Great visuals can make or break a PR campaign. Eye catching design is what stops the scroll and makes people pay attention. And standing out isn’t just nice – it’s essential. Particularly when you consider the endless stream of content flooding our news and app feeds 24/7.
Our attention spans just aren’t what they used to be. We’re drowning in content, and if your visuals don’t pop, they’ll get lost in the noise. That’s why your designs need to be bold, memorable, and straight to the point. Think of them as a visual elevator pitch. Something that instantly sums up your key message while looking great.
This is why it’s important to include visual elements in your digital PR campaigns as much as possible. Because people are visual creatures! No matter how strong your story is, if it’s just a wall of text, most people will skim past it (or worse – ignore it completely). That’s why articles with images get 94% more views. A great visual grabs attention in seconds, making your campaign instantly more engaging and shareable.
Visuals break through the noise, making your message easier to digest and more likely to stick. The global visual content market size is worth $5.2 billion for a reason! Plus, journalists, influencers, and social media users just love content that looks good. The better your visuals, the more likely your campaign is to get picked up, shared, and remembered.
So, read on to find out how to make your visuals work harder for you.
What’s in this article:
- Why graphic design matters for digital PR
- 10 ways to optimise visuals for your digital PR campaign
- Tools and resources for designing effective visuals for PR
- Key takeaways
Why graphic design matters for digital PR
Graphic design is essential in digital PR because it helps you capture attention and communicate your message clearly. With so much content online, strong visuals can make your brand stand out, ensuring your message isn’t lost in the noise.
Remember, good design goes beyond aesthetics. It plays a vital role in conveying your brand’s identity and connecting with your audience. A well crafted visual can evoke emotions and make your message easier to digest and understand.
In digital PR and content marketing campaigns, visuals are often the first thing people see, so they set the tone for your message. They help grab attention, build trust, and create a connection that words alone can’t achieve.
10 ways to optimise visuals for your digital PR campaign
1. Prioritise brand consistency
Keeping your visuals consistent is key to building brand recognition. It’s not just about your logo and colours – your typography, imagery, icons, and even the vibe of your messaging all need to match up. When your visuals stay uniform across different platforms, people instantly spot them as your brand, which helps build trust and familiarity.
That kind of recognition makes your brand feel more relatable and easier to remember. And, when everything aligns across your PR materials – whether it’s a website, press release, or social post – it strengthens your brand’s presence everywhere it appears. Stick with it, and before you know it, your brand identity will be more solid and powerful than ever.
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2. Focus on storytelling
Great visuals aren’t just pretty pictures, they should tell a story. Visual storytelling is a must in digital PR. Instead of grabbing random stock images that don’t really connect, use custom graphics, high quality photos, or unique illustrations that show off your brand’s personality. Infographics and data visuals work wonders for making complicated ideas simple, easy to understand, and super shareable.
When you nail storytelling through design, you make it easier for your audience to get your message – and connect with it on a deeper level. Plus, eye-catching visuals with a story help your brand stand out from all the noise online. So, make your visuals work harder for you and give your audience something worth remembering.
3. Design for shareability
Make sure your graphics are easy to share everywhere. Each social media platform has its own preferred image size and format, so creating designs that work across all of them is super important. When you optimise your visuals for each platform, they’ll look sharp and professional whether they’re on Instagram Stories or LinkedIn posts.
Designing with shareability in mind means your content’s more likely to get reposted, shared, and spread around, which gives your reach a serious boost. Plus, adding a few subtle branding elements helps increase engagement and awareness over time, as people interact with your visuals all over their feeds.
4. Keep it simple and eye-catching
Digital PR campaigns are consumed quickly and in huge volumes, so your designs need to be simple but impactful. Too much going on can confuse your audience and water down your main message. Keep things clear, bold, and straight to the point, so your audience gets the gist in seconds. Think high contrast, clean fonts, and a layout that’s easy to follow.
But simplicity doesn’t mean boring. It’s all about making your visuals pop by cutting out the distractions. A well balanced design with easy to read typography keeps things visually appealing while making sure everyone can access your message without any hassle.
5. Optimise for SEO and accessibility
Making sure your visuals are SEO friendly and accessible is key to reaching as many people as possible. Use descriptive alt text and file names with relevant keywords to make your content easier to find. Compressing image files can also speed up load times, giving your audience a smoother experience.
