How to create professional social media graphics fast, easY and free

(No graphic design experience needed)

Published: October 22, 2020

Length: 740 words (about 5 minutes to read)

With the digital world is growing every day, social media has become a standard for businesses and brands to connect with, engage, and grow their audiences and client base. As a realtor, social media has the power to be an incredible asset for your brand and bring value to your audience with little to no overhead and incredible results. For many realtors, however, social media is overlooked and underutilized.

Enter: Canva.com. Canva is a great free tool that makes creating graphics easy without needing experience in graphic design! 

USING CANVA TO CREATE SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS 

Canva offers templates for everything from events to industries. As a realtor, you can find thousands of real estate specific graphic templates by using the search feature. Narrow your search by selecting the type of graphic you want to design – Facebook post, Instagram story, LinkedIn banner, etc.

TIME TO DESIGN

Once you’ve selected the template you’d like to use, it’s time to start customizing it and making it your own. Whether the graphic is highlighting a recently listed home, announcing a sale, or promoting an open house or event, be sure to: 

• Keep Your Content On-Brand. 

Practicing brand consistency is crucial when growing your audience and promoting brand awareness. Always remember to stick to your brand when creating content so that your content becomes recognizable and disguisable. 

Canva allows you to add up to three of your brand’s colors and select three fonts for free by visiting the Brand Kit section. To add your brand colors, input the Hex # (internet and web compatible color codes). 

From the template you’ve chosen, you can easily select color, font, and effect options to customize your graphic. 

• Use Appealing Imagery. 

When marketing, realtors should approach all avenues with aesthetics in mind. Because social media is a visual experience, it is imperative that the content realtors post is eye-catching and showcases their work in aesthetically pleasing ways. 

Canva makes it easy to incorporate imagery into your design, whether it be stock imagery or photos of your listing. Simply select the Uploads option to upload images from your computer, Dropbox, or other accounts, or select the Photos option and search for real estate related stock imagery. 

• Incorporate Captivating and Relevant Copy. 

The copy you use should align with your brand and the message it conveys. For example, if you specialize in luxury properties, using verbiage, such as elegant and stunning, helps to enforce your brand’s prestigious message. However, social media graphics should never have a lot of copy. Stick to powerful but short messaging on the graphic itself. Remember—depending on the type of post, you can add a caption with details and supporting copy. 

• Create Variety. 

Yes, your primary goal as a realtor is to generate leads so it can be tempting to post solely about listings. However, in order to connect with your audience, you have to create diverse social media marketing content to build rapport with your audience. 

Get creative and use the search feature on Canva to find templates for other types of posts, such as quotes or testimonials. Brand the template, input relevant copy, and post these graphics with short, simple captions to allow them to speak for themselves. 

Need some ideas of what and where to post for your real estate business? Get more information here about what to post on social media. 

TIME TO POST

Once you have compelling and interesting content that compliments your brand, take to social media!  

Remember to post regularly. Whether that’s every day or once a week, consistency is key to increase your following and engagement on social media. One way to keep track of your posting calendar and plan in advance is to use a social media planner. Hootsuite and Later are two easy and free options to schedule social media posts on multiple platforms in advance. This will also ensure you can post at optimal times of day without having to be on the app at that specific time. You can post when it’s convenient for you, then have a scheduler post when the time is optimal for your audience.

GET NOTICED

As a realtor, a strong social media presence is an ideal addition to your marketing strategy to set you apart from competitors. By investing a small amount of time to create content using tools like Canva, you can elevate your brand and connect with your audiences regularly. Social media marketing is a simple and free way to generate awareness and promote conversions.

Now that you’ve mastered creating content, it’s time to elevate your presence and start attracting clients on social media.