands are getting better at testing and segmenting the various social media channels.
Forbes* has confirmed that “social commerce” is on the rise — and with it, marketing teams have had to buckle down and build their online communities, determine an authentic voice for themselves, and figure out how to get the entire company connected with customers in real-time.
According to Hubspot’s* data, it’s been reported that 54% of social media users prefer animated ads, and as a result, audience engagement with animated ads is on average up to 1200% higher than static designs with this approach! If you want your social media ads design to give you a bigger bang for your buck, make sure to include motion graphics in your ad strategy. And, if you can systematize and scale this content production to create social media ads that convert with impressive results… you’re on your way to getting a high five from your leadership in no time.
Social Media Marketing Design Boosts Your Strategy
Social media marketing relies heavily on visuals, but making a lasting impression is becoming increasingly difficult. Research suggests the human attention span has shrunk to a measly 7-8 second window, with users overlooking posts and scrolling on by unless something especially captivating grabs them. Even then, marketers are lucky if they can occupy sixty seconds of anyone’s time. Designing social media campaigns with this in mind can be tricky, to say the least – how do you try to stand out with such little time on your hands?
On top of dwindling attention spans, social media marketing design is becoming increasingly challenging for other reasons, too. The market has been saturated for so long that users have become accustomed to bypassing posts without even giving them a once-over. It’s difficult for marketers to create an eye-catching design that will actually engage customers, and creating that wow factor consistently is even more challenging. Naturally, all sorts of research has popped up trying to address this issue, however, they usually boil down to the harsh reality that we all have too much visual information coming our way and not enough time to sift through it all. Marketers must keep their social media designs creative, relevant, and interesting enough to snag users’ attention – a challenge that requires legitimate, thoughtful, and strategic planning (as well as stellar design execution). How do you make that happen, and stay in-budget?
Lucky for you, Design Pickle is already solving that proverbial pickle for thousands of brands like yours! With our graphic design and creative services model, you no longer have to worry about getting distracted – just submit your request for social media graphics designs through our platform, and our team of high-skilled designers will create custom artwork designed exclusively for your brand! No more stressing over how you’re going to keep up with the competition; now, keeping track of social media trends and updates has never been easier (or less stressful!). We ensure your brand stands out from the pack in the digital world with custom artwork designs that perfectly convey your unique voice and branding, from custom illustration to social media infographics, to social media animations and more.
Benefits Of A Subscription-Based Graphic Design Service
With Design Pickle, you don’t have to cut corners or sacrifice quality or speed in order to get affordable graphic design services! Instead of spending a fortune on a one-off project, you can access unlimited design services with a simple subscription-based system, and get your projects back in a flash (with unlimited revisions and source files always included). Whether it’s a basic Instagram graphic or an illustrated motion graphic work, Design Pickle will ensure that all your creative needs are met without breaking the bank. Need a full-blown campaign? No problem, we can make proliferating your content across all channels a breeze.
With our subscription-based graphic design services, we’ve created clever creative packages to ensure we cover your creative needs according to your budget! We’ve got everything from social media graphics and branding solutions to awesome presentation design, custom illustrations, and even motion graphics! Tap into our creative management solutions for the best way to concentrate your assets in one convenient platform, and stop sweating the social media graphics your team needs to thrive. You’ll be breezing through projects like never before with all your resources at hand, and on-top of trends. So, what are you waiting for? Get started now, and thank us later!
