It is no secret that we live in an increasingly digital world. With the constant flow of information and the stellar growth of social media, we are all exposed to a blinding array of “Likes”, “Tweets”, texts, and IM’s on the Internet. Then along comes the rapidly growing, huge world of Mobile Apps and smart phones being used for nearly every aspect of our daily lives. All of this overwhelming data creates the need to read or view images in just a few seconds & then… on to something else. Plus, the mobile phone revolution means we are processing what we see on smaller screens. When you consider how little time you have to grab someone’s attention, graphic design becomes paramount, not only in building brand awareness, but in merely standing out long enough to get noticed by viewers. This creates the challenge of creating solid, clever & colorful graphics to entice the viewer to stop at your particular presentation over the thousands of others competing for this same viewer. Below we’ll explore the relation between visuals and social media success.
Over stimulated Digital Natives
“Digital natives” is a term for the generation born during or after the advent of digital technology. They don’t know anything other than the instantaneous gratification that comes through the use of digital cameras, computers or smart phones. Due to the overwhelming array of stimuli that emerging technologies deliver to the consumer, this generation is becoming desensitized, according to the website, All Things CRM. Grabbing their attention takes eye-catching graphic design on both social media pages and in video. You can prove this to yourself by viewing an array of different objects or icons on a written page and see which ones quickly draw your eye & which ones are merely background clutter to the winners. The eye is drawn to that which stands out.
Shortened Attention Span
With tweets at 140 characters and text messages often shorter than that, consumers often respond best to a first impression that includes an exciting or attention-grabbing graphic image. When a graphic is used consistently over many social media platforms, customers may view it several times over, which creates more brand recognition. Since many people are visual learners, they’ll remember your brand better when they see it visually, instead of hearing or reading about it, according to graphic designer Jacob Cass.
Increases Market Perception
According to Jacob Cass, your graphic design or logo can play a big role in how your product or service is perceived by the social media user. Having an attractive graphic design helps to strengthens your brand, build trust with the consumer and make your business seem larger than it is. A well-designed graphic can also stir the user to post links on his own social media pages; this directs potential customers back to the company’s main website or starts a viral campaign with unlimited potential.
In conclusion, the graphic design should be large and detailed enough so that visitors to the social media page can easily recognize the image, it should not be so large as to make the load time too long. This can turn the viewer off and cause an exodus from the site before the graphic is viewed. When choosing an image for the profile picture, many companies use a corporate logo; if the profile is for a company, It is sometimes a good idea to use a photograph of the principles to personalize the social media page.
Our graphics and photography professionals here at Socially Buzzing are trained in state-of-the-art graphic design concepts and our photography is second to none. It is very difficult for the average company, with so much on their plate, to commit the time money and effort to engage someone in house to create effective graphics & photography. This is just one more reason why we can say….Relax, we’ve got this!
