We all need a little daily inspiration, and social media is a great place to find (and share) it in the form of stunning images, powerful quotes, and inspirational messages.
While this can (and should) be scheduled to fit with your theme, you can also share these “on the fly” as you see them.
Just as you schedule time to write blog posts and other content, spend some time each week creating your own quotes to share. Use this worksheet to record your words of wisdom, then create your own memes or share the worksheet with your virtual assistant or graphic design person to create shareable images. Now include your quotes in your social media plan.
No matter which social media platform you use, you need great graphics. Images draw more attention to your content and improve your chances of being seen and heard. Make sure when you use pictures, that you use royalty free images and are NOT infringing on copyright. There are sites which offer free graphics, but I prefer to either use my own pictures or pay a small fee to use pictures taken by others.
I recommend the following sources for graphics:
Dollarphotoclub.com (High resolution royalty free images AND vectors are available for $1.00 each and may be used for commercial purposes.)
Clickartonline.com (Clipart, photos, photo objects, fonts, sounds, web graphics, and animations are all available to use. The yearly fee is $39.99 for unlimited downloads and you are able to select the size of the image you want to download.)
Take your own pictures using your phone, iPad, or camera. (Take the time to edit your images and present the best visual appeal you can. You may want to use an online editor like PicMonkey)
Once you have a graphic to work with, you can add text and personality to them by using design apps or software.
Created on CanvaCreated on Canva with a picture I took on my iPad
I recommend:
Canva
(This program is available online at www.canva.com or as an app from iTunes. You can either sign up for a free account or sign in with your Facebook or Twitter account.)
Canva has predesigned “canvas” sizes for: Food & Drink Menu, Social Media, Presentation, Poster, Facebook Cover, Facebook Post, Instagram, Blog Graphic, A4 Document, Card, Email Header, Twitter Post, Invitation, Business Card, Album/Podcast Cover, Twitter Header, Pinterest, Real Estate Flyer, Google+ Cover, Kindle Cover, Photo Collage, Facebook Ad, and Facebook App. You are also able to select “Use custom dimensions” in the top right hand corner and create a canvas using either pixels or inches.
Canva provides many options for design with text in various fonts, background colours, layout options, and uploading your own pictures. Canva also provides access to 1,000,000 images, some of which are free, and others available for $1.00. Basically, if you can dream it, you can design it on Canva.
I like the many options Canva provides, but making an image can be time intensive. I’ve also noticed that sometimes the downloads (either png or pdf) are not as clear as I would like them to be. But for a free program, it’s a great tool.
Rectangular image created on WordSwag with an image from Pixabay
WordSwag
Created on WordSwag with a free image that comes with the app
As far as I know, WordSwag is only available as an app. (I use it on my iPad.) WordSwag is intuitive, easy to use and great when you want a quick blog graphic or want to share a quote on social media. It has several options available, including access to images on Pixabay (over 330,000 free photos, illustrations, and vector graphics in the public domain).
The graphics created on Wordswag are either rectangular or square. Wordswag is not very flexible, but still provides great graphics in very little time. (All of my graphics for this year’s blog hops were created on WordSwag.)
Created on WordSwag with an image from Pixabay
What is your favourite source for graphics to use on your social media sites? Enter a comment or link in to our blog hop below.
Feel free to share the blog hop button on your site. Here’s the code:
Today I’d like to share a couple of graphics programs that have made a huge difference for me.
WordSwag
Wordswag is a free app I downloaded onto my iPad. It’s very easy to use and is great if you want to create square graphics to use on your website or other social media. (All my blog hop graphics were made using Wordswag
Like:
Free app
Easy to use
Quick
Option to use your own photos or backgrounds included in the app
Includes free searchable pictures from Pixabay
Able to choose from many free font options; you can purchase other font options in the app
Built in share options to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Text, or E-mail.
Option to add a logo or watermark
Ability to use a graphic as a template
Don’t Like:
Not very flexible – can’t change the shape of the graphic (only options are rectangle or square) or select portions of font to change
Only available via iTunes
Canva
“Canva makes design simple for everyone. Create designs for Web or print: blog graphics, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, posters, invitations and so much more.” Canva is much more flexible than Wordswag, but it will take longer to get a graphic designed.
Like:
Available as an app from iTunes, or directly on the web at http://www.canva.com
Choose from presized canvases for social media, poster, presentation, Facebook cover, Facebook post, etc.
Make your own custom canvas size (in pixels, mm, or inches)
Free backgrounds, fonts, and layouts are available, as well as text holders, borders and other items
If you have your own picture, you can upload it to Canva and use it in your design
Other pictures, fonts, etc. are available at the cost of $1.00 each/design
Basically if you can imagine it, you can make it on Canva
When you’re done you can download the graphic as an image or as a PDF file
You can share the graphic right from Canva
Don’t Like:
It takes a lot of time to make a great design
Sometimes when you change something in your design, you can’t go back if you change your mind
What have you learned in the past year that has helped you in your writing?
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Although this is the last week of the general writers’ blog hop, there will still be a blog hop in two weeks:
Social Media Blog Hop
#1 Favourite Social Media Site – Tell us where (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) you spend most of your time/energy and why (Week of Mar 2)
#2 Graphics for social media – Share your favourite source/app (Week of Mar 16)
#3 Scheduling posts – How often? Do you use a program like Hootsuite? Other tips? (Week of Mar 30)
#4 Content of posts – What do you share? Where do you find content? Ratio of promotional/other? (Week of April 13)
Note: If you’re interested in participating in the social media blog hop and want an e-mail reminder, send me an email and I’ll add you to the list.
