5 Ways to Look Like a Boss With Your Social Media Graphics

Ready for the bad news?

As more people hop onto your favorite social platform, your own carefully crafted posts get less eyeballs.

GIFS, memes, video selfies and viral videos may be sucking all the air out of the virtual room, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try your hardest to get people to notice you.

And if you want to get noticed, visual elements are key.

But before you go crazy on Canva or PicMonkey, read this.

1. Mind your platform.

On these three Instagram feeds we manage, it’s very clear there is a consistent theme running through each individual account.

People tend to be more forgiving of awkward shots and lackluster inspirational posts on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. If you want to be an Instagram or Facebook boss, you’ll have to devote more time to developing a color scheme, curating artsy shots or creating expertly branded posts.

2. Keep it visual.

These three consecutive posts on Instagram convey a specific message with minimal text and design.

With half the time we spend on social media on our smartphones, your social media graphics are likely going to be viewed on a small screen. Opt for large, easy- to-read-fonts and less words to make a bigger impact. And skip the detailed design or ornate graphics, less is more when creating visual elements for social media.

3. Position it right.

On this post, we were careful to have short, clear lines for easy reading.

Because people read from top down, especially on their phones, it’s a good idea to stack your copy with the intent of having someone skim it from top to bottom. Since English is read left to right, put your main headline to the left for easy reading.

4. Go for bold colors.

You can see the three different posts convey completely different vibes.

The post on the far left is delicate and classy. The middle post is young and energetic. On the far right, the post is more trendy and flashy.

Use colors with high contrast to catch people’s attention away from cute puppy videos. While deciding color, take a moment to reflect on the mood you’re trying to set for your post. Is this an exciting announcement? A thoughtful post showing gratitude? A welcome to a new employee? Be sure your colors match the tone of the message.

5. Know thy dimensions.

Different platforms have different dimensions. Here, you can see the same post we prepared for two different platforms had the same content, but two different dimensions.

There’s nothing like seeing your carefully designed image horribly cropped; it’s painful. Before you design an image to post on social media, be sure to find out the right dimensions for that platform. Curated lists of the image dimensions for each social media platform like this one from Sprout Social come in handy.