3) Social Media Graphics: Promoting Site Content
Graphics can be created to support as well as summarize site content on social media platforms that link back to the original content through shares links alongside them. For example, we can create graphics to present our optimized Question and Answer Page or a summary of an expert article.
Through this discussion, we will discuss the process of designing graphics, using image captions and hashtags, as well as posting best practices
(i) Designing Graphics:
To aid the graphic designing process, you can consider using sites that allow you to not only create your own graphics but provide a wide range of templates that you can edit.
Some tips to consider include:
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Know which design size you require beforehand - this may vary based on the social media platform. For example, Instagram offers a maximum resolution of 1080 x 1080 px.
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Use only 2 font designs to avoid going overboard.
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Use contrasting fonts or different text sizes to grab attention and to ensure the main message is conveyed.
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Less is sometimes more: if your design does not require extra backgrounds, images, or design layers, consider going with white space as that helps avoid your content being avoided due to noise.
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Use icons to help graphically summarize your content.
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Consider combining consistency with creativity: ask yourself what your major content can creatively look like as consistency is a core principle of content creation. Consistency also applies to your design (font, colors, etc). For example, an analysis of 7 Cups Instagram can help identify that most of the posts are quotes, affirmations, etc. Note that more foundational blocks can always be introduced into the flow with time.
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Consider adding your logo or site information on your graphic to help strengthen your brand.
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Think of ways to stand out: Research and observe current trends, international events, and other possible content inspirations, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box to trial new creative ideas. For example, 7 Cups hosted a very successful and engaging Mental Health Trick or Treat
Sites that have free editable templates include:
(ii) Image Captions and Hashtags
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Remember that your image caption not only represents the content you are posting about but the brand you represent.
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Consider the length of your caption based on your social media platform. For instance, Twitter limits characters, Instagram can be used for a medium length caption, while Facebook could host longer article-style captions too!
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Some ideas of captions include: summarizing the content, mentioning the main motto of the post, etc.
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Add emojis to connect with your audience.
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Don’t forget to ensure readability by breaking up your longer captions with headings or spaces.
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Questions help engage the audience: never forget to look for opportunities for reflection such as one-word answers to yes/no questions, or other quick icebreakers such as what everyone plans to do at the weekend.
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A call to action is important to ensure further practical engagement. You can remind users about more details about supporting content present in the link in your bio or directly share your relevant link (depending on the social media platform)
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Structure your caption with important information at the beginning, followed by any additional information of interest (such as goals, facts), questions for engagement, call to action, etc - you can style your structure based on your content type.
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Include relevant hashtags and consider using mentions and tagging other users. Researching relevant hashtags involves keeping an eye on the hashtags used by influencers and leading figures and profiles within the industry, looking for trends and patterns, finding related hashtags just like related keywords, as well as trialing different groups of hashtags for certain content types. Last but not least, your brand can aim to start a new hashtag of its own as well! Some websites have tools that can help you target and research hashtags - some examples are included in this external link.
(iii) Posting Time
Many people often wonder when to post their content, and this curiosity is definitely important because posting time does influence engagement and value of the content posted - however, there are no correct rules of guidance.
Rather, posting times should be based on insights on when your audience is most likely to be active - most social media platforms offer these insights for business or creator accounts, alongside insights in regards to other engagement factors.
One excellent feature to utilize to ensure posting time, as well as a smooth flow of content, is to plan content in advance and schedule posts - scheduling is possible through the Twitter platform as well as the Facebook Business Suite for both Instagram and Facebook
Activity
Using your answer to the question in Discussion 2’s activity, create a social media graphic presenting the content and share your graphic as a reply to this post. Creativity is welcome for this task, and you can create any form of content. Feel welcome to use the 7 Cups social media content for inspiration if needed. Reply to at least one student’s graphic as well.
Tip: You can discuss ideas or ask for help in the student discussion and support thread!
Not sure how to add images directly into this forum discussion? Find instructions here
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This post is brought to you by the Content Development and Marketing Program, find out more information about the program here
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Seems like my photo will not upload :( Sorry about that, here is a link:
https://ibb.co/YTBLk5D
@KatherrinneP Very good formatting and presentation.
@Fristo
Thank you so much! 🤗✨
@KatherrinneP
Awesome and lovely! Very cute!
Thank you so much! 🤗✨
@KatherrinneP I really enjoyed the creativity you used - your color scheme and presentation is very on point and this has an aesthetic feel to it too
@KatherrinneP
I really loved your creativity and colour scheme! :)
Thank you so much! 🤗✨
@KatherrinneP very inspiring and nice. Loved it
@KatherrinneP
I loved your presentation.... well done
@KatherrinneP
Super creative with the formatting and the message idea. I think the fonts went a little overboard but everything else looked great! It was so interesting to see what you made of the prompt :)
@KatherrinneP I Love How You Defined "Yourself". It Looks Professional
@KatherrinneP
@KatherrinneP it was so beautiful! :)
i like your work !
@KatherrinneP
nice work
@KatherrinneP
Such a creative design😊 I love the concept and the message 👍
@KatherrinneP
so cute! loved the idea behind it :D
@KatherrinneP
This is soo sooo nice ! And the colour theme you chose has added a soothing and vibrant aura of creativity to the post on a whole different level .
@KatherrinneP
You have great talent and the pic is really creative
@KatherrinneP
That's really cool and loved the way you sent the message to us XD
@KatherrinneP That's actually really good.
