Want to create your own branded Facebook posts?

Like Shakira’s hips back in 2005, statistics don’t lie. Time and time again, Facebook stats show that posts including an image or graphic receive far greater engagement than plain text – which means, if you want to increase engagement and get more bang for buck per post, you really should be including images on ALL of your Facebook posts. Adding your logo or branding to those post images can really help you up the ante when it comes to creating brand awareness… particularly if you create a post that – by some miracle of the Facebook algorithm – happens to go viral. At Market My Company, our design team uses Adobe InDesign to create social media images – but if you’re a small business owner, you may not want to invest in expensive design software or learn how to use a professional program… Ain’t nobody got time for that! For clients who want to create their own branded social media images, we recommend PicMonkey or Canva. Both are user-friendly online design programs that are simple to use, affordable, and offer tons of flexibility and everything you’ll need to create your own branded images. In this resource we’re covering the basics of PicMonkey, but you can learn how to use Canva and other great tools at www.marketmycompany.co.nz/resources. Ready to design branded Facebook posts like a pro? Let’s get started!

Create your account PicMonkey is a subscription-based program, so you’ll need to create an account to get started. PicMonkey offers FREE one-month trial so you can try before you buy, and after that the cost is around $10 per month (pricing current at time of printing). Once you’ve created your account, you’ll start at the main dashboard.

With PicMonkey you can…

• Edit an existing image For example, if you’ve taken a behind the scenes photo of your team and you want to throw your logo on some text on before posting

• Touch up an existing image For example, removing red-eye from a profile pic

• Design an image from scratch Starting with a blank canvas at the size of your choosing

• Create a collage For example, if you have multiple images you’d like to include in a post, creatively displayed as a single collage image.

PicMonkey offers a range of templates to help you get started…

… including templates for Facebook Pinterest Instagram YouTube covers Infographics Banner ads Standard size print ads And much more. Once you sign up, take some time to explore PicMonkey’s cool features. They add new fonts, overlays, effects and templates all the time, but in this tutorial we’re going to focus on showing you how to create your own post from scratch.

Creating a branded image from scratch Select Design > Custom Size from the home dashboard and then enter the dimensions 940 x 788 (which are the standard dimensions for best display on Facebook) then click the big blue Make It button.

Once you’ve arrived on your black canvas, you can choose your canvas colour. You can use the sliding colour tool, or enter the code of your brand colours if you have them.

Once you’ve picked your colour (or decided to stick with white – it really doesn’t matter if you’re going to use a full-width image) select Apply.

Adding your logo To add your logo or branded footer, select the Overlays (butterfly) option from the left-hand navigation, then choose Add Your Own (at the top) then My Computer to select a file on your desktop or laptop.

Select your logo or branded footer, then use PicMonkey’s handy drag-and-drop interface to resize and move it into position.

Adding text Select the Text (Tt) option from the left-hand navigation. You’ll see a wide selection of fonts available within PicMonkey under the Ours tab.

If you want to keep the fonts you use consistent with your branding, check with your design team on the fonts used and select them in PicMonkey if available. If your desired fonts are not pre-loaded in PicMonkey, you can download them directly to your computer, and they will become available in PicMonkey under the Yours tab. Hit the Add text button at the top, then type in your message. You can change the font of your text at any time by clicking the text box, and then the desired font name to the left of your canvas. You can resize text by dragging the corner of your text box, or by using the slider or dropdown on the Text pop up bar.

You can make all or some of your text bold or italic (depending on the font selected), change your font colour, and align your text to the left, centre, or right.

If you’re a paid subscriber, you can add text effects such as drop shadows or curves, though most of the time it pays to keep it simple! Move your text into the desired position. You can toggle PicMonkey’s alignment grid on and off to help you line your text up on your canvas.

Adding an image Want to add a photo or graphic to your Facebook image? Easy! Just like you did before to add your logo, select the Overlays (butterfly) option from the left-hand navigation, then choose Add Your Own (at the top) then My Computer to select a photo or image on your desktop or laptop.

You can use the drag-and-drop frame around the image to resize it, move it, and even spin it around. You can also flip the mirror horizontally (to become a mirror of itself) or vertically (to put it upside down) using the pop up Overlay bar.

Once you’ve gotten your image roughly into position, you can use PicMonkey’s layers pop up to move layers within your canvas – for example, to move this overlay behind your logo or footer and text.

To move one layer behind or in front of another, just drag it up or down within the layers pop up box. Reposition your logo and/ or text as required.

Adding a frame If you’d like to complete the look of your Facebook image with a frame, flatten all layers within your canvas by selecting the Flatten Image button within the layers pop up…

…then select the Frames option from the left-hand navigation. There is a range of frames to choose from, but the Simple Edge option works well for Facebook posts. You can choose the thickness and colour of the edges – black and white at a setting of 5 for each works well.

Download your image Once you’re all done, it’s time to download your image! You can download your image to your computer by selecting the Export button at the top of your canvas.

PRO TIPS Be sure to export your image as a PNG file, which displays best on Facebook. Jpeg files are often reduced in Facebook, which can make them appear fuzzy. When naming your file for download, include keywords to help your branded image appear in search results. If you’d like to save your image to continue editing later, select the Save button at the top of your canvas to save an editable version with all layers in PicMonkey’s ‘Hub’.

To edit layers later if you’ve previously flattened an image to add a frame, just hit the undo button (at the bottom of your canvas) until layers reappear in your Layers pop up.

Voila! You’re done! We’d love to see your handy work, so be sure to comment on your PicMonkey created posts tagging us at @MarketMyCompany) so we can see them! If you need further assistance with a specific area of PicMonkey, Market My Company offers offer in-house training in Canterbury, and virtual training nationwide. Want to leave it to the professionals? It’s time to outsource! Contact us for a free quote: help@marketmycompany.co.nz + 64 21 045 6275