INTRODUCTION
Visual components are an essential part of your hotel’s social media marketing plan. In fact, an infographic by Ragan Communications reveals that visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than text alone.
While it may be tempting to flood your social media accounts with stock photos, a 2016 survey conducted by Venngage found that only 7.6 percent of online marketers felt stock photos generated the biggest impact. Meanwhile, 41.5 percent of online marketers identified infographics and other original graphics as the most engaging.
The right graphics can help your hotel, resort or bed & breakfast tell its story and reinforce the brand. Here are some tips on how to create engaging social media graphics for your hotel.
INCORPORATE BRAND ELEMENTS IN GRAPHICS
Core style elements such as fonts, color schemes and logos should be included in your hotel’s graphics to help create a consistent experience for your social media audience. Best Western, for example, strives to establish a consistent visual identity by outlining specific logo requirements and font families in its brand identity manual.
Use company slogans or photos of your hotel as some additional ways to make your social media graphics identifiable. Furthermore, in-house photos can help you tell a unique story and make your graphics pop. For example, if you’re boasting comfort, the associated graphic should include an image (perhaps a photo of your beds) that evokes that feeling from potential guests.
KEEP GRAPHICS SIMPLE
The best social media graphics for hotels use clean, easy-to-read fonts that match the tone of the message. Color and contrast also should be taken into consideration. Choose a color palette that gives balance to your graphic, while avoiding those that blend together and make it difficult to discern what’s in the graphic.
Adhere to recommended dimensions when designing graphics. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter all have different requirements. Makeawebsitehub.com compiled a social media image cheat sheet that can be used as a quick reference. Follow these guidelines to ensure your graphics display appropriately across the various channels.
USE ONLINE GRAPHIC DESIGN TOOLS
There are several free, easy-to-use graphic design platforms available online. These are particularly useful if your hotel does not have programs such as Photoshop or Illustrator.
For instance, Canva has pre-designed templates that allow for customization. You can choose the layout, search for images, buy stock photos or upload your own, add effects and use various fonts and color schemes. Once your graphic is completed, you may download it in various formats or share it directly to social media channels.
Adobe Spark is another graphic design tool with an intuitive interface. Like Canva, it includes professionally designed templates that you can customize with themes and typography, and its auto-resize feature allows you to optimize your designs for various social media sites.