Is Keeping Up with Social Media Wearing You Out? Part 1 Graphics
I Feel Your Social Media Pain, But Graphics Help Is On the Way!
Posting articles, updating pages, creating graphics and content, and now you have to add social media? Are you kidding me?
No, reality is that if you have a website and want traffic, you must do social media, too. It’s complicated if you don’t have something to make it easier. Fortunately, two great tools come to the rescue.
Graphics In Different Shapes and Sizes
I’ve always used Photoshop Elements to make my graphics, but coming up with custom sizes for Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and a blog post can be time-consuming and no fun if you aren’t a professional graphic artist. I’ve tried Canva and liked it, but again changing sizes for different social media is a pain.
Enter Canva for Work described as “Canva for Work makes it easy to create beautiful on-brand marketing materials, presentations and social media graphics for every organization.” It does, too. There is a monthly fee of $12.95 (or $9.95 per month paid annually.) Try it 30 days for free!! Canva for Work has many more features than the free version.
Canva for Work, How Do I Love Thee?
Let me count the ways! Canva for Work has all the free Canva features plus a lot more.
- Set Up a Brand Kit!
Each of my websites has a brand file in my Canva for Work account. I uploaded and up to 10 of my fonts, but I use the free Canva fonts most of the time. Each brand has a custom color palette, so I can “grab” colors as needed for backgrounds and text. (No more looking up the hex codes).
Tip: I keep Canva for Work open when I’m creating content on my websites to copy the colors if I need them. And yes, I use dual monitors….wish I had four. - Magic Resizing
What’s not to love when I create a graphic for my blog and magically resize it for Pinterest, Facebook, etc. I may have to manipulate the text and image sizes for a perfect fit, but it’s easy and fast. - Save Branded Templates
It’s very easy to create custom brand templates to coordinate the look of your brand. Quickly add a custom image and change the text, but the overall look is the same. #BrandRecognition. - Share With Your Team
Collaborating with your team members is quick and easy as is making changes to designs.
- Cool Infographic from Canva! Canva Keyboard Shortcuts
In Part 2, I’ll share my new favorite WordPress plugin for social media. It has a free version now!
