Shutterstock – Design/Marketing Tips

Tone/Voice:

Conversational, informal

Keywords:

• Choose keywords from the document in the special instructions column. Use keywords that relate to what you are writing, and use them at least twice in the content.

Format:

• You are creating content with design and marketing tips for small businesses.
• Shutterstock is one word, with just the capital S at the beginning.
• These need to be well-researched, engaging and flow smoothly. You are being paid extra to do additional research.
• Any statistics you use should be linked back to the original source. Include at least two hyperlinks in each article, but DO NOT LINK to Shutterstock competitors.
• Page content should go as follows:
  • List keywords at the top of the page.
  • Title
  • Content
    • Include bullets and headers to break up content and make it easier to read.
    • End content by encouraging readers to try out Shutterstock for the marketing tip you are writing about.

Save the article as the page name in Column D – article title.

Send to the submit box with Shutterstock Design/Marketing Tips in the subject line.

Keywords: *we didn’t have any for this example

Tips for Creating a Great Facebook Ad

Social media platforms, particularly Facebook, present companies with an ideal location to share ads that are likely to get customers engaged. As 70% of users login daily, Facebook ads are one of the hottest marketing tools. Many companies find theirs falling short because they are unaware of the marketing best practices behind creating a Facebook ad. With the help of Shutterstock Editor, you can create ads that will reach your customer base right where it matters.

Choose the Right Colors for Your Ad

The colors you choose for an ad have a direct impact on whether the ad blends into the news feed of the user or it is noticed quickly. Even if your company’s colors match those of Facebook, always use contrasting colors when creating a Facebook ad so it doesn’t get missed by users that quickly scroll through their feed.

Research also shows that red is most likely to get the brain excited, green makes users hungry, purple symbolizes luxury, and blue inspires trust but because it blends in so easily on Facebook, it should be avoided for these ads. Shutterstock Editor provides a tool that allows you to change the text color on your image to use noticeable, contrasting colors that stand out.

Limiting Text on an Image

If you are using an image for an ad, Facebook’s advertising guidelines require that the text on the image only take up 20% of the ad. This is an effort by Facebook to provide high-quality content to all their users. Fortunately, Shutterstock Editor offers a pre-designed template in a preset size for Facebook ads to ensure that your ad meets the requirements without a lot of effort on your part. You may also benefit from using the text field in the ad rather than the image to really get your message to consumers.

Include a Call to Action

Facebook ads should always have a clear goal. Whether you want to get a lead, increase brand awareness or sell a product, your ad should always contain a clear, concise call to action. Include a link to your website to keep it simple for users to find your products quickly, as they are more likely to buy after seeing an engaging, attractive ad.

Choose Images That Show Emotion

One of the oldest tricks in advertising that carries over to Facebook ads is using emotion. Emotional appeals by advertisers trigger emotional responses in users that motivate them to act quickly. Common emotions to use are vanity, greed, exclusivity and fear. The effectiveness of ads is increased with images that communicate emotions, and text can be added with Shutterstock Editor to further increase the emotional reaction to an ad.

Share Your Post Effectively

When you’re editing images and adding text to create ads, you want the sharing process to be simple and easy. Rather than saving your ad, logging into Facebook and uploading the image you’ve designed, Shutterstock Editor makes it easy to share your post directly from the program, minimizing the steps on your end to post a quality ad.

Easy to Use Program That Create Eye Catching Facebook Ads

Shutterstock Editor is designed to make it easy for every business to create eye-catching ads. With the ability to add text, change color and manipulate images with just a few clicks, designing Facebook ads just became a whole lot easier.

Keywords: Design fonts, ebook designs, banner ad design

Understanding Fonts and How They Work for You

Fonts and typefaces are one of the most important tools you have when creating visual messaging. The selections you choose can make or break the success of your design. And, with so many typefaces available, you really can have a fun with different looks. If you’ve never explored the world outside of Helvetica or Times New Roman, you may get a little overwhelmed by all the options. Let’s take a look at working with design fonts and how choosing wisely can boost your message.