@KatherrinneP omg so beautiful
@Fristo
I really like how powerful this design is! Well done! 🤗✨
@Fristo Nice Job. Your colors were nice.
@Fristo
I love how striking and easy it is to read. Great advice also!
@Fristo very simple but love the colour contrast and quote feel it has to it
@Fristo
Great job! I especially loved the color contrast!
@Fristo Hi there! I loved the colour combination you used and the word art!
A tiny suggestion would be to see the punctuation a little bit. But I loved the content and the overall creativity of the graphic! :)
@Fristo this looks great!
@Fristo Really well done!
@Fristo
Great work! Simply yet hard-hitting and impactful.
@Fristo
It looks very pretty! I love the colour contrast.
@Fristo
I love the color scheme you chose! I'm also obsessed with the font you used for the word "know."
@Fristo
I love how simple yet powerful your graphic is! The contrasting colors fit well nicely, and the use of two different fonts makes the post engaging. I love the quote too since it is very empowering!
@Fristo
Love how direct, feasible and powerful this is!
@Fristo
I really like the simple design with powerful messages.
Well done!! 😊
@Fristo
I really liked your first graphic. I may have chosen a different font for the second.
@Fristo This is sooo cute!! I especially like the paint streak look! Great job~~~
But always remember that
@Fristo
A very compact yet beautiful presentation . I loved it !!
I love the colour theme here 😍
@Fristo
Love your graphic and the sentiment.
great work @Fristo! the font looks very pretty and I love the color combination of blue and pink.
@Fristo
Love this! Its great!
@Fristo
Nice graphic and eye catching design
@Fristo I absolutely adore this beautifully sweet message so simple but so deep and meaningful at the same exact time. Thank you for taking the time to present this to us!
lovely colors, well done <3
Nice use of balance with the top and bottom part of the poster. Consider sticking to two fonts in the future.
@SoulfullyAButterfly
I hope mine shows up properly!
@SynSavory
nice quote n design syn
@blissart
Thank you!
@SynSavory lovely presentation! I love the color scheme, the background of the graphic, and how the icon greatly specifies support.
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Yay thanks!
@SynSavory
I love the background you managed to use, It's so calming.
I loved The different use of colours really grabs your attention
You did a great job managing to include the 7 cups logo
Overall I'm really impressed 💙
@Azalea98
Hooray thank you!
@SynSavory
Oh my gosh! I love the message and design! 😍💛
@SynSavory
Wow, really nice! It looks amazing and very mental-health centered. It looks professional and very original. I like it!!
-Kpopcat2020
@SynSavory
Really good creativity
@SynSavory
Wow your design is amazing, it looks incredible
@SynSavory this is so professional! Good job!
@SoulfullyAButterfly
https://www.canva.com/design/DAEUqlxHSpY/share/preview?token=vRNSxj0s6NkvQmHxYh2HUw&role=EDITOR&utm_content=DAEUqlxHSpY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton
@SoulfullyAButterfly
https://imgur.com/TRoJHF5
@blissart I love the colors you've chosen for your work. The whole thing looks simple and clean. But I feel like the two text blocks (white and black) are a little disconnected from each other, maybe putting them closer and more aligned would help? Overall, nice job!
@FinleyTews
Thanks
@blissart Thank you for sharing! I like how the text font adds interest and how the color scheme looks good - I agree that perhaps arranging the line spacing between "worth" and the other black text could help add more symmetry but this still is superb
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Thanks
I should put my name on it but I kinda prefer it this way, uncluttered.
https://www.canva.com/design/DAEUsJjE_3A/mf2ow_UDYnRSudDI2yTIwg/view?utm_content=DAEUsJjE_3A&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink
@FinleyTews so aesthetic! I absolutely love it. Great presentation and I think we could try to fit in your username or the 7 Cups logo if needed.
Thank you very much!
@FinleyTews
I like the sky in the background and the circle shape around your word. The blue sky has this beautiful space. It looks so wholesome and balance. The best part is you are talking about a healthy relationship. The graphic goes so well with your words.
Thank you very much!
My submission:
https://imgur.com/rcKDlhP
@WendinCaring thank you for sharing this! The background of your image adds to the curiosity of the initial question - I am wondering if you can edit this to - have you "asked" as that can help grammatically and I would like to share your graphic on social media!
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Thank you so much for your feedback.
Oops, I totally overlooked the misspelling.
It will be my pleasure to have my work shared on the social media. Please go ahead and do it.
Here is the edited versions.
https://imgur.com/a/WetEP3f
Lesson learnt: do the coursework while I am more awake. I made the graphic at midnight and my brain was partially dead.
...version...
Too many typos...I am eating the "s" for lunch.
@WendinCaring
Love the small depth of field in this graphic, really makes the message pop!
@WendinCaring that looks amazing
@WendinCaring
@daydreammemories
That is an awesome poster! Well done \^o^/
https://www.canva.com/design/DAEV5a8dgS4/share/preview?token=n7OZrSWsdKN4Cg2QnFk_Zw&role=EDITOR&utm_content=DAEV5a8dgS4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton
Hi guys here is a link to my graphic !
Hope you like it :)
@azureOwl6812
I honestly wish I could give you more than one upvote! I really loved the message in yours. It gives me permission to love myself. It is very simple yet so inspiring. Very well done.
@azureOwl6812
I can't see this because of the permissions on Canva. Can you take a screenshot and post it on IMGUR