Creating engaging and visually appealing graphics for your social media is crucial if you want your ideal client to take notice of (and remember!) you.

Did you know that your brain only remembers around 10% of the information you hear three days after you’ve heard it? But, if you add an image to that information your chances of remembering it goes up to 65%?!?

Our brains are built to retain ideas that are eye-catching and visually appealing, so it almost goes without saying that including an image with your social media post increases its value astronomically.

Need a little more convincing?

LinkedIn posts with an image have a 98% higher comment rate.

Twitter posts with an image are twice as likely to be retweeted.

Facebook posts with an image are three times as likely to be shared.

So, how do you go about producing images for your social media that are memorable and appealing for your ideal client?

We’ve got you covered!

Here are 6 Tips for Creating Engaging Social Media Graphics: 

#1: Start with your social strategy and your platform in mind.

From Instagram to LinkedIn to Facebook to Twitter (and everything in between), social platforms are all different.

Likewise, the clients you are trying to attract on each platform vary as well, so before you dive into colors, fonts, and stock images, you need to start with a strategy.

Who are you creating this content for? Your ideal client avatar ALWAYS needs to be at the front of your mind.

#2: Stay true to your brand.

Along with knowing your ideal client, you need to have a clear idea of what you want your brand to look like visually. When establishing your branding:

• Choose fonts that are eye-catching, but still easy to read. It’s okay to pick a script or fun font for titles and accents, but also have a body font that’s extremely legible even in smaller font sizes. 
• Choose colors that speak to your audience, but also speak to who you are and the services you are providing. There are lots of resources out there on the psychology behind different colors and how to choose yours. 
• Find images that stay within the look and feel of the content you are sharing and your brand. If you are the face of your business, make sure to include images of yourself.

At Amazing OBM, we create images for several heart-centered clients (in addition to our own content) and each one has a unique voice and brand that needs to come through in their images.

Here are some examples:

A large part of having a visually appealing social feed is consistency in your images’ branding. Your content is much more memorable to potential clients if they can get a clear impression and association with your brand through continual images that “go together.”

#3: Follow basic design principles.

Not everyone is a designer and that’s okay. We all have our own zone of genius!

But, there are some basic design principles that you can follow when creating images:

• Keep it legible. Your brand may include some crazy cool script fonts, but those should be used as accents NOT as the main font. If your client can’t read your text, there’s no point.
• Put important information at the top of your graphics. Most people read top-down and left to right.
• Follow the same steps of choosing color and fonts that you did with choosing your branding (although, if you are always working within your brand guidelines, picking these things is MUCH easier when it comes to individual images!).

#4: Make use of free (or inexpensive) design apps and sources for photos.

For those that aren’t comfortable with design (or for those who are!), there are websites and apps like Canva that provide easy to use, customizable templates for social media graphics.

You can add your own brand colors, fonts, and images to their premade graphics – making it easy to make cohesive images for your feed while still finding fresh ideas and layouts that are already optimized with basic design principles in mind.

Canva and other similar sites also provide images that are free to use and not copyrighted. You can also find free or inexpensive images with the licenses to use them through sources like Shutterstock and PxHere.

#5: Be mindful of diversity and sensitive content.

When choosing your images, keep in mind that a diverse group of people is viewing them and in order to speak compellingly to potential clients from many races, religions, locations, abilities, and body types, you should try to incorporate images that are as diverse as your audience.

In addition to being sensitive to diversity, remember to show sensitivity when creating content and images around days like Veteran’s Day or September 11th. It is fine to recognize these days, but steer clear of selling yourself or your business in your post.

#6: Add your logo!

Lastly, but certainly not least, make sure you are adding your logo to images. 

This point comes back to the consistency factor. Your audience has A LOT of images they are scrolling past on their feeds each day and you want your images to not only stand out, but to always bring your potential client’s mind back to your brand and your business.

If you need help establishing your brand identity or consistently using it in your social media content, reach out to our team at Amazing OBM! We would love to help. Our team provides digital marketing services for heart-centered coaches that are ready to show up, systematize, and spread sensational content in the world.