Why graphic design matters in social media

By: Noelle Cutler, Account Assistant, Leonard & Finco Public Relations

Social Media Graphic Example

Have you ever scrolled through a business’s social media page and found nothing but one wordy status after another? Did any of those statuses actually make you want to stop scrolling and start reading? If you’ve noticed businesses like this on social media (or maybe you are that business on social media), you’re missing the big picture. Actually, you’re missing any sort of visual element, picture or graphic. Graphics can be especially useful on social media.

Graphic design helps to make complex issues, well, not complex. Sometimes the best way to write something clearly is to not write at all. Let’s say for example, your company wants to release part of their end of the year report. The report contains a lot of information, and it’s pretty dry information at that. An infographic can be your best friend when you’re trying to explain complicated percentages or when you’re just trying to stop people from falling asleep while reading. It can make any information simple and interesting. 

What if you’re promoting an event on social media? This is a perfect opportunity to create a graphic that features a picture or two with the key message you want people to know about your event. You can write as many statuses as you want, but nine times out of ten, photos and videos will produce a much higher engagement rate. More engagement usually equals more action (like people coming to your event), not to mention it means more people will see your post. 

It’s hard to differentiate the importance of one piece of information over another when you’re writing a status on social media. You can’t even bold the text; your only option is to use ALL CAPS WHICH IS PROBABLY A LITTLE ANNOYING. But a visual does a much better job placing emphasis on what you’ve chosen as the most important info. Secondary information, like contest rules for example, can be placed at the bottom of a visual in a smaller font. Meanwhile, your most important contest information can be right in the center, maybe in a larger font or different colored font. It’s easier for readers to catch onto the main point, and the person making the graphic has way more control over making that main point obvious.  

In a cyber world full of people and businesses talking, graphic design can set your social media material above the noise so people notice it, understand it and share it.