What Makes for a Shareable Graphic?

Use our best practices for posting images on social media

A quick scan of your Facebook feed will probably reveal an apparent truth: Everyone is sharing graphics these days.

These aren’t the graphics of 2011 and 2012, though; whereas long, narrow infographics were all the rage just a few years ago, updates to social media platforms and readership patterns have changed the kinds of images that users gravitate towards. Which means if you’re interested in creating shareable graphics as part of your content marketing strategy, you’ve got to know what works and what doesn’t.

Make Images That Fit the Medium

Though it’s quicker and easier to make one graphic and share it across every social media platform, that’s a tactic that may not pay off. Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Facebook all have different dimensions that work best.

Whereas Pinterest images should still be long and slim, Instagram images are still best viewed in a square. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have several images of various sizes in each post (which are best for Pinterest and Facebook), and different shareable graphics for tweets and wall posts.

HubSpot has a good roundup of all the various dimensions.

Stay Simple

The best shareable graphics deliver one clear message, fact, statistic, or idea without a lot of clutter or noise. Though you may want to include a lot of imagery, a simple piece of text over an image can do the job just fine. Prioritize readability and a memorable message over excessive design.

As for images, avoid the ‘stock photo’ look as much as possible. Though a leaf with a raindrop on it might seem serene, it will likely look more like an inspirational calendar page than a cute meme.

Shareable Means Universal

Though an image is designed to be a kind of subversive advertisement for a brand, many marketers get a little too carried away with branding in their graphics. Though it’s definitely preferable to use fonts and colors that are close to your own to make the image recognizable, and maybe a small logo or watermark in the corner, graphics that get shared the most are the ones that don’t look like advertisements. Rest assured, though, that when people are sharing your Facebook and Twitter images directly, you’re still appearing in the feeds of folks you’d never touch otherwise.

Of course, all of these rules are soft and subject to change—tastes evolve over time, and every time Facebook or Twitter alter the way images are displayed, marketers have to pivot along with them—but in the meantime, let these guidelines drive conversations with designers and your social team.

Need graphics guidance? We can help!

efelle creative is a Seattle-based web marketing firm that specializes in website design and development, website content management, search engine optimization, and other online marketing services. Since 2005, efelle has worked with hundreds of businesses to help them with their web development needs. Call us at 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form to get in touch with a custom web design specialist.

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