Social media marketing can be tough and fickle. By following tried and tested practices you can increase your chances of success by a lot. And one of the key things that will make people stop and look at your posts will be the image/video thumbnail you use. Creating engaging social media images is key to crafting a successful social media advertising campaign.

The first thing you want to do is use images that will grab people’s attention and make them want to click through to your blog. Here are some tips to help you create an image with a sense of urgency and appeal to your target audience:

1. Use a powerful image.

The first thing you want to do is make a statement with your image. Be edgy and creative – think of something that is going to catch someone’s eye. I like to use a lot of graphics in my images.

2. Make it unique.

I find that when I’m looking at other people’s blogs, I get distracted by the use of stock images. A lot of people use the same images from the same stock image sites; you want to differentiate yourself by using an image that is unique to you.

3. Just add text.

Creating an infographic or a graphic with text in it is a great way to grab attention. I usually add a photo to my text-based graphics. Anything that is visually appealing is going to help drive people to your blog. A good rule of thumb is use graphics and infographics and lots of text.

4. Highlight a call to action.

If you want to run a giveaway or you want to get people to sign up for your list, you’ll want to highlight a call to action button in your image. In fact, you might want to create an image that tells people exactly what to do and use that image as an infographic.

5. Use relevant images.

Think about what your image is going to be about. Are you writing a post about social media? Well, then, you may want to consider using an image that has to do with social media.

6. Use the right dimensions.

You’ll want to make sure that your image is not too big or too small. Here are the dimensions for the major social media sites:

Facebook: 853 x 315 pixels (or to fill its square format)

Twitter:1000 x 500 pixels

Pinterest: 735 x 1102 pixels

7. Make your image mobile-friendly.

Make sure that your image is mobile friendly because most people will be viewing it on a mobile device.

8. Think about the white space in your image.

What are you going to do when you have a lot of white space around your text? Are you going to add something around your text? An image? Or are you going to leave it blank?

9. Fix your headings.

Don’t make your image too big. Think about your image and the text. If your image is too big, it’s going to overpower the text. If you have too much text, it’s going to overpower your image. You want to find the right balance.

In your image, you’ll want to highlight something. If you have text on your image, you can create a visual hierarchy. You want to make sure that the most important text stands out. If you have too much text, you may want to use a smaller font. If you have too little text, you may want to use a bigger font.

10. Use a professional design agency that will create a custom image for you.

There are a lot of agencies out there that will help you create a custom social media image.

Our partner affiliate agency offers great designers at budget prices who will keep your products fresh and trendy.