Understanding the Terms

First, let’s clarify a few terms to help you understand the different nuances of typography. Here are some basic definitions:

• Typeface: The name of an overall family of fonts. These are names such as the aforementioned Times New Roman and Helvetica but also Garamond, Comic Sans and hundreds of others.
• Font: These are the variations within a typeface such as bold, condensed, italics and many others. However, many people use the term interchangeably with typeface.
• Serifs: The little “feet” that some letters contain on the ends of their lines. Times New Roman is a serif typeface, which means the letters do have them. Helvetica is a sans serif, which means it doesn’t have them.

Consider Your Audience

When working with design fonts, it’s vital to consider the audience you are targeting with your designed piece. For example, in ebook designs, your goal is readability. Most books use serif fonts, and the point size is extremely important. In banner ad design, however, you would only be using a few words, so visual impact and theme are the most important considerations.

Know When to Say When

No matter what you are designing, you can easily overwhelm your audience if you use too many fonts. You really don’t want to use more than three. Each one should have a specific purpose such as a big, bold font for headlines, a smaller but similar font for sub-headlines and a nice, readable font for text. Any more than that, and readability will suffer. In fact, someone may see your banner ad design and be immediately turned off if it contains a jumble of fonts.

Be Careful With Specialty Fonts

Many typefaces have a specific feel. That’s what we love about them, right? For example, if you are doing ebook designs and you are creating the cover, you might choose a “Wild West”-type font if the book is a western. This is reasonable, within measure. Going too far down this road will make your design look clichéd. Fonts that look “handwritten” can suffer the same fate.

Consider Universality

One thing to keep in mind about fonts is that computers don’t all have the same options. You may fall in love with a swirly font for your banner ad design, only to find when you get to the printshop that they don’t have access to that typeface. Or, you’ve laid out entire ebook designs only to find the obscure text font you selected is only available with a certain subscription.

The world of design fonts inspires creativity. Let the reader experience be your guide when making decisions about typefaces. Browse Shutterstock to play with the different fonts you can use on your image.

Keywords: Infographic design, flyer design

Working With Layouts a Cinch When You Follow These 5 Rules

Whether you are working on an infographic design, flyer design or just about any other visual communication, the goal is to get your message across to the readers. It’s fun to create imaginative and colorful layouts, but if you don’t follow the basic rules of layout, you could be detracting from your message rather than highlighting it. We’ve detailed the five most important concepts for working with layouts.

It’s All About Flow

When people read a document, there is a certain logic to where their eyes go. For example, in a flyer design, they will enter at the most visually interesting feature, which is likely a photograph or visual element on the right side. Then they will go to the upper left and read the text from top to bottom. Other times, such as in infographic design, they will start at the top and read down, depending on the intrinsic flow that you build into the infographic. The basic rule is to think about how people’s eyes will track as they view the document, and that will tell you what kind of layout to use.

Readability Reigns

Typefaces are one of the fun elements to select for your design. But just because you have access to hundreds doesn’t mean you should go crazy. Try to stick with fewer than three typefaces. Don’t forget, you can use all variations such as bold, condensed, italics and more, as long as they are within those three typefaces. If you use more than that, you run the risk of hindering your audience’s ability to read the piece.

Thoughtful Visuals

Less is also more when it comes to photographs, logos and other visual elements. You want to choose one piece that is significantly larger than any of the others. This will draw the eye in. But all the other visual elements should be smaller to create a hierarchy that helps the reader know what to look at and understand what the main message is.

Accomplishing Your Goal

Think about what you want your layout to do. Do you want it to educate people, which usually is the case for infographic design? Or do you want it entice people to take action or participate in an event, which often is the purpose in flyer design? Whatever the goal, make sure your layout is one that facilitates the reaction you are seeking.

The Art of Restraint

Most people have information they think is vital to include in designed piece, but you are highly unlikely to be able to fit it all in. Chose the main elements that people need to know, and be prepared to jettison the parts they can find elsewhere. For example, if you are making an infographic about European travel destinations, you won’t be able to include every attraction in every country. Only include the information that fits in your design without looking too cluttered. Provide links that send them to more information.

These basic guidelines should help keep you on track when you are working with layouts, no matter what you are creating. Go for simplicity – your readers will thank you. At Shutterstock we offer a variety of tools to help you pick the right layout for your photo or advertisement.