Information for this blog was obtained from socialmediatoday.com, hubspot.com, and socialmediaexaminer.com.
Creating an aesthetic is something we have all been striving for on social media since it first became a thing. While what is aesthetic has changed over time, from Tumblr posts with fairy lights circa 2013, to grainy Instagram posts with heavy filters around 2015, which developed the heavily edited and processed posts we saw in the late 2010s, and then finally to the more casual aesthetic we are seeing today, everyone wants their social media account to be the “it” account. Being up to date with the latest trends which appear polished yet casual is a consistent theme in personal social media accounts. It creates something many people strive to achieve for their accounts- the aesthetic.
The aesthetic. Something that seems unreachable in the world of social media. The perfect feed with the perfect image in a digital world that is always changing. People create a brand for themselves and build so much off of this image. It is what makes or breaks an influencer.
While some people make their personal accounts their brands, how do companies maintain a brand image on social media? I feel that oftentimes, people view businesses' social media profiles to be out of style, stingy, and, as Gen Z would say, cheugy. They seem out of touch with the times and unable to effectively reach their audience. The trends are always posted late, the graphics aren’t catchy, and nothing about the feed is eye-catching.
This view, however, for most major companies is outdated. Companies have hired social media specialists who work to create a positive online presence that displays their brand as best as possible. The entire dynamic of social media as a professional tool has drastically changed throughout the years.
With the constant stream of information that people are consuming, it is important to have perfectly curated posts that stay consistent with the image of the company but stand out to other companies’ profiles. Wendy’s is a great example of this. They are known for their presence on Twitter, often replying to people's tweets with sassy remarks and comments. Their Instagram takes on a similar feel, with many Gen Z style memes and graphics on their page, along with promotions of their menu items and restaurants. While it isn’t the typical vibe of a professional social media feed, it is effective. It captures attention and gets users talking.
Building Brand Image
While this is a unique approach, The Social Media Examiner gives more ideas of how to create a consistent image throughout a brand's social media. One of the most important tips they give is to first establish a color scheme that will be used across all social media platforms. This is for profile pictures, graphics, story designs, and backgrounds in photos. Having a color scheme will make a brand look polished, even in the more unprofessional looking accounts like Wendy’s.
Once a color scheme has been established, a brand should then decide on a font to be used on their social media accounts. This needs to be consistent across all platforms. It will help the accounts have similar aesthetics and promote a consistent brand image throughout different platforms.
With so many different social media platforms, it is important that the brand logo is visible as much as possible. The more often users see this logo, the more likely they will be to remember it. As brands work to shape their online image, they need to strive to get as much visibility as possible. There are millions of posts being made everyday. If your company's post is the one that stands out and is memorable to users, it is very important that those users see your logo.
Capture Their Attention!
Social Media Today tells how important it is that an impression is made on users. Marketers have an extremely difficult task in that they only have 8 seconds to grab the visual attention of the user. Visual attention is based on the cognitive demand of a user, or how hard it is to understand the content, and the clarity of the content, which is how easy it is to make out the different pieces of the content (i.e. brand name, product, location, etc.). Posts with high clarity and low cognitive demand are bound to be the most successful.
How might a post with high clarity and low cognitive demand be accomplished? It is important to keep images and videos clean. The product being promoted should be the focal point of the post. The user's eyes should immediately be drawn to it. Ideally, it should have the company’s name or logo on it somewhere as well!
Using faces is also a great way to draw attention to your posts! No one wants to view a social media profile that has no pictures of other humans. Seeing other people helps us to process the content and also directs our gaze to theirs. While product placement in content is important, using people in posts is not something that should be dismissed.
Now that we have established that brands should use their logo as often as possible, have consistent colors and fonts, and create posts that are visually easy to process, how do those posts get shaped to fit a certain aesthetic?\
Keep it Consistent
While this may seem like an obvious point when establishing an aesthetic on social media, HubSpot makes the important note that should not be forgotten: keep your editing consistent. Posts should all have the same, or similar editing styles. IF a filter is used, that filter should be used on all or most of the posts. That consistency needs to be established. A user should be able to click on a company’s profile and not only should the colors and font match, but the photos should look similar because they were crafted and edited in a similar way.
Another great tip is to incorporate different types of content! Video is a must in social media today. Social media platforms, such as TikTok, have completely reinvented what video looks like in social media. Every platform has a different type and length of videos that perform well, but crafting videos for each of the major platforms will help users stay more engaged. It also brings more diversity to a company’s feed. The cover photo of the video that will be displayed can match the colors and the editing of the feed, while being something different! Videos are a great way to display more of the products and services offered, along with allowing users to learn more about the company.
HubSpot also reminds creators how important it is to plan out a feed. Many apps can be used to do this, such as Preview App and Planoly. Both these apps create a mock feed in which you can place and rearrange posts to see what looks best next to each other. This is an amazing tool to utilize because it will help you see your social media feed in the longer term.
As you plan out the long term look of your company’s social media, it is important that the company identity and values are not lost. The social media profiles should highlight this! Users want to see what makes one company unique from another. Any post can grab a user's attention, but if the company values are apparent in their profile and it aligns with the user, they are more likely to stay. While crafting the perfect aesthetic is important, it is more important that this aesthetic reflects what the company values, not just what they think the target audience wants to see. Content should reflect the values that are shared with the target audience.
The key to establishing a brand image that fits the aesthetic trying to be reached is consistency. Consistently posting (at least 4 times a week for major businesses), consistent editing, consistent colors and fonts, the presence of the logo, and consistency providing a variety of content types are all things that can be used to achieve a successful social media page. Companies need to be cognizant of changes in social media and build their feed toward those changes.
An image will take a while to establish. Most major brands have an image that is already known to consumers, but that image needs to be visible in all areas of their marketing, and social media is no exception. Users look for companies with similar values and beliefs; they will be captivated by posts that display those.
Companies have ditched the outdated approach to social media, and they are all fighting to keep up with each other and have the best feed possible. Small businesses are able to easily gain attention online by crafting the perfect aesthetic and showcasing the benefits of their company and products compared to major corporations. Social media provides so many opportunities to businesses, it all starts with crafting and planning out posts to perfectly establish a brand image while being eye-catching and entertaining.
To read more about how to make your posts engaging for users, visit my colleague Isabelle's post here.
Resources
Claire, A. (2014). How to create social media images that support your brand. Social Media Examiner. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/create-social-media-images-to-support-your-brand/.
Claire, A. (2022, September 16). The most engaging Instagram posts [+how to plan your feed]. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/establish-an-instagram-aesthetic.
Hernandez, S. (2021, October 25). How to get the most visual attention on your content. Social Media Today. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/spons/how-to-get-the-most-visual-attention-on-your-content/608678/.
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