Monthly archive for March 2014

Dimensions for Social Media Graphics

On March 25, 2014   /   General, Graphic Design and Web design, Social Media Tips   /   2 Comments
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Sample dimensions for Facebook business page covers and profile photos. Note to leave space for the call to action
Sample dimensions for Facebook business page covers and profile photos. Note to leave space for the call to action

Digital Branding gets a new face. 

sample social media graphic fro facebook page feedAs social media evolves, new trends spark, more rules and standards lock in, and more opportunities to build your company brand arise with social media graphics.
Connecting your professional brand message in all media formats is why Connection Group is here. Developing social media graphics as branding visuals that incorporate logos, monthly specials, calls to action, etc. is one of our favorite services.
As much as we enjoy creating these digital graphics for all of you we know some of you still prefer to do it yourself. To help you maintain your professional brand image online we have compiled current social media graphics guidelines to help. The dimensions are below for various social media graphics you will use, from newsfeed photo posts to profile pictures in Facebook to LinkedIn to Twitter and Google+. Follow the dimensions posted and have fun creating your social media graphics! Here’s a pdf to download with all the social media graphics dimensions to reference later too.
If you prefer to do what you do best for your company – and creating graphics isn’t it – connect with us. We have the education, experience, and efficiency (plus super duper photo imaging and vector software) to create eye catching social media graphics. Give us a call today and take advantage of the current discount (expires April 30, 2014).
Do you have a slide show on your website? Do some of your slides need an update, a fresh look for the season? Give us a call for an estimate today – we may just slide those into the April promo too!

facebook iconFacebook – All graphics must be gifs/jpgs/or pngs

 
Facebook Profile Picture: 180 x 180 pixels Facebook requires this minimum size for uploading a profile picture only to then turn around and reduce to fit the actual required size of 160 x 160 pixels (square). 
Facebook Cover Photos:  851 x 315 pixels. For sharper, cleaner images start with images 1702 x 630. Facebook will resize.  (image should be wider than tall)
Facebook Page Post – 400 x 400 pixels square. Page post or status image. Recommend upload size of 1200 x 1200px. Facebook will reduce. Size for mobile: 560 x 292.
Facebook Ads:  1,200 pixels wide (rectangular)   
News Feed ads: 600 pixels wide. (rectangular) 
Facebook App Icons:  114 x 74 pixels, (rectangular) These are the icons that appear at the top of the page below your cover pic and above your page feed.
Facebook Photo Albums: 960 x 720 pixels is the maximum display size  (rectangular, landscape orientation). Photo albums are limited to 1000 photos each.

twitter graphic

TWITTER:  All graphics must be gifs/jpgs/ or pngs

Twitter Profile Picture: Upload at 128 x 128 pixels (square) Twitter will resize to 48 x 48 pixels
Twitter Background – Keep at 200 pixels across to ensure all content will be seen on all monitors.
Twitter header image:  1252 x 626, this graphic is displayed directly behind your profile photo.

google plus logo

GOOGLE+:  All graphics must be jpgs/pngs/or gifs no larger than 2 MBs in size.

Google+ Profile Picture: 250 x 250 pixels.
Google + Cover Photo: 940 x 180 pixels (this can also be an animated gif… (but please don’t get too crazy!)

linkedin logoLinkedin – all LinkedIn graphics must be jpgs/pngs/or gifs no larger than 2 MBs in size.

Linkedin Profile Picture: 250 x 250 pixels
Linkedin Company Cover Photo:   646 x 220 pixels (image should be wider than tall)
Hero Image  (Spotlight page)- Minimum 974-339 pixels, Maximum 2 MB, Landscape (image should be wider than tall). Crop once it’s loaded.
Standard Profile Logo: 100×60 pixels (image will be resized to fit), (image should be wider than tall)
Square Logo:  50×50 pixels (image will be resized to fit), This logo is shown in all unetwork updates. 
Good luck with your creations be sure to contact us if you have any questions. More networks are advancing everyday that will require us to expand this post. Please be sure to note the date since dimensions change frequently. Currently Pinterest only allows for profile pictures for their business pages but this may soon change… Are there other social media graphics you use regularly with unique dimensions? Please add them in comments below to help others.
 
logo-pdf Download PDF – Social Media Graphic Dimensions

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Small Business Owners: Do I need a website if I have a….

On March 10, 2014   /   General, Graphic Design and Web design, Social Media Tips   /   5 Comments
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…Facebook Page … LinkedIn Business Page… Pinterest following

when you get -give, when you learn teach quote maya angelouIt scares me how often I am asked this question. Typically when a start-up business or growing small business consults with us on creating a professional company brand we need to have ‘the talk’. We’ve had the ‘do I need a website talk’ here before. Social media updates, SEO and skewed business models beg for a review. 
We’ve read the success stories; “Start up Yarn store sells volumes of skeins through their Facebook page’. Yes we’ve seen leads from LinkedIn turn into real live customers. But did those people who bought the yarn specifically go to Facebook looking for yarn? When your new found customer sought the service you offer on LinkedIn, were you the only company offering that service? No, no you were not.  This alone should help you answer the do I need a website question, but I will keep going.
Possibly the positive results in social media were driven by purchasing ads, feeding captivating content in Facebook, or using the correct keywords on your LinkedIn company page… or maybe the stars and the moon were aligned at just the right angle… We have no control on what social media sites our target market visits.  We have no control who sees our Facebook company page from post to post. We have no control over our competition claims on LinkedIn. How can we put our company success under somebody else’s control? Especially brands that also dictate what information we add to their websites and how it will be distributed?
Before I start sounding like LinkedIn and Facebook (and Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr …) are complete evil time-sucking novelties that are guided purely to monetize every move we make let me share sincere marketing advice:  Using multiple distribution points gets your marketing message in front of your prospects multiple times. You want to be where your clients are and if there are millions of businesses on LinkedIn everyday and you are a business to business (B2B) company you’re darn right you should be there too!  If your Pinterest and Facebook followers are engaging with your post and sharing it with their Aunt Susie, keep posting!
Long lasting success comes from consistent branding across multiple platforms. Facebook and LinkedIn and other social media sites are best served as outposts for your content. Your company website is the pitch, white paper, brochure, training, demo and closing table all in one. Your outposts should drive prospects to your brand website where you are in charge and can serve your customer best.

meida graphic-internet marketingWhy Do I Need a Website?

  1. A company website is available to people actively seeking a specific thing (product / service / education / research source).
  2. A company website markets your product and service only.
  3. Your product / service shines here, you decide what to share and visitors get their answers.
  4. Your company website is available to everyone. There’s no user agreement or need to be a member.
  5. Visitors contact information can be captured for follow up.
  6. Your website reflects your business personality and brand message.
  7. A clear call to action in the form you prefer (email, phone call, form, etc.) encourages connections.
  8. You own it.

Full disclosure: along with small business brand marketing, Connection Group builds websites. Yes, we would love to build a website for your small business. We also want to help small businesses succeed whether we provide purchased services or education via a free blog post or other or freebies.
Not all marketers agree. I recently read a post in a LinkedIn group where the author claimed all a B2B company needs is a LinkedIn company page. The author was shamed into silence from the over 100 threads from serious marketers explaining why all businesses need a website. Not all marketers offer website designs and the recommendation that small businesses need a website was not driven by sales. The advice was meant as a caution not to put all your marketing efforts into one portal. If you still feel a social media page is the best way to align business success there is somebody out there who will be happy to charge you to set up a MySpace account.
Stay connected!
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