You will learn how to design visually compelling creative design on LinkedIn that attracts members to engage with your content. So, the question is: How do I create a graphic design profile on LinkedIn? Is LinkedIn good for graphic designers? How do I make my LinkedIn headline stand out? How do I make my LinkedIn posts stand out?

WHY IS GOOD CREATIVITY IMPORTANT?

Visual Preference in the Digital Landscape

Humans are visual thinkers. The human brain processes image 60,000 times faster than text. Half (!) of the human brain is directly or indirectly devoted to processing visual information. People are so naturally drawn to visuals that we’re willing to bet you probably looked at, and understood, the image below before reading this introduction.

Combine this visual preference and rapid neurological image processing with the 2.5 hours on average we spend scrolling social media feeds each day, and the importance of compelling visual design in the competition for your audience’s attention becomes clear.

The first goal of social marketing is to create a scroll-stopping moment for your audience. Once they’ve paused, you have less than 8 seconds of their attention to convey your value and convince them to take the next step with your brand. Let’s explore some tips and best practices for your creative design on LinkedIn to make every (milli) second count.

The Role of Design in Your Creative Strategy

A creative strategy is a distinct and cohesive plan that executes against an organization or brand’s content. A creative strategy is driven by deep audience insight and considers the market, social and cultural trends. The strategy influences the narrative, themes, visual identity, and tone of voice of your advertising creative.

As marketers, time and resources are tight. We often find ourselves looking for shortcuts such as using templatized creativity, relying too heavily on stock photography, or writing posts that echo others. However, this frequently creates a “sea of sameness” – when our creativity looks the same, and our point of view sounds the same as that of any other company. To stand out, we need to create a unique visual identity and support it with an authentic point of view.

“If you need to use stock photos, we recommend branding your photos as much as you can and using the space on the images to further transport your message, e.g., through lightboxes with text or keywords!”

Content strategy, creative strategy, and creative design all work together to create your brand’s social media identity and style, and they should complement each other. Ready to start designing?

Anatomy of Compelling Creative

• Imagery
• Copy
• Format
• Testing

Imagery Be distinctive and consistent. Imagery is the most critical factor in driving engagement within the newsfeed.

Copy Be discerning with what words you choose and how many.

Format Use a variety of formats to keep your audience’s interest piqued.

Testing Test, learn, and iterate to find the best performing creative combinations.

Designing for social also means designing for the small, mobile, touch screen experience. Audiences are often scrolling social media outside of the “office” and outside of “office hours” on their mobile devices.

1. Imagery: Be Distinctive

• First things first: visuals are the most important aspect of getting someone to stop and engage with your brand in the newsfeed.

• The use of bold colors, illustrations, unexpected photos, or photos of real people are often not associated with LinkedIn advertising, which makes these kinds of visuals different and scroll-stopping.

• Leverage graphic design or photography principles in your imagery to ensure visual appeal.

Consistency is key for your audience to recognize your brand in the feed. The impact consistency can have when you are trying to grab consumers’ attention in a sea of ebook ads is significant.

Let’s say, someone in your target audience sees a piece of content they find relevant, helpful, and valuable. A few days later, if they see the same color, same icon, and same style it’s more likely that person will recognize your content and identify it as valuable. It stands a much better chance of being clicked on by that potential customer to see what your brand has to say!

This doesn’t mean your creative has to look the exact same for every post, but having a consistent and repeatable visual style helps with brand recall and builds resonance. Think of it like your brand’s fashion sense.

When looking to develop standout creativity, look for that balance among the different components that build your brand. It will undoubtedly lead to the best outcomes! Here are the elements you should keep an eye on:

Shapes are more important than you may think. Try to be consistent and stick to the shapes that will give your brand the identity it needs to stand out in the world.

Colors can play an important role in stopping scrolling. Using color in creative ways could mean that your brand stands out in the feed. Be sure to stick to brand guidelines to maintain consistency. And, don’t go too wild with the color combinations, be sure your font has enough contrast to the background for readability.

Fonts/Typography A crisp, clear font that is at least 16 pixels is recommended.  If your brand doesn’t have a standard font yet, try out a basic Sans Serif font such as Helvetica or Open Sans.  Stay away from fonts that will distract from your message.  Comic Sans, for example, has become an internet meme and should be used ironically, not to convey a serious message.  Imagine a financial company posting a message about planning for retirement in Comic Sans, what would be your reaction?

Faces Humanize your brand by including faces and people that represent the audience to which your ad will be shown.

2. Copy: Be Concise, Compelling, and Clear

 Now, it’s time to think about the copy. The copy helps further elements of your story that couldn’t be conveyed in the image – it gives the user more information about the value of your brand or solution and the ability to take action. One initial factor to think about is character length – we recommend staying within 150 characters for a few reasons:

• It forces you to get to the most important and pertinent parts of your story as early as possible.
• On a mobile device, a copy is truncated after 150 characters. Anything beyond that point will force the user to click “see more”. Consider the user experience by reducing or eliminating this friction point.

