We are living in a fast-paced digital world. Social media can be a hugely beneficial source of advertisement, reference and information for many businesses; but design problems and poor planning can make an otherwise exceptional marketing campaign or business promotion suffer.
This article will explore some simple ways to make sure you make the most of social media to really promote your business and content.
Create an ongoing theme
Perhaps the single most important design skill to bear in mind when promoting a brand, business or other medium is cohesion. The videos, banners, ads and even company profile images you see on social media are only powerful if they have a recognisable branding attached to them. Word spreads and if a design really sticks out as professional, enticing and exciting, it will linger in the mind. When creating a logo or a brand; the design and style should be the same right across all promotional material, both online and off. The beauty of a coherent brand identity is that it becomes so recognisable it immediately delivers a brand’s message to its target audience. For example, if you saw the below image, you would instantly know what it relates too.
Tailoring content specifically for the social media age
Social media is a powerful sharing tool that allows businesses a higher reach than ever before. Videos are a great way to engage your audience in your brand’s story or showcase a particular product up close and in action; while photographs can get creative in how they offer an intriguing snapshot of your company behind the scenes, gaining attention and shares quickly.
But that’s not all; work out what resonates with your audience. If you have a younger demographic; you might find that memes can be a memorable way to keep an advertisement fresh. Memes and GIFs are easy to create, share and are a great talking point, since social media allows them to go public, global and sometimes even viral. Or maybe you pitch to a more intellectual audience? Infographics are useful ways to get data-heavy info across on a crowded social platform. Social media is designed for short, sharp bursts; and these are all real, shareable media that can allow you to deliver a message far and wide with incredible ease, at just the click of a button.
Keep digital media simple
Clean, uncluttered logos and designs work best for social media. In an age where scrolling is normal, and a lot of people are looking at content on phones and tablets; something eye-catching and distinctive needs to be used in advertising and branding. Bold designs with either striking colours or clear, sharp lines need to be used to draw people instantly into the promotion. Simplicity is also important; people are time-poor and tend to ignore large blocks of writing and paragraphs; so get clever in having one clear call to action per post, and condensing your USPs down to no more than a few words that will linger in people’s minds. This is an ideal way to introduce a new product too, such as with a teaser campaign.