Let’s be honest, social media is the the new way to advertise. And we are not talking about running ad campaigns. We’re talking account, posts, captions, likes and comments, followers – you catch our drift. Today, we are addressing the elephant in the room – social media design. This is tricky for some people out there. Certainly, many brands are unaware of how crucial design concepts are when it comes to online presence.
Visual principles in design concepts
We are sure you already have a bunch of free design apps on your phone. No matter how good they are, you won’t be able to get any good results if you’re unaware of the visual advertising principles to follow. Moreover, we’re talking about that same guidelines that leading advertising agencies follow. Their well crafted ads convince people to buy products in a subtle, subconscious way. Certainly, those ads look easy-peasy, fun, helpful and pretty. Looking at them – so simple and short, you might think their creation is effortless. Spoiler alert – they are NOT!
In other words, behind them are hidden years of study, research and invested money. Design concepts are packed with information. Results require visual communications education, long professional experience and huge data. As a designer that has worked for an award winning marketing and design agencies, I assure you, research takes long. Therefore, sometimes weeks or even months and invested into developing design concepts and branding identity. Success in today’s market doesn’t come easy and every detail plays a crucial role.
The rules top designers follow when creating design concepts
Shortly, I’m here to share some of my insights. My experience combines 4 years of University Degree and 15 years of practical work. I’ve been partnering up with distinctive brands across Europe, Asia and the US. Above all, no matter the essence of your business, there are basic design principles that apply everywhere. Here we go:
- Define your price point. Start with answering this: Where on the market does your brand stand on the scale from 1 to 10? Affordable, middle class or luxury? This is important, in order to market your product right. If your brand is “economy”, it will be a bad idea to visually present it as “high end”. This is one of the biggest traps a rookie designer falls into
- Brand recognition. It’s tempting to follow the trend and copy the competition but this is for newbies that are about to get hit in the face. This method would only bury your brand even before it had the chance to be born. Don’t be a follower, be a leader. Making sure that your brand stands out in the crowd is the way to go. Nowadays, the market is overflowing, your only chance to grab the attention is to offer something never seen before.
- Define your audience. This includes more work that you’d think. But it’s worth the effort. Thinking twice about it is a must, as getting this wrong would put your entire marketing strategy in jeopardy. Think about who is your client and their behaviour.
Importance of social media design. Let’s get practical
Let’s play out the possible outcomes if you didn’t follow the basic rules I mentioned above.
- Not defining your price point. Let’s say your brand aims to serve customers looking for ”economy” products. But you decided that this ”high-end” branding looks stunning. Sadly, the design would be ineffective for your brand. That’s because the target group looking for “economy” would not even pay attention to you. They’d skip you unconsciously. Their radar is set to scan approachable looking brands.
- Being a follower. You do your homework – knowing your competitors inside out. You want to be them so doing everything exactly how they did it seems like a winning point. True, but for them. For you it’s a losing point because you didn’t get there first. They did. You throw your money to copy them and now you wait. You are competing with someone that’s been on the market for a while, with reputation and loyal customers. Nobody knows you. All you are waiting for is the inevitable death of your unborn brand. I’m sorry for your loss.
- Not defining your audience. For example, millennials vs baby boomers. It’s scientifically known they are completely different in their behaviour. Millennials’ buying decision is based on emotions. They want the best, latest, coolest, easiest and they want it now. They even date this way – thank you Tinder. Baby boomers love loads of information. They love the research. To sum up, failing to recognise these differences among audiences could kill your business.
Your TO-DO list before developing your social media design
- Match your price point with corresponding design. If your product/service is economy it needs to look affordable. That’s what design concepts are for – helping you market yourself correctly. For example, you have $3000 monthly budget. You need to pay rent, put food on the table and pay the bills. Would you stop by a Gucci Store on the way home? Gucci stores look amazing, they did everything right. But most likely you wouldn’t even notice them. That’s because your mind is automatically set to look for what you need, not what looks best. And the other way around. With $3 000 000 monthly budget, most likely you’d skip “Ross dress for less” . Same psychology applies to virtual brands.
- Stand out. Be bold and different. Your research is still crucial. It’s important to know your competitors but this time pay attention to what they are NOT. Not what they are. Think outside the box and be that new brand everyone is talking about. Yes, they don’t know you but you excite them with your novelty. They want to get to know you.
- Know your audience and give them exactly what they respond to. Your design concepts need to be aligned with your potential buyers. For instance, give millennials visually stunning and cool. Provoke a strong emotion without much explanation. Talk to them on an emotional level. After that, feed baby boomers with detailed information. Convince them about your quality, turn to them and their needs, use infographics packed with information.
Top up your knowledge. SMM done right from the start
That was long. But basics are most important when it comes to strategy. I want you to do things right and give a chance to your business. Once we’ve covered the basics, things get easier and results are coming. If you read all this and your focus is on Instagram, find out some tips about Instagram growth service and how to navigate your way into success. Our work is all about doing SMM right from the start. A huge part of omni channel marketing is strong social media presence. Partnering up with the right instagram marketing service could be the difference between failure and success when it comes to social media design.
I know that you might also be considering trying out Influencer marketing. Before that make sure you get familiar with Instagram web viewer and how it could help you in this endeavour.
