Recently updated on August 28th, 2024 at 09:34 am
Good graphic design has always been an integral part of marketing. But in a world where the average human attention span is less than 9 seconds it has become a vital component of successful marketing efforts. The importance of compelling visual design cannot be understated. Human beings process visual data quicker, easier and remember it longer. People are spending over 3 hours on social media every day. This means that brands have the opportunity to reach a broad and engaged audience but also that competition for consumer attention is extremely high. Two keys to understanding how to stand out in this media saturated environment are:
- A discerning audience. Your audience is willing to spend more time on quality content but anything less is lost in the noise. Producing high-quality content, directed toward your target audience is very important.
- Scroll-stopping content. Create a moment, typically using visual design, to capture short attention spans. You only have 8 seconds to get their attention, make sure your content is eye-catching.
Key Components of Creative Design
In order for a creative strategy to perform optimally it must be driven by:
- Audience insight
- Market conditions and trends
- Social and cultural trends
The creative strategy influences the narrative, visual identity and tone of marketing collateral and creative design. A good creative strategy will help a brand to stand out with a unique visual identity backed up by an authentic point of view.
There are 4 main components of social media creatives:
- Imagery: Be distinctive and consistent in your appearance. This is the most important factor in driving engagement. Use visual identifiers like shapes, colours and font.
- Copy: Be concise, compelling and clear. Don’t use more words than you need to get the point across.
Tips:- Keep to 150 characters or less if possible. On certain platforms and mobile devices copy is truncated when it is over 150 characters.
- Be focussed with your messaging, aim to get a single point or message across in a single post.
- Stay relevant to your audience by addressing topics they care about.
- Copy that is easily consumable and easily digestible performs better.
- Offer your audience valuable insight that can lead to practicable action.
- Numbers stand out in text. Use statistics and other numerical data to inform your copy to attract attention.
- Don’t use hashtags on paid posts as they direct the audience away from the desired path.
- Format: Use a diverse range of media formats to increase audience interest. Articles, single image posts/ads, video and carousel ads are all different options marketers have to engage their audience. It is important to use a balanced mixture to achieve your goals. Video typically performs best at starting a conversation. Tips:
- Share industry insights.
- Tell your brand story.
- Share interviews with key stakeholders to showcase expertise.
- Cover events, before, during and after.
- Provide product demonstrations.
Carousels add an interactive dimension to the visual design. Some tips for designing carousel ads:
- Create visual continuity between the slides of the carousel.
- Don’t neglect the headline space, use the opportunity to add to your story.
- Use a clear Call-to-Action.
Testing: Maintain a test-and-learn mindset. Test different combinations of copy and media to find what performs best and use those more frequently.
It is important to remember to design for mobile-friendly use. If your content is not designed correctly for mobile displays it undermines the objective to begin with for any audience member engaging on a mobile device. Getting a review of your design helps minimise mistakes. As simple as it may seem to implement these processes internally, many companies find the process easier when relying on expert advice. If you are interested in improving the performance of your business’ creative design on digital channels get in touch with us.