When thinking about what should be included in your copy, think about why the user should watch the video, download the report, or read your blog post. Is there a compelling insight that you can tease out? What is the end benefit for the audience member? Content is more compelling when it is: 

• Focused – Keep each creative to a single message, a single point. Trying to say too many things in one space creates chaos instead of clarity.
• Relevant – 66% of business decision-makers think that addressing the topic they are currently working on is one of the most critical factors in getting them to engage.
• Snackable – 57% of decision-makers said that their preferred format for thought leadership is “snackable” media that can be digested in a few minutes.
• Actionable – 60% of thought leadership content that business decision-makers encounter does not provide valuable insights. Stand out in the feed with clearly actionable statements.

The example below, clearly calls out the end benefit: By attending this event, the audience will learn how to improve ROI. Easy!

Numbers stand out visually amid text. Use a data point to showcase the immediate value your content may provide. In the example below, we’re highlighting how alignment between sales and marketing resulted in a 30% reduction in cost per lead.

Be sure to consider your brand tone of voice. While LinkedIn is a professional platform, it is also a social platform. Find the right mix of professional and friendly to make your copy readable and relatable.

Finally, one word or phrase can often make the difference in whether a user clicks through or not. Phrases like “the future of…”, “why you should…”, or “how to…” and words like “leader” “trends”, or “secret” can compel a user to click. Here are some examples:

In most cases, it is not recommended to use hashtags on paid ads. Because hashtags are clickable, this may direct users away from your desired action.

3. Format: Mix up Your Content

LinkedIn has a variety of organic and paid media available to communicate your brand message. When we think about creative design, we are generally considering the creative that will be seen in members’ newsfeeds such as Articles, Single Image Ads, videos, and Carousel Ads. When crafting a creative strategy, be sure to mix up your content formats for diversified appeal.

Video

Video is an important factor in your social media content mix because it gives you the ability to show vs. just tell. On the LinkedIn platform, video is 5 times more likely to start a conversation than any other content type. There is a multitude of ways to leverage video:

Industry insights: Share recent insights and trends or unique points of view.

Brand story & interviews: Tell compelling brand stories, showcase your talent and expertise — use third-party experts.

Events: Pre, during, and post-event coverage — behind the scenes and key takeaways.

Tips and Best Practices: Members want to learn and develop new skills — tap into your subject matter experts to give them practical tips.

Product demo: Show your audience your products/services.

Videos add a deeper level of authenticity and personality to your brand. Not every video has to be highly produced either. DIY-style videos are a great way of engaging your audience. However, if you leverage video, you will always be adding a creative dimension to your story.

Carousel Ads

Carousel Ads are another great way to add more dimension to your story. You can highlight different product features, tease out tips or trends, or feature talent. Here are a few tips for Carousel Ads and some examples:

1. Aim for visual continuity to create a cohesive look and feel throughout each of the tiles.
2. Don’t neglect the headline space on each card – you can add to your story in this space.
3. Give members a clear CTA (Call to Action) so they know exactly what you want them to do.

4. Test Your Creative and Your Campaigns

Before you publish any creative design to a campaign, test it by having someone else look at it. We’ve all seen marketing “fails” where, as a consumer, we find ourselves asking “Who approved that?”. It happens to the best of us when we’re rushed or we’ve spent too much time on the details. It’s easy to miss something obvious in the visuals or write copy that others may interpret differently.

When your creative design is ready, test your campaigns by changing one variable at a time. You can keep the copy the same and change the creative, and then maintain the creative and make small tweaks to the copy. It’s important to keep track of that one element that will give you the key to improvement!

Creative Design: Static vs. Carousel

What are carousel ads on LinkedIn?

Carousel ads allow advertisers to showcase multiple images in a single ad, hence improving the likelihood of a conversion. LinkedIn Carousel ads are no different — they help you tell a story with your ads, get brand recognition, and increase your advertising ROI.

Are carousel ads more effective?

Since they were launched, carousel ads have proven effective in increasing sales. In fact, according to a Digiday article, analysis shows that carousel ads outperform regular ads on Facebook. They can drive 10 times more traffic in just three months.

Creative Design: No call-out vs. Call-out

When someone calls us out or in, it indicates that they believe we have the capacity to change. 

Response to calls to “call-in”​ vs. “out”​

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About Author

Ruby is an IT Engineer | Blogger | Digital marketer who offers Copywriting, ghostwriting, and blogging services to provide digital marketing content that gains social media attention and increases search engine visibility.

Ruby Saud View all post from the Author