Creating in Canva

Keeping your social media feeds fresh with content and images that look both polished and new is paramount to creating a substantial following. There are a lot of programs that can assist in creating images for social media, but we recommend Canva.

It’s easy to use. Just create a free account and you’re good to go. Most templates don’t even include a watermark which is a huge deal for free software.

There is also a plethora of layout options. Because this is a drag and drop software you don’t need to have any programming skills. Again, easy for anyone to use.

The availability of free elements is quite impressive. Whether you’re creating a poster, an Instagram post, or an infographic there are tons of free images and templates available for creative purposes. And just in case you’d like to use a plain, solid-colored background, Canva has those too. You can also use their free stock images or upload your own.

The following are a few hacks for the platform. These will help you take your designs to the next level:

·         If you’re looking for design inspiration, simply type in /#design-stream into the Canva URL. This will allow you to glimpse what other people on the platform are creating.

·         A lot like the secret menus at restaurants, Canva has some secret codes. For example, if you type the following in the search box, it will bring up all of the free elements in Canva’s library: “brand:BAAMOuJH0Ec” or “brand:BAAAAP7rQ8M”. Pretty cool, huh? Don’t try to write this down and put it in yourself. Just copy and paste it.

·         The following are two really awesome keyboard shortcuts that will make your life a lot easier while using the platform:

o   Shortcut #1: Press “T” in your Canva Design to bring up a Textbox.

o   Shortcut #2: Put a border on your image- Press “ALT” + “SHIFT” + “B.”