Imagine your audience stepping through a portal, entering your world, and seeing what you see. They see what’s possible. They’re inspired and equipped to take action. And then they go out into the world and create ripples of change. Ripples that you started. When your marketing is an immersive experience, you invite your audience to step into that portal.
Why you need to be intentional about your user experience
If you’re not living in the world of design, it’s possible that User Experience is something you’ve never thought about. This term is often used when speaking about designing something interactive- such as a website or phone app. Google defines User Experience as “the overall experience of a person using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or pleasing it is to use.”
I believe that User Experience is important in all of your marketing- not just the interactive pieces. Your audience has an experience when viewing your Instagram, reading your emails, taking your course, and using your workbooks. Every step of the way, you have the opportunity to shape this experience and to use graphic design to influence how your audience feels.
When you carefully craft your user experience so that it is immersive and comprehensive, you build trust and an identity as a leader. You help your audience know who to turn to. Your consistency and steady presence instills your message in them over time, through every interaction.
Your marketing has the power to evoke emotion in your audience, let them know what you’re all about, and give them a taste of what it would be like to work with you. Your branding is your business’ personality in visual form. When you are authentically expressing yourself through your marketing, you attract your soul-mate clients.
There are three areas I want you to consider when designing your marketing visuals: Design Elements, Composition, and Messaging. The first two are related to your audience’s subconscious experience, and the last one will directly influence the words you say. Let’s dive into each one.
Design Elements
The design elements you use in your marketing and social media will most likely tie directly into your branding. You worked through a lot of these decisions with your Branding Designer. Your branding is a foundational component of creating an immersive experience in your marketing.
Color
You don’t need a masterclass in Color Psychology to know that different colors have different effects on our brain. Don’t get too caught up in “Red means this,” and “Blue means that.” Think more about color combinations, brightness, and saturation. Earthy colors are grounding. Bright colors are exciting. Are you trying to hype up your audience or give them a safe place to land?
Typography
Even choosing between several different san serif fonts can have a huge impact on the appearance of your design. They’re all a little different. One might be more down-to-earth and playful, another might feel very professional and corporate. In addition to your fonts, there are so many spacing and style options that contribute to the look and feel of your design. (Learn how to improve your typography skills in this blog post!)
Photos
If you’re using stock photography, your options are truly endless. Your choice of photos can be explicit (you’re talking about meditation, so you incorporate a photo of someone meditating) or implicit (you’re talking about meditation, so you choose a photo of a sunset to symbolize peacefulness). The subject, style, and editing of the photo will all have an effect on your user experience.
Elements
All sorts of other design elements can be used to craft the desired look and feel of your marketing. Line, texture, and illustration should be used very purposefully and intentionally.
Composition
The composition of your graphics consists of the design decisions you make while pulling all your information and design elements together. These design decisions are often invisible, and yet they have a huge impact on how the information is viewed and processed by your audience.
Negative Space
Just as verbal information cannot be understood without pauses and breaks, so too does visual information need space in order to be processed. Negative space around an element or text can actually help your reader understand the information. More negative space can make your design feel luxurious and inviting, while less negative space can feel more formal and direct.
Hierarchy and Emphasis
By creating hierarchy of information (by emphasizing different elements/text appropriately), you help the reader to know what is most important and what information is related to each other. You want the viewer to take in and process what you’re telling them. If there is no hierarchy and emphasis in your design, it is very likely that your viewer’s eye will dart around the page, trying to figure out what to look at, instead of reading one bit at a time. An excellent user experience will guide the viewer from one step to the next.
Predictability
Standardization helps us to find and understand information faster. You already know when you see red lights on a car, you are looking at the back of a braking vehicle. We can do the same thing in graphic design. Page numbers are always on the bottom of the page. Chapter titles always look the same. Use this kind of repetition in your designs to create comfortability and ease. Predictability also eliminates distractions and keeps your viewer focused.
Alignment
When text and elements aren’t aligned, the lack of consistency can be very confusing to the viewer. Alignment is one of the easiest ways to influence your reader’s eye across a page or design and to help ensure their understanding of information. Ease of understanding is crucial for an excellent user experience.
Messaging
Your message in your marketing can seem simple yet elusive. It’s just the words you say! But gosh, what do I SAY? How do we make sure that what our audience hears is the message we intended?
Words
Words can be very subjective and are often tied to subconscious memories. Using the right words that resonate with your audience can make a huge difference in your audience’s comprehension and response. Over time, as you talk about your business, you can start to learn which words really strike a chord with your audience and help convey your message. Collect these words and phrases!
Clarity
Can you distill your message down into one or two sentences for your audience to contemplate? Lengthy and rambly sentences will leave your audience bored or confused. Clarity takes time and practice. Don’t expect your first draft to be your last.
Repetition
When you find the words that hit home with your audience and you’ve figured out how to convey your main message in just a couple sentences, don’t forget to repeat it. Saying it once isn’t enough. Repeating your message helps instill it in the hearts of your audience. They begin to truly understand what you stand for and get a feeling of familiarity when they interact with your brand.
Why does this all matter?
Your words will change someone’s life. I know you have a soapbox that you get on from time to time, and you think, “Ugh, I wish everyone knew this!” It’s people like you who shape the world and change culture, one person at a time, by sharing your life-changing message with whoever will hear.
The thing is: you can’t be everywhere. But your marketing visuals have a wider, longer reach than you do by yourself. People are viewing your Instagram posts, reading your emails, taking your course, and using your workbooks while you are doing other things. All of these touch-points are an opportunity to amplify your voice and draw people into your world. Your marketing and graphics should feel like you. They should be an extension of your personality and vibe.
When there is no real consistency, cohesiveness, and clarity in your marketing, your message is much more likely to get lost in the void. Some people are hearing your message, but you could be missing so many opportunities.
You can use graphic design to craft your user experience and give your message the best chance of making an impact.
Do you ever wonder if your audience is really getting what you’re trying to say?
I created my Design & Messaging Audit to help coaches, therapists, and thought-leaders like you pin-point where their core message is getting lost. Whether it’s unclear messaging or unclear graphics, so many coaches are fumbling their opportunity to create impact online.
Sign up for your 1:1 session where I’ll give you personalized feedback on the overall design and messaging of your social media and marketing visuals.
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