Top Tips: Making Graphics for your Network Marketing Biz
Christina here! With almost 9 years working in graphic design, "classically trained", as I like to say, in the art of Adobe programs, Photoshop, Indesign & Illustrator, I've been able to create high quality graphics for my business over the course of the years. The great thing about technology now a days is that people are creating tools and apps that make is so much more efficient for ANYONE to use and make their own graphics. Now, we all can't be designers with the eyes for great quality graphics (I've seen some TERRIBLE graphics out there for marketing, unfortunately) but I can guide you to the best tools and practices for creating and using graphics for your business.
1. Use Your Own Photos
Nothing markets your products better than YOU do, so use your own photos (most of the time, anyways.) You are your best tool for your business. People that know, like and trust you want to see YOU using your products, showing off your lifestyle and what you love/ your hobbies, because network marketing is MORE than just posting about the products you're sharing (look up attraction marketing!) Make sure your photos are clear, well lit and make sense: Don't take a picture trying to show off an eyeshadow look with your eyes wide open, make sure you take a pic with your eyes open and closed, post both or put the pics together in an app side by side. DO NOT USE FILTERS.
My most used app for photos is Layout by Instagram. This app allows you to stack photos side by side for before and afters without leaving a watermark or logo on the photo. It's completely free to download and use.
| YES! Selfie taken in natural light with no filter! | X NO BUENO X Filtered image with no natural lighting! |
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2. Use Apps That Do Most of the Work for You
Not only is this extremely time saving, but you can sit on your couch with Netflix on for a few hours and bang out a whole month's worth of content in a short period of time.
These are the only 2 apps you'll need:
Canva or Adobe Spark
Both have free and paid versions. I use paid version of Adobe Spark.
How do they do the work for you? They both come with pre-made templates sized out for all different kinds of social media platforms and types of content you're creating. They both let you save your images with transparent backgrounds. They both let you use your own photos.
Other apps I find useful:
- Photofy
- Wordswag
- Layout by Instagram
- Boomerang by Instagram
- Mojo
- Google Drive (so I can upload and access my photos from any device)
Other than those, I don't use anything else. I've seen people use typogram and they look decent, but I've never used them. Make sure to pay the couple of dollars it takes to get the companies water mark removed from your photos. They look unprofessional and cheap!!
3. Watermark and/ or Hashtag Your Photos
If you're using a company made marketing photo spread, water mark the photos with your own logo, business name, website or hashtag. This prevents Facebook from flagging your images as spam and sending you to Facebook Jail. You can do this by putting the photo into Canva or Adobe Spark and adding any of those options. If you want to make a watermark to use more than once, "brands" let's you upload logos and watermarks for use on every photo. Creating one and save it with a transparent background. You'll be able to add it to any photo without obstructing the image itself.
| Image saved from Corporate Instagram Marketing | Image made to match branding |
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4. Avoid Pixelated Images and Word Vomit
Adding text to your images is fine, but if you add too much nobody is going to read it. Put the text in your post. Images in marketing are there to capture the eyes of your audience & to make them want to read the post. If they have to read the image, they will scroll right past. If the image isn't high quality, it will not catch anyone's eyes. If the photo looks like crap, scrap it.
5. Don't Over-compose Your Photos
Adding 1 or 2 images together is okay! Please don't take a picture and write a novel of text over top of it, it's hard to read and hard on the eyes. Plus, people want to see your face! Over-composed photos are not pleasing to the eyes and will not capture an audience. You want the text in your caption to do the explaining, the photo is to catch the eyes of the viewer so they read on!
| A simple photo that's pleasing to the eyes, branded with our website, and a simple sentence explaining the photo. |
X NO BUENO X |
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6. Copying Quotes/ Re-Posting Quotes
I love quotes! They motivate people and they inspire story telling. They're a great tool for networking and attraction marketing. There is nothing wrong with reposting an already made image of a quote, but it looks so much better and more consistent with your branding if you retype the quote into word swag and make your own image with your own hashtag or logo!! Then you can post to Pinterest and drive traffic to your social media that way! People will see your consistent brand and wonder who you are and what you're about. Curiosity is one of the best marketing tools and branding creates it! WOO. Make sure your brand is CONSISTENT. Colors, font, backgrounds, hashtags etc. Even better if you can quote your own content and share it that way. Original content is the best content. If you're quoting someone else, make sure to include their name!
Don't compromise your marketing and your business by posting graphics that don't look GREAT. When in doubt, post a picture of yourself at a good angle with good lighting, showing off what you want to show off and put the text in the POST. It will do so much more for your business, and it's easier and faster!