Do you want freedom to pick images simply on Social Media? Don’t want to worry about copyright hassles?
Images are a key way to engage patients on social media. 87% of a Facebook Page’s Engagement (i.e. Likes, Shares, Comments) happens on Photo Posts.
On Facebook and others, we’re used to viewing and sharing photos of our friends and family.
For your practice, good images work through simplicity. Similar to a story, but condensed into a small space.
Okay. I hear you say… But I don’t have time to learn Adobe Photoshop…. And I don’t want to pay a hefty fine for accidentally using someone else’s image. (In one case, $627 for an image from ten years earlier.)
But you know that they’re important on your Practice Social Media Pages. What can you do?
You could use Powerpoint or Keynote. However, you are limited to images of certain dimensions, and you have a limited range of images to choose from.
Canva is a free tool that brings images and graphic design to the masses.
Reasons Why I Love Canva
I’m a photographer and use Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom. However, I love Canva for the following reasons:
- It’s easy: If you can create/modify a basic Powerpoint Presentation, then you can use Canva. Creating images in Canva is as easy as that. Start with a background, add text, choose colours, and then Download or Share your image. In fact, the image that I used for this article was created in less than five minutes. The hardest part was working out which background image I liked the best. (I love this picture of the wave, and was stoked to be able to use it now!)
- Plenty of ways to create Free Images. These include free textures/patterns for backgrounds, text layouts, symbols and common logos (e.g. Facebook). You can also upload your own background photos. For example, take a photo with your phone of wheatgrass, and use it in a health-related eye post.
- Royalty Free: If you see an image that you love on Canva that’s not free, it will probably only cost you $1. You can use it Royalty-Free (meaning that you don’t have to pay anyone any additional costs). This means that you won’t run into any fines down the track.
Easily find useful images: Each of the free or paid images on Canva are associated with several keywords. This means that you can search for keywords like “optometrist”, “eye”, “spectacles”, or “retina”. The keywords are created for a layperson. For example, “retina” brings up photos of a fundus camera, 90D exam, direct ophthalmoscope. It also brings up other photos with an iris. In the mix, there are also unrelated photos (such as Apple’s “Retina” Display on Macbook, iPad and iPhone). As an Apple fanboy, I find this cool. But I digress. - What size was that again?: Did you know that the recommended size for a Facebook News Feed Image (you know, the ones that you see when you load Facebook) are 940 x 788 pixels? Or that Twitter recommends 1,024 x 512 pixels? With Canva, you don’t have to remember any of that, now or in the future. In Canva, under Create a Design, click the More button, and choose from over 49 Different Options from Social Media Post Types, Print Sizes, Ads, Events, Documents and Social Media Headers. And Canva is constantly adding new templates to choose from.
- Layout Inspiration from Other Users: Check out some of the inspiring designs from other Canva Users. Check out the left tab, “Get design inspiration”. It’s almost like an Instagram feed in itself, including Inspirational Quotes, Current Global Issues (e.g. Pray For Paris), or some smart minimalistic designs.
- Bonus: Use Canva for Website/Social Media Image Inspiration: If you ever get stuck for images for your Website or Social Media Pages, hop onto Canva and check out the array of images under “Optometrist”. Here you’ll see a cool/quirky mix about how the public sees optometry. Take cues from the cool images, and try to replicate them in your practice. (Yes, they have some fancy flashes and cameras when they shoot these images. However, the saying goes that ‘the best camera is the one that you have with you’. My best tip is to have fun with the people that you’re taking photos of, and minimise clutter in the background.) Remember to think about your Ideal Patient, and the things that resonate with them.
Make sure your message gets out on Social Media. Try Canva. Let me know what you think!
