5 Design Mistakes That Can Sabotage Your Social Media Strategy

Are your social media pages not adding value to your brand? Even with a strong social media strategy, are you not getting the engagement you expect? Well, it could be because of your social media designs.

Yes, posting on social media consistently is important. But what you post and how these posts represent your brand are even more important. After all, every brand on social media shares images and videos. But not all of them drive the conversions they expect. Because quality surpasses quantity, especially in a crowded arena like social media.

So, what are these social media design mistakes that have the potential to bring down your brand’s performance? Let’s find out.

5 Social Media Design Mistakes Your Brand Should Avoid

1. Poor-quality images

Let’s first address the elephant in the room. Finding images is not a difficult job these days. But finding good quality ones is. Poor-quality images, images that are blurry, and low-resolution images that fail to impress your audience when viewed on a big screen are all big setbacks when it comes to the social media experience. After all, high-quality images are the key to marketing success.

So, what should you do?

• If you are creating custom graphics for your brand’s social media pages, ensure that you work with a reliable design team that can create stunning graphics to wow your audience.
• While choosing the stock images for your social media pages, pick them only from the best-rated stock photo sites that regularly add fresh images to their collections.

2. Visual clutter

Visual clutter is a big no-no on social media. Be mindful of the small screens that your social media audiences consume content on. A cluttered image, no matter how visually appealing, will not address the intended purpose.

Clutter can come from crowded text, too many design elements, or even busy backgrounds. Considering the limited real estate in social media images, stick to visuals that throw the spotlight on the message without distractions.

So, what should you do?

Identify a clear purpose for your social media designs. In other words, define the message the design is to deliver and eliminate unwanted distractions.

3. Too many colors

Social media is a vibrant space and so you need bright and vibrant images for your social media pages, no doubt. But for the sake of delivering aesthetics, you cannot spoil the experience. Too many colors can be as bad as no colors at all.

Imagine looking at an image where the headline is in green, the text is in blue, the CTA button is in red and all of these elements are placed on a yellow background. Doesn’t that sound uncomfortable even to imagine? You do not want your audience to experience this, do you?

So, what should you do?

• Remember, less is more when choosing colors for your social media designs. Even the most fun ideas can be conveyed with a simple palette.
• Moreover, each color has its mood. And each of your social media designs should have its mood. Unless these don’t meet at a common point, your design fails to make an impact. Clashing colors can confuse your audience and distract them away from your brand message.

4. Font mistakes

Besides colors, fonts are the next most prominent aspect of any design. There are a few font issues that can ruin even the most perfectly planned social media design. This includes choosing the wrong kinds of fonts and the wrong font sizes. All of these can make the text in your social media design difficult to read.

So, what should you do?

• Avoid using too many font variations in your social media design. One font for the title text and one for the body is enough in most cases.
• When choosing fonts, prioritize readability. Decorative fonts that are difficult to read don’t deliver the message as intended. To avoid this, choose clear and easy-to-read sans-serif fonts in place of serif and script fonts, especially when there’s a lot of text. If you do wish to use decorative fonts, restrict them to the title text.
• Avoid small prints that can cause visual strain on your users. Pick font sizes that make the text easy to read on small screens.

5. Visible lack of branding

After adding all the right elements like a visually appealing color palette, the right combination of fonts, and a clutter-free layout, there’s one secret ingredient your social media designs need. And that is – your brand identity. One of the most commonly overlooked social media design mistakes that can affect your conversions, in the long run, is the failure to align your visuals with your brand.

Every brand has a unique visual identity. This is established through brand colors, brand fonts, and visual themes with specific tones. If your social media designs do not resonate with these parameters, they look disconnected from your brand.

What should you do?

Have clear brand guidelines. This will be a document that acts as a rulebook for styling all of your brand visuals. From the typography styles to the color choices and the variations of your logo design to incorporate into your designs, every little detail is recorded in your brand guidelines.

Takeaway

Today, social media is the best aid a brand can get in word-of-mouth marketing. From building brand awareness to nurturing existing leads and sculpting the brand image, social media channels assist in brand growth in so many ways. In a visually-rich space like social media, it all boils down to the quality of images and videos you share.

So, avoid these common social media design mistakes and go create content that effectively engages your audience.