And don’t forget about accessibility. Your designs should work for everyone, including those with visual impairments. Choose colour contrasts that are easy to distinguish for people with colour blindness, and pick fonts and sizes that make your text super readable. Accessible designs not only expand your reach, but they also create a more inclusive experience for all.
With more and more people accessing content via mobile devices, it’s also essential to make sure your visuals are optimised for smaller screens. In fact, in 2023, mobile visits to the top 100 most visited websites in the U.S. were 313% higher than desktop visits. So, it’s best to follow a mobile first approach, meaning your graphics should look great and work smoothly on mobile. Test your designs across different devices to make sure they’re legible and accessible no matter where they’re being viewed.
6. Utilise interactive and motion graphics
While static images are effective, adding interactive or motion elements can really elevate your visuals. Interactive graphics, like polls, sliders, or clickable images, encourage users to engage, making it more likely that people will interact with and share your content.
Motion graphics, like animated elements or GIFs, can also highlight key points in reports, or make press releases more dynamic. These types of visuals have been shown to boost engagement rates and increase the chances of your content being shared on social platforms. Motion also helps break down information and makes it easier to digest, boosting the overall impact of your content. Surprisingly, this is still an underutilised tactic, as only 22.4% of marketers use animation and motion graphics to improve audience engagement rates.
7. Leverage data driven design
Using data driven insights helps you design visuals that really connect with your target audience. Analysing previous PR campaigns, audience behaviour, and trends allows you to tailor your designs to better match your audience’s preferences and needs. For example, if you know your audience engages more with infographics, you can use this information to refine your designs and boost engagement.
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8. Stay up-to-date on design trends
Design trends are always changing, and staying on top of them can keep your digital PR efforts feeling fresh and relevant. Whether it’s embracing minimalist designs, adding 3D elements, or playing with bold typography, keeping your visuals aligned with current trends shows your brand is innovative and in tune with modern aesthetics. That said, it’s important to find the right balance between trendy and timeless design to ensure your visuals stay effective in the long run.
9. Create a visual content library
Building a library of reusable visual assets, like icons, templates, and graphic elements, can make your design process smoother and keep your PR materials consistent. A well organised content library saves time, making it easy for your team to access pre-approved assets for future campaigns, while ensuring brand consistency across all platforms and media.
10. Include clear call to actions (CTAs)
For digital PR to drive real coverage and results, your visuals should not only be engaging but also lead to clear actions. Including well-placed CTAs within your visuals, whether it's prompting users to visit your website, download a report, or share a post can enhance the effectiveness of your campaign. Ensure that your CTAs are easy to spot, visually appealing, and tied to the content’s main goal.
Tools and resources for designing effective visuals for PR
Canva
Canva is great for beginners. It offers a drag-and-drop interface with tons of templates that’s really easy to use. It’s ideal for creating quick yet polished designs without needing advanced design skills.
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Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
For more advanced design work, Adobe’s creative suite is the gold standard. There’s a reason Adobe products command over 80% of the graphic design software market! Photoshop and Illustrator are amazing for image editing and creating custom graphics, while InDesign is great for more complex layouts like brochures and reports.
Unsplash / Pexels / Pixabay
When you need high quality, free stock photos to complement your designs, these platforms offer a huge variety of images you can use in your PR visuals. Just make sure to choose photos that align with your brand’s identity and message.
Infogram
Infogram is good for creating data visualisations, charts, and interactive infographics that are easy to share across digital platforms – ideal for PR content that includes statistical data.
Key takeaways
- Consistency builds recognition. Keeping your visuals on point helps your brand and message stick in people’s minds and builds trust.
- Storytelling boosts engagement. Amazing visuals tell a story, making your content more relatable and easy to share. Using custom graphics, photos, and infographics helps get your message across in a fun way.
- Optimise for all platforms. Make sure your designs work for each platform’s specs, so your visuals always look sharp and are easy to share, no matter where they’re posted.
- Simplicity is key. Digital PR campaigns move fast, so keep things bold, clear, and easy to read. You want your message to pop without overwhelming your audience.
- Incorporate data and trends. Use insights from data to design visuals that hit the mark with your audience, and keep an eye on trends to make sure your designs stay fresh and relevant.
Need expert design support for your next digital PR campaign? Get in touch with us today! Let's craft visuals that make an impact.
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