The 6 Design Elements of Scroll-Stopping Social Media Graphics

1. The 6 Design Elements of Scroll- Stopping Social Media Graphics You’ve worked tirelessly on an advertisement or blog post. You’ve shared it on LinkedIn or Facebook. You check analytics at the end of the day and the results are, well…disappointing. You’re seeing engagement from maybe a few select users (hi, Mom!), but overall engagement with your social media channels is static, or even declining. Sound familiar? If you’re experiencing this scenario, you’re not alone. Every industry faced considerable declines in social media engagement (particularly on Facebook) in 2018, as algorithms changed to prioritize family and friends over brands and more and more businesses are using social media. It’s still important, though, to utilize social media for publicizing your brand, as the average social media user spends about two hours a day on social media and no doubt encounters content from other businesses and competitors. With so many ads and organic posts flooding people’s newsfeeds, it can be hard to generate user engagement. One way to set you apart from the rest is to create scroll-stopping social media graphics. So, how do you do it? Use the following elements as a guide to help you up your game on social media.

2. 1. THE BILLBOARD APPROACH Users scroll past social graphics about as fast as you drive past a billboard. In fact, users scroll through Facebook’s mobile newsfeed 41 percent faster than on a desktop, and with such a high amount of people using mobile devices, it’s especially important to stop (or at least slow down) that scrolling. We’re big fans of the billboard approach. We designed this graphic to promote an event on our Facebook page. Use the billboard approach to help get your message and brand across in those few seconds: Use five words or less. Decide on your message and keep it simple. Bonus points if you make it witty and creative.

3. Use dynamic images. Words are important, but images are also essential in communicating a message, so you’ll want to consider which images can best tell your story. Consider location. Just as you’d change your approach depending on where your billboard would appear, you’ll want to decide what’s best for the social media platform you’re using. DON’T PLAY THE BLUES LinkedIn’s and Facebook’s interfaces are predominately blues and grays, so avoid monochromatic graphics in those color families—you don’t want your graphics blending in with the screen. Pro tip: Add puns to complement your complementary colors…see what we did there? But what if your brand’s colors are blue and gray (like ours are)?

4. Play with complementary shades! Use varying shades of your brand colors (other blues and grays, for example), and naturals—oranges, yellows, browns, or greens—to help you stand out in newsfeeds. 4. THINK BIG/CONTRAST IS KEY Most people use social media on mobile devices, and not everyone has a smartphone with a huge display. Large copy in sans-serif, easy-to-read fonts will always be your friend. You can go classic with Helvetica or use other popular fonts across social media, like Railways, Oswald, or Montserrat—just make sure your font choice fits your brand. 4. THINK BIG/CONTRAST IS KEY Most people use social media on mobile devices, and not everyone has a smartphone with a huge display. Large copy in sans-serif, easy-to-read fonts will always be your friend. You can go classic with Helvetica or use other popular fonts across social media, like railway, Oswald, or Montserrat—just make sure your font choice fits your brand.

5. Along those same lines, contrast is key! Your graphics should be legible on a darkened display from arm’s length on an iPhone, so you’ll want to design accordingly. Make sure your copy doesn’t get lost in the background and that your images don’t blend together. Besides sans-serif fonts, bolding and caps can also be your friends. Don’t go too over the top, though—if you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing.