PosterMyWall live class: 10 creative online marketing ideas

Your brand is always on display and is constantly being judged by customers. That’s why it’s important to use the powerful pairing of attractive graphic assets and  creative online marketing ideas. 

This week, special guest Monica Farber shared 10 creative online marketing ideas to promote your business, expand your reach, and gain new customers. 

As a result of her years of experience in social media curation and online promotion, Monica, principal of Hello Fancy Media, possesses real talent for creating engaging online marketing content.

Watch the replay above or continue reading for a summary of Monica’s content. And don’t forget to check out our bonus content. The link is at the bottom of this page.

Create attractive thumbnails for your Instagram Reels and videos

One of the secrets of getting people to click on your Instagram Reels and videos is a strong thumbnail image. 

The thumbnail image is the still image, a single frame, that Instagram uses as the preview for your image. Unless you add or select another image, Instagram will automatically default to the first frame of your video.

The challenge is that you want your thumbnail to do a good job of explaining what your video is going to be about – possibly with the addition of text. The viewer needs to know what the Reel is about from that cover image,” Monica said. The first image doesn’t always accomplish this. That is why it’s important to always create or select the image you want to serve as your thumbnail.

Another thing to be aware of is that in your Instagram feed, your thumbnail will show as a square, with the top and bottom of the thumbnail image cut off. For this reason, it’s important to place your copy in the middle of the slide where it will remain visible – even when shown in a square format. 

Monica shared a sample of a basic PosterMyWall Reels template with the copy located in the center that can be customized with photos and videos. There are also many more Instagram Reels templates available through PosterMyWall.

For more information on Instagram Reels, watch Monica’s previous #LearnWithPosterMyWall class, Shoot amazing social media photos with your phone.

Curate your Instagram Stories 

“Instagram Stories are a great opportunity to stand out,” Monica said. 

Traditionally, Instagram Stories have been used as a medium for showcasing raw, behind-the-scenes content. Many brands post selfie images, videos, and audios. “By curating  your Stories the way you would your Instagram feed, you can really catch people’s attention,” Monica said. 

Use PosterMyWall’s Instagram Story templates as a starting point, then add your own images, copy, and brand colors. From product or sale posters to custom-branded slides, PosterMyWall has a range of options that make it effortless to create aesthetically pleasing Stories content. 

Monica illustrated with an example. “Let’s say your bar is hosting a margarita happy hour. You could shoot a quick video of a drink, add a happy hour caption to it, and post it on your story. It’ll get the message out there.” 

Reach people with Facebook events through 

Many people don’t realize that you can promote practically anything as a Facebook Event. This could be a live event like a concert at your bar, or a Black Friday sale if you own a retail store. A Facebook Event can also mark the day you launch your winter menu if you’re a restaurant or promote an online event or live broadcast. You could even use a Facebook Event to remind customers that you’re adjusting your business hours. 

“What you want is for people to scroll through Facebook, see your event on their timeline, and think ‘I want to attend this,’” Monica said. 

The benefits of creating a Facebook Event are that it’s easy to invite your followers, guests can RSVP, Facebook sends a reminder to anyone who RSVPs, and Facebook will run your invitation as a suggestion in people’s feeds. 

To ensure that your events capture people’s attention, always create a strong Event cover image. “The ideal event banner is vibrant enough to make someone stop scrolling,” Monica said. 

Don’t forget Pinterest

Attract serious buyers with Pinterest With over 450 million monthly users, Pinterest is a platform used to plan purchases and find inspiration. Pinterest has impressive stats including that users are 3x more likely to click on a brand’s website through Pinterest than any other social media platform. 

People usually go onto Facebook and Instagram to check up on family and friends, or keep up with trends. But when people go to Pinterest, they’re looking for things like how do I decorate my mantel for Christmas this season, or what can I get my loved ones this holiday season. Monica said “That’s where your brand comes in. They look for something they like, they click on an image that leads to your website, and boom! You’ve made a sale.” 

Pinterest also empowers customers to click through to your site almost instantly. When someone searches for a product on Pinterest, they’ll be shown a very wide range of images. Your job is to create visuals that are attractive enough to catch your customer’s attention so they’ll choose your images to click on. With PosterMyWall’s wide range of Pinterest templates, you can create the dynamic graphics you need in minutes. 

