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Creating images for your social media accounts can leave you feeling overwhelmed. There’s all those buttons and tools in your design program. The sheer number of graphics needed to sustain a social media account can feel daunting. There is also the time it takes to put a graphic together. Who has time for all that? If you’re not a graphic designer by trade, this task might be the last thing you want to sit down and do. And when something doesn’t come easily, it’s more likely to become a procrastination pain point. Batch creating your images is one solution to help design graphics faster and more efficiently!
Here are 8 tips to design graphics faster for your micro-business:
Make a content plan
Having a plan for anything helps move us along more quickly, right? Planning out your online content ahead of time is the very first step in becoming more productive in your social media marketing and designing faster graphics. If you don’t know what you need to post, you have no idea what graphics you need to create, and there’s no way you can improve your efficiency.
Stick to using one design program
Play around with different design programs, but in the end, choose the one you feel the most comfortable with and provides you with the best tools for your particular business. Here are a few suggestions:
- Canva for Work ($12.99 per month as of Oct 2019)
There’s also a free version, I LOVE the “for Work” version because you have the ability to keep your brand colors and fonts at the ready, and you can upload your fonts as well. You also have access to many, many more images and design elements with the paid version. - PicMonkey ($7.99-10.00 per month as of Oct 2019)
PicMonkey is somewhat similar to Canva, it has a few different features available depending on what level you pay for. - Photoshop & Pixteller are also programs you can use. Photoshop would be for slightly more advanced users. Pixteller is the one I’m least familiar with, but I know a few people who LOVE it!
Choosing one program to stick with just makes sense. You will have all your files in one location. You’ll only have to remember what all the buttons and tools do one program. There’s no need to take up extra brain cells using more than one program. 🙂
Create branded templates
The sites above, especially Canva and PicMonkey, provide templates for you! One, they have templates that are already created that you can adjust to use your own brand colors and fonts. But, you can also save those templates, create copies of them, etc. So that you can come back the next time you need to make more images! Design graphics faster because you already have it all there for you! All you need to do is change the words, or add a new product image. BOOM! Efficiency Level: MASTERED.
Set aside a specific time to create
Batching your graphics means creating more than one graphic in a single sitting. Since you’ve now got a content plan and your branded templates waiting for you, schedule an hour or two to sit down and create all your graphics at once!
Get them all done for a certain time frame
And while you’re sitting down creating all your graphics at once, tell yourself, “I’m going to create all the images I need for the [insert time frame here: week, month, 3 blog posts, etc.].” Make a list of the types of graphics you need for that time frame. Create all the same size at once, then move on to the next ones. So, create all your Facebook covers first, then your Pinterest pins, then your square social media post graphics.
By using templates and batch creating all one type of graphic before moving on to another, you’ll be in the frame of mind to think through all the specifics for that particular size image. When you jump around between platforms and sizes, your brain has to jump around too. It’s much like multi-tasking….if we move our focus around it takes our brain a good amount of time to get settled in and perform that activity well. If you’re doing the same thing over and over, it becomes more automatic, efficient, and you’ll be able to design graphics faster!
Repurpose one graphic for multiple platforms
Here’s a little secret and PRO TIP for you! You don’t have to create a new graphic for every type of image you need. For example, if you’re writing a blog post and you need a feature image, a Pinterest image, maybe an Instagram image, and a Facebook image. You can use Canva (the program I prefer) to make more than one version of the same graphic.
So let’s say you create a facebook post image that is rectangular. You can “resize and copy” the image and switch it to a different template like “Pinterest Graphic” or “Instagram Post”. Canva will adjust the sizing for you and then you can play around with the placement of the design elements to space them well for that particular size graphic (PS….video tutorial coming soon for this).
Make this a routine and it will become a habit
Make batch creating your graphics a part of your weekly/monthly routine. Whatever time frame you decide on. The more often you create images in the program of your choice, the more quickly you’ll be able to design your graphics. The more rote it will be for you to use the tools in the program. The more efficient you will become with it all. And the less daunting it will be to get them done. Do this routinely for a bit and it will all just become habit and a part of your process. You may even come to enjoy putting the graphics together! LOL!
Eventually, you can farm it out to someone else
Or, you may continue to loathe the whole process, even if you’re designing graphics faster. LOL! You may reach a point in your business where it no longer makes sense for you to personally create the images. This might indicate it’s time to have someone else do this task for you. A graphic designer, social media manager, or virtual assistant could take this on so you can focus more on your income producing activities like content/product creation, sales, etc. You’ll still want to have your content plan in place, your list of needed graphics created, a time frame set up, etc.
Even if you reach a point where you are cruising along when it comes to designing images, it can still be a huge breath of fresh air to take it totally off your plate and let someone else do them! Please feel free to message me to chat more about this option!
