5 BRANDING HACKS TO ROCK SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGES LIKE A PRO

As freelancers, putting up rocking images are undeniably an ever important part of our marketing strategy. But branding images for social media can be quite a challenge. With your website, you design a page - and that’s it, until you make a change. With social media, you constantly post new freelance material every day.  So how do you do that and make sure your social media streams stay consistent with your freelance branding?

5 BRANDING HACKS TO ROCK YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGES LIKE A PRO

1. Intend to make balance when designing images

Why is balance one of the key principles of design? Because it’s how we as humans are wired to perceive things. When something we view matches up nice and neatly with how we expect it to be, it invokes a feel-good sentiment. And I know that’s what you want your target audience to feel when they see your social media feed.

According to shutterstock.com, there are 4 different types of balance to think about when setting up and editing images. These are symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial, and crystallographic balance. Symmetrical is the most familiar type wherein if you draw a line down the center or across the center, the other side is perfectly reflected.  This creates a very calm and centered feeling for the viewer. Asymmetrical, on the other hand, is abstract balance. There is no symmetry, but instead, the elements are arranged in such a way that they balance each other out. From the word itself, radial balance is all about the spiral or circular movement of the image. The image radiates out from a central point providing not only a perfect balance but also movement and interest. Lastly, crystallographic balance pertains to repetitive patterns which become one giant image and act as one.

2) Use the same logo / avatar

Embed consistency across all of your freelance social media streams. Make sure that if you want to change the banner on one freelance channel, you don’t just do it on a whim. But you make sure you adapt each channel at the same time.  It might sound like a drag but it is really important! Seeing the same logo over and over again would make a solid resonance to your target audience. Again, when something we view matches up nice and neatly with how we expect it to be, it invokes a feel-good sentiment. And that’s what you want your target audience to feel when they see your social media feed.

You can use a design service like Canva to keep everything together. Canva has a wide collection of free photos and templates that would likely suit your needs as a freelancer.

3) Limit your typefaces

Work with at most 3 typefaces, and they should be consistent with your website if possible. Users are going to click from your social media channels onto your website and they somehow anticipate a consistent branding and fluid journey.

High bounce rates usually happen when this journey is interrupted and the user arrives on a page they weren’t expecting. So just take a few moments and scroll down your feeds. Are your typefaces consistent enough? Or is this an area you can start improving right away? Just remember to look out for consistent fonts, constant sizing, italics/bold/ underlining.

4) Attribute the biggest fonts to the most important elements

What is the overall goal of your image? What information do you want to get across, and what action do you want the viewer to take?  Make sure your most important elements are in the biggest fonts. Embarking on this aspect would entail proper emphasis on what should your target audience remember.

It’s easy to get swept away in content creation mania.  But, take just at least 30 seconds of time on each image and ask yourself – what I am trying to achieve here?  You’ll be startled how quickly your click-through and engagement will improve by applying this recommendation.

5) Simplify your style

It is much better to have an image with just a few words and space around it, than a paragraph of information. Fitting too much words in an image doesn't look appealing at all, and might result to fewer engagements. Just remember to put brief yet concise information. After all, simplicity is memorable. Simplicity works.

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How does your business use images to stand out from the competition? I’d love to hear your opinion! Shoot me a message.

#freelance #branding #socialmediamanagement #socialmediamarketing