How a Bad Design Can Spoil Your Facebook Presence
If you are reading, then chances are you already know what Facebook is. It is the largest social media platform with over 2.6 billion users as of 2020. Initially, it was created for socializing, but now it has become one of the most influential digital marketing mediums.
According to Investopedia, Facebook earned $21.2 billion from advertising in Q3 2020, comprising 99% of the company's total revenue. Now, this is huge!
If you are a brand that is interested in advertising on Facebook, then we have got good and bad news for you. The good news is that you are going in the right direction because Facebook has around 9 million active advertisers. And as for the bad one: you will have to stand out from the crowd of 9 million.
This article is going to be more about design because, on social platforms, a brand's marketing efforts heavily rely on the design. It may sound exaggerated, but to be honest, a bad design can ruin your brand image on Facebook. And here are the reasons why:
Low Organic Reach
Organic reach is the number of people that see your Facebook post without any paid method. In recent years, organic reach has fallen significantly. One of the main reasons for low organic reach is the amount of content being posted on Facebook every day. According to the stats, more than 30 billion posts are uploaded on Facebook every month, which means more content and less newsfeed space.
Despite all the restrictions, a brand needs to generate organic reach because it cannot run paid ads for every content piece. However, it’s easier said than done. As discussed above, there are about 9 million advertisers on Facebook, so basically, you will have to develop engaging content to earn some organic reach.
Design is an essential element that elevates the overall content. Social media users will ignore a post lacking design aesthetics. According to the algorithm, only 5.5% of your total followers will see your content. If it gets popular among that limited audience only, then your reach can increase depending on the level of engagement on that post.
People usually interact with those brands that post out of the box design concepts and share them on different forums within Facebook, which in the long run, increases the reach.
Low Credibility
The overall design scheme of the Facebook page greatly influences the trust people have in you as a brand. It has become the primary touchpoint in digital media because people will surely visit a brand’s social media page to scrutinize their products and services.
And because they cannot examine the product itself, so the criteria of their judgments depends on few aspects:
- Design aesthetics
- Word of mouth
- Number of followers
- Reviews
- Variety of the products
All that glitters is not gold, but it surely catches the eye. Design is also similar; the product may or may not be gold, but the design should always make it look like one. If the first interaction is not impressive, then the digital audience might not take you as a credible brand.
Usually, small startups sell the same quality stuff, but the ones that pay attention to their design layouts sell a lot more.
A Weak Brand Image
Brands need to understand that digital media is a very unforgiving place, where each and every move of your brand will be judged by not only the potential prospects but also it will have to go through the criticism of digital marketers, who always have their eyes focus on every digital trend.
Just one single mistake, and your brand will become the talk of the town, and not for good reasons at all. Bad design attracts criticism; there are several marketing groups on Facebook that will rip apart the image of any brand committing a digital marketing sin, and unfortunately, a bad design is one of the seven deadly digital sins that can get a brand executed.
Although renowned brands take design very seriously, it is the startups that ignore the importance of design. They consider it as a luxury and an extra expense. Therefore to minimize the cost and maximize the savings, they hire cheap design services. What they do forget is that bad design costs more than a good one!
Poor Communication
Design is all about communication, as Vitaly Friedman, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine, said:
"Good design is about effective communication, not decoration, at the expense of legibility."
Therefore, a lousy designed ad can really sabotage all the advertising efforts.
Facebook offers a wide variety of advertising tools, which include different ad layouts. A designer needs to understand the dimensions and the composition of those layouts; otherwise, the output would be devastating for the entire campaign.
For example, let's take the example of a carousel ad. You can showcase up to 10 images in a single ad. Amazing, isn't it? Yes, but at the same time, tricky as well. To design an effective carousel ad, a designer needs to set the size and the composition of the ad correctly. One mistake and all the images will go out of alignment and make no sense to the viewer.
Wrapping it Up!
Digital design is a painting that doesn't dry up; therefore, design wisely!
Branding is an emotion expressed through design, and a Facebook page lacking design aesthetics will never entice the audience. After all, design without thought is just decoration.
Brands need to realize that they share the digital space with their competitors, which are only a click away. Having horrible graphic design on your page is like having a dull storefront in a mall with aesthetically crafted shops surrounding your presence. No matter how good your product is, how you present it will seal the deal, especially in the digital world.
In simple words, the design of your Facebook page is like a salesman. Just ask yourself: if a confused, poorly dressed, non-persuasive salesperson knocks at your door and tries to sell something, will you buy it?