Let’s say you own a travel agency. Select a high-quality image, customize with your signature colors and brand logo, and add enticing copy. Your Pinterest image is ready to post. 

Create an attractive and user-friendly website

If you want to maintain a strong online presence, you need to have your own website. And you have to make sure your website is eye-catching enough for your customers to want to scroll around and explore. 

Monica stressed how  important it is to maintain a consistent brand aesthetic across your website. “Any art that you need for your website can easily be created on PosterMyWall, You can create a design from scratch. Or you can use a template.” Monica said. 

Let’s say that you need a cool, professional banner for the top of your restaurant’s website. Choose a free template on PosterMyWall and hop onto the editor. Customize your design dimensions to match the size banner you need, then start designing. You can also add links in your banner that link directly to specific areas of your site. 

Optimize your YouTube channel 

If you want a larger following for your business, YouTube is a great place to establish a presence. And, a YouTube channel that is pleasing to the eye is another great way to maintain a fabulous online presence. 

When creating videos for YouTube, content isn’t the only thing you need to worry about. You also have to plan an attractive, branded thumbnail for each video. PosterMyWall has lots of templates to get you started. 

You also need a high-quality banner for your channel (also known as Channel Art) that shows people who you are and what you’re about. 

Your channel banner is going to play a big role in helping people understand what your channel is about. It will also contribute to their decision as to whether they want to stay and view your content – or move on to something else. What gets tricky is that viewers will see your banner differently on different devices. YouTube shows a different portion of your image on desktop vs. tablet and phone, so it’s imperative that you place the most important part of your image in the center middle where it will be visible in all situations. 

Create fun logos to elevate your brand image

If you don’t have a logo, check out PosterMyWall’s logo templates and create one right away. An attractive logo is the essence of your business, and can positively impact your brand. 

Monica reminded us that logos are a great way to create hype, not just for your overall brand, but for specific products, services, and events too. “You can create a version of your logo specific to a product or event – or create an entirely new secondary logo,” Monica said. 

Let’s say you own a Mexican restaurant and every Tuesday you host a Taco Tuesday event. Even if you already have a logo, you can create a secondary logo to help promote your Tuesday events. 

Start a blog to increase your online presence

“The more times you show up online, the better,” Monica said. And what better way to show up online than through your own blog?

With a blog, you can unleash your creative side and post about pretty much anything that speaks to your brand and expertise – and connects with your target audience.

Monica illustrated how to make your blog stand out by sharing an example of a local fashion blogger who created a fabulous collage of images  for her gift guide. You can do the same by collecting your favorite selection of images, going onto PosterMyWall to remove their backgrounds and combine them into a single, fun poster for your blog. This way, if someone searches up any one of the many things you’ve added in your blog, your design will pop up and entice them into clicking onto your site. 

Utilize email for your ads

One way to make sure your ad reaches your customer directly is to send it directly to their inbox. PosterMyWall’s email tool lets you email the ads you’ve designed in PosterMyWall to your entire email list. So if you’re having a Black Friday sale, a special promotion, or launching a new product, all you have to do is create a compelling design, and send it off to your customers. 

To repurpose your design for social media, print, or any other use, use PosterMyWall’s resize tool.

Share reviews through fabulous graphics

“If you want people to trust your brand, share reviews,” Monica said. The trick is to be purposeful about how you share them. It doesn’t work to just tell people your customers love you. You have to attract people’s attention with a compelling graphic and communicate by using your customer’s actual review. 

There are tons of visually creative ways to share reviews with your online audience. Instead of simply copy pasting a customer’s comment onto your social media, try creating a fun speech-bubble shaped graphic and adding the main keywords from your review. Another fun idea is to showcase reviews in the form of stars. 

“People are lazy so they won’t read a lot of text. But if you add it into a fun, attractive graphic they’ll see that and know you have good reviews without having to read anything.” Monica said. 

Try out these ideas!

With Monica’s amazing tips, you should now be ready to amp up your online presence. Create some fantastic thumbnails for your videos; spruce up your website with some new graphics; add a create element to your social media presence. Use these tips to not only boost your online present but to elevate your overall marketing strategy and reshape your brand image. 

If you’d like a copy of Monica’s presentation or links to her featured templates, be sure to download our bonus content.

To learn more about marketing your designs, watch this video.