We all know that the social media landscape is a fast-paced and competitive space. With countless posts flooding our feeds every second, how do you make sure your content stands out? The key lies in creating eye-catching social media posts that capture your audience’s attention and leave them wanting more. In this blog post, we’re going to cover 7 practical tips and strategies that will help you create stunning visuals, hook your audience, and make your content shine in the digital world. Let’s dive in and unlock the secrets to creating stunning visuals that will take your social media content to the next level.
Use the Right Tools
You may have heard people tell you you need Adobe Illustrator if you want to design cool graphics. But Illustrator can take years to master, and if you’re not a graphic designer, you probably have better things to do with your time. To create eye-catching social media posts, it’s important to use the right design tools for your situation and your skill level. There are many design tools that were made to make your life easier and help you create amazing graphics without having to master Illustrator or Photoshop. Here are some that we recommend:
Canva – Best overall
Adobe Express – Great Canva alternative
Snappa – Great for beginners
If you have a different tool that you like and are comfortable with, stick with it! The best tool for you is the one that will help you get the work done.
Use the Correct Dimensions
Each social media platform has its own recommended dimensions for posts. Ensure that your posts are optimized for each platform by using the correct dimensions. This will prevent your posts from appearing cropped or distorted, ensuring they look professional and visually appealing. DO NOT just create one graphic and upload it to all your social media accounts. It will make your page look wacky as hell and that’s not the look we’re going for here. If you have Canva PRO they have a super useful feature called “Resize” (at the top left corner). This lets you create one graphic, say, an Instagram post and when you click resize it will resize it for any other social media and move your design elements around to make it look good. This is one of my favorite Canva PRO features and could save you a bunch of time.
Utilize Templates
Templates are a real lifesaver for non-designers or those seeking design inspiration. Platforms like Canva offer a wide range of pre-designed templates specifically tailored for social media posts. These templates provide a starting point and can be customized to suit your brand’s style and message. Utilizing templates saves time and ensures a visually cohesive look across your social media posts. Plus, when you start from a template for a specific social media platform, they are already the size they need to be, so one less thing to worry about.
Another great place to find templates is Creative Market. Creative Market allows you to purchase a set of templates that are all consistent so you don’t have to design them one by one. For $10-$40 you can get hundreds of templates that you can easily edit in Canva, saving you hours! You might be thinking “Why would I buy templates when Canva has them for free?” The main reason I recommend getting templates from Creative Market is that they come in a set so this will help you stay consistent and keep a similar theme between all your posts. You can even purchase templates that already use colors that align with your brand to save even more time. I highly recommend going this route if you’re feeling overwhelmed or like creating one post at a time and trying to stay consistent feels like a challenge.
Keep the Design Simple
Simplicity is key when it comes to creating eye-catching social media posts. Avoid cluttering your designs with too many elements or excessive text. Embrace white space and prioritize visual hierarchy to guide the viewer’s attention. Simple, clean designs are more likely to catch the eye and deliver your message effectively. Next time you’re on Instagram, save some posts that caught your attention, and then later go back and see what they have in common. Chances are they are all very simple – an eye-catching photo, a colorful background with very minimal simple text, etc.
Follow Your Brand Guidelines
Consistency is super important because it helps people recognize and remember your brand easily. One way to achieve consistency is by making sure your social media posts match your brand’s style and guidelines. Use your brand’s color palette, fonts, and logo consistently across all posts. This will help reinforce your brand’s image and make your posts easily recognizable. If you’re using templates, make sure to update the fonts and colors it comes with to the ones specific to your brand. Canva PRO has a feature called Brand Hub – You can save your brand colors, fonts, and graphics so that you can easily access them every time you’re designing something. You can also save brand templates that already have all of these applied to them, so you don’t have to change them individually for every design. This is only available on Canva PRO which is a paid version of Canva. This is not a necessary feature and you can easily adjust all of this manually on the free version, but it can help you save some time.
Use High-Quality Images
Visuals are a powerful tool for grabbing attention on social media. This is why it’s important to use high-quality images that represent your brand well. If possible, use your own original photos to add authenticity and uniqueness to your posts. If you don’t have suitable images, you can explore stock photo websites like Unsplash, Pixabay, or Pexels for high-quality and on-brand images. Canva also offers a vast library of images to choose from. Aim for originality and distinctiveness. Look for images that stand out from generic stock photos and showcase your brand’s individuality.
Test, Analyze, and Adjust
Creating eye-catching social media posts is an ongoing process. Test different design elements, formats, and content strategies to see what resonates best with your audience. Monitor your social media analytics to gain insights into which posts generate the most engagement. Analyze the data and make adjustments to your designs and content accordingly. This approach will help you continually improve and refine your social media posts.
Learning to design eye-catching social media posts can seem daunting, but it’s a skill that can be learned over time. First off, equip yourself with the right tools. They’ll make your life a whole lot easier. Next, make sure you’re using the right dimensions for the social media platforms you’re designing for. Don’t forget to keep it simple, stick to your brand guidelines, and use high-quality images that pop! Pro tip: Analyze how your designs are doing and tweak your approach based on the insights you get. It’s all about learning and growing, right? One step at a time, friends. You’ve got this!