Look Like A Social Rockstar

Do you ever wonder how people create really cool visual graphics for their social media?

Good news! We are here to let you in on the secret.

I recently talked about this on a Facebook Live and I want to fill you in on the conversation.

There are many programs from apps to online programs that can help you create these eye-catching graphics. Today I want to talk about two that can help you look like a Rockstar in your social feeds.

These two programs are Canva and Adobe Spark. Both can help you reach your goals but have differences to them. We are partial to one – Adobe Spark. And, NO, this is not a paid advertisement for Adobe. We just truly LOVE the Adobe Spark programs and want to share with you why you might love it too.

Canva vs. Adobe Spark

… What are the differences and why do we love Adobe Spark? And, why do we prefer it?

Canva is a wonderful program (and app) for creating social posts, flyers, web banners, social ads, mock-ups for printed items to name a few. They offer a paid version and free version for use. Your brand’s colors, fonts and logo can be added into the paid version of this program.

I do caution you though to not use Canva to actually create a piece that needs to be sent to the printer for two main reasons – 1. the size needed for print (especially print that goes to the edge of your page) has very specific dimensions and print set-up specifications and 2. The images that are output from the program may be at a lower resolution than what is acceptable for print.

I also caution not to use Canva (or any similar program) for creating a logo. This is because the images that you download are not suitable for creating any type of marketing pieces at a design house or for use on any promotional materials and would need to be recreated by a professional designer.

Adobe Spark also offers a paid version and free version and can do all of the things I mentioned that Canva can do and more. And this is why we recommend this program (and apps) over and over to those who ask.

We have been using Adobe Spark in our office since Spark went into beta (we were one of the initial testers). We instantly fell in love with this program and are very happy to recommend it to our customers and others who ask.

I mentioned above that Adobe Spark could do all of what Canva could do and more and here is why…

Adobe Spark isn’t just one program. It is actually 3 programs in 1 – Spark Post, Spark Page and Spark Video. And they not only have a online version but there are 3 corresponding apps (Spark Post, Spark Page and Spark Video) that can be downloaded and used on your Apple and Android devices. Even more powerful is that all of these can be used together to make very powerful social and online campaigns.

Just as the programs say, you can create a post, a page (landing page) and a video. And with the apps, you can create a post that can be turned into a video.

Adobe Spark Is Magical

By this I mean, that you can create your content, duplicate it and select a different layout, then magically, your post, page and video will adjust to the new layout. This means that you do not have to start from scratch for layouts that work best for each social media platform but simply duplicate and adjust the layout formats with the click of the mouse. Magic!

So, what can’t this program do?

At the moment, there is a couple of things to know if you are using Spark Page or Spark Video. Although these are two powerful programs, its does have limits.

For Spark Page, currently, you can not create a page and download it to be hosted on your own server with your own domain. It currently has to be hosted on an Adobe server with an Adobe address.

For Adobe Video, currently, you can create both widescreen video and square video. What is missing and we hope will be coming soon? … Vertical Video – video that can be used in Instagram for their Instagram Stories.

Don’t let the not-yets stop you.

I invite you to try both programs and see which one works best for you.

… And if you need a little help with strategy and how best to use this for your company’s best potential, contact us. We would love to set up a strategy meeting with you to help you best reach your ideal customer and get them to say “Wow, I need to know more”.

Have fun learning these new programs and if you get stuck, let us know how we can help. Enjoy!