Images are an important type of content when you want to build a presence on social media due to their visual nature. Most social media platforms nowadays have become increasingly visual, in recognition of the fact that visual content is able to drive greater engagement.
While images in general have the potential to be engaging – that doesn’t necessarily mean that all images will automatically engage viewers. Creating eye-catching images that stand out and are able to attract and hold the attention of viewers requires some knowledge of design, which is why these 6 simple tips should help:
Develop a consistent style and identity
Images are more than just isolated pieces of content on your social media presence. Each image that you publish is a part of your brand, and is intimately tied to its identity – which is something that you should leverage.
If there’s one thing that you should try to foster in your identity it is consistency. The images that you publish should have a consistent style, one that your audience will start to associate with your brand. That will help you to project a single, coherent identity – rather than one that seems conflicting.
Having a consistent style and identity can help to increase engagement – not just on a single social media platform. Ideally it (or elements of it) should extend across all your social media presences and tie them together.
Choose the right typography
The typography that you use in your social media images can convey more than just the message they spell out. The font that you select will also create an impression of the personality behind the image, and contribute to the emotions it conveys.
When you’re choosing typography there are 2 important areas to consider: Readability and consistency. If possible try to choose three fonts at most to use throughout all of your social media images.
Each font that you choose should be readable, and you should check to make sure that it remains readable and different sizes. Additionally you should put the fonts side by side to see how they look in proximity to one another.
Contrast shapes to set elements apart
While there are many types of contrast that you can use to set elements apart (including color and size) – shapes are one of the more underrated yet powerful methods of doing so. In particular the contrast between symmetrical geometric shapes and asymmetrical organic shapes is something that you can use.
A good example of this is placing an important caption or title within a geometric shape that is set against the otherwise organic shapes of a photo. Similarly an organic splash or some other shape could contrast with a more symmetrical, geometric background.
Using shapes to create contrast in this way will not only help to set elements apart, but it will also make your images ‘pop’, and become more eye-catching.
Use color to evoke emotion
One of the most important aspects of any image are its colors – as it is far more than just a visual element. Color plays an important role in the overall atmosphere of the image, and can set the mood and tone, provoke emotional responses, and convey its personality.
While understanding colors may take time, as a shortcut try to think about the ways in which colors are typically used: Red is energetic, orange is angry, pink is romantic, yellow is bright and optimistic, green is natural and relaxed, blue is calm and trustworthy, purple is soothing, and black is elegant and powerful.
Aside from emotions just remember that contrast is also important when choosing which colors to use.
Understand the value of white space
As much as design is an important part of any image – the absence of it is as well. That is what is typically known as ‘white space’, and it is essentially the space between elements of your images.
White space plays an important role in not only how your images look, but also how eye-catching they are. If you don’t ensure there’s enough white space between elements it will reduce their impact, and make the overall image less eye-catching.
On the other hand if used properly, white space can help to establish a visual hierarchy, set apart important elements, and ensure viewers focus on them.
Experiment and learn – always
If there’s one key to being able to come up with more engaging images for social media, it is to not be afraid to experiment and learn from each image that you publish. Always track how your images perform, and try to analyze and identify why some of them perform better and are more engaging than others.
The more you experiment and learn, the more you’ll be able to improve your images so they are more effective and engaging for your audience specifically.
Photo Editor
By implementing these tips you should be able to ensure that the photos and other images that you publish on social media have a much larger impact. In order to pull that off however you’ll need an editor that has the right features – which is why you should try out Movavi Photo Editor. It is an easy-to-use Mac photo editor that will let you quickly edit your photos to suit your needs.
With its capabilities, Movavi Photo Editor will let you alter and tweak your images to suit your needs. Not only can it adjust color settings, apply filters and effects, or add captions – but you could also use it to touch up portraits, fix any issues, add stickers, remove unwanted elements, and much more. In short you should be able to make sure your images look great and are more engaging before you publish them on social media.