Think about your attention span for a second. What would you say its length is on any given day? If we’re honest, probably not long at all. In fact, research has indicated that our attention spans are actually getting shorter. And attention spans apply to (and affect) how we market digitally. For reference, on average, you have between five to six seconds to grab someone’s attention. Yes, you heard that right—seconds. That’s all the time you have to capture someone’s attention and get them to act. Not a long time, right? For that reason, eye-catching advertising graphics are the key to successful digital marketing campaigns that lead to conversions.
Are Your Advertising Graphics Capturing Your Audience’s Attention?
Just like in life, first impressions matter online. The advertising graphics you use on your campaigns are those campaigns’ first impressions to your audience and, by extension, to your product, service, or company. Whatever it is you’re advertising, those graphics might be the first thing people see—and even reference back to when buying. Starting to see their value?
So…what should your advertising graphics be doing? Getting conversions and keeping your campaign moving forward. How so? Employing industry best practices that provide a clear message, allude to who you are and what you do, and direct your audience to act. Let’s break it down a little more, shall we?
Be Clear and Concise
Advertising graphics aren’t where words go to live. That’s more along the lines of blogs or SEO-rich web pages. Graphics, on the other hand, are bitesize places to get your message across. You want to avoid overcrowding a graphic with too many words, elements, or other clutter that causes a muddied message.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s good to go with one concise headline that speaks to your audience’s needs, a call-to-action button or phrase, and a few (emphasis on few) supporting elements. Depending on the nature of your industry, you may also have to add elements like the “Equal Housing Opportunity” (FHEO) logo for live-in complexes or other housing entities.
Utilize Your Branding
Your branding is unique to you—and probably had a lot of thought, effort, money, and time put into it.
You want to reemphasize your visual aesthetic across your messaging. It can be subtle—but incorporating your branding serves as a visual cue to your audience lets them more readily understand who you are and what you’re trying to convey.
Think About Typography
Believe it or not, typography should be a top consideration when designing your advertising graphics. This isn’t to say that plain typography or simple style won’t suit your business. But feel free to dabble with different styles and fonts of typography to find a few that augment your company branding and/or industry type.
Employ Color to Your Advantage
Like typography, color is near the top of the design checklist. It’s an evocative design element that can elicit all kinds of emotional responses, thought processes, and even mental recall. That’s tons of attention-grabbing advertising momentum from the get-go.
Additionally, color plays a significant role in themed or holiday-based campaigns and posts: Specific colors and color couplings are associated with their respective holiday, event, and/or occasion. Color, as indicated, does a ton of the heavy lifting when it comes to advertising graphics.
Opt for High-Quality Images
Images are going to be the standout feature of your advertising graphics. For that reason, it’s beyond important to use high-quality images in your design. Your audience’s eyes will tend to track toward your images, and they should educate, intrigue, and impress.
As a note, if you plan to shoot your own images, be sure to shoot in ideal lighting with a steady hand on the camera. You want your pictures to come out as professional as possible. Remember, these will be on full display online!
Your Go-To Design & Advertising Gurus
Are design and/or digital advertising not necessarily in your wheelhouse? Uptick Marketing can complement your creative, marketing, and advertising efforts. We have full-time designers, advertising specialists, copywriters, and more on staff to ensure your advertising graphics look as good as possible—and are actually getting seen by the people you want to see them. Contact us to start a conversation on how to enhance your digital advertising in all respects.
