Canva Templates: How to Use Them And How They Can Help Grow Your Instagram
Canva has revolutionized the graphic design industry; it’s easier for pro users to create knock-out designs quickly, and it’s possible for people with no knowledge of the Adobe Suite to make social media graphics that are #amazing. While creating your own design is easy, Canva templates make getting started even easier. Talented artists put together amazing designs for you to customize for your own brand with the click of a button. Even if you ultimately alter the design completely, it gives you a starting point to brainstorm when a blank page feels intimidating.
So how can you use Canva Templates to make your Instagram content pop? Let’s take a look and see how you can improve your social media game with this awesome feature.
What Are Canva Templates?
So first of all: what are Canva Templates?
Canva Templates are premade graphics made in all the different custom sizes available that give you a starting point to completely customize. These are available with a free account, and you get even more options with Canva Pro.
To access them, go to your Canva Home and click “Create a Design” in the top right corner. Select the size you need – in this case, “Instagram Post” – and it will take you to the editor so you can start designing.
With the menu on the left, you have your toolbar for creating your Canva design. Templates are the very first tab and will already be open for you when you get started. You can go through the different recommended categories, or you can use some keywords like “sale” or “we’re open” in the search bar to find options that fit your specific design and message requirements. Your Canva account gives you access to so many tools that make creating beautiful designs simple.
How Canva Templates Make the Algorithm Happy
Now how can Canva Templates help you improve your Instagram game? There’s a variety of reasons why Canva designs can play a large role in growing your following and increasing your content’s reach. Paired with the right hashtags and caption, Canva designs can really make your Instagram pop.
Consistency
When it’s easy to make designs quickly and efficiently, it’s easy to post on a consistent basis. Posting consistently, rather than sporadically, tells the Instagram algorithm to favor the content you share. Additionally, when you post more, you give the algorithm more chances to feature you. Some content will be a hit, and some will flop; that’s inevitable. Not every Instagram post you create will go viral. But the more material you put out there, the better chance you have at being seen and getting that piece of viral content.
When you can make a bunch of content all at once, you have the option to schedule your content far in advance. When you do this, you save yourself time by front-loading all the work, rather than logging in every day to post. This takes social media posting off your plate so you don’t have to scramble to come up with new content every day.
Cohesiveness
Canva makes it easy for you to stick to your brand. They have a feature called a “Brand Kit” where you can save your company’s brand colors so all of your visuals stay within the same color scheme. They also give you tons of fonts to choose from, so you can always keep your text visually the same as well.
With these features, you can customize templates to make them fit with your brand. Simple measures like changing the background color and the font can make a generic template personalized to your company’s brand. This will make your feed look great as a whole and helps your individual graphics stand out on their own.
Current
When you click the Canva template button and search through their “for you” category, you get to see what is fresh, new, and trending in the design world. Using one of these designs will help you stay on top of new design trends so that your content stays fresh.
Canva also gives you access to thousands of stock photos and design elements. Instead of having to commission or draw every PNG you need for your design, you can use ones made by talented artists to complete your design. Canva is quick to include designs and photos from trending topics and events, so you’ll always have the elements you need to finish your graphic.
How to Make a Canva Template Your Own
So now that you know how Canva Templates can help your business, let’s take a look at the options you have to personalize them to really help them capture the spirit of your brand.
Once you’ve gone through the design templates on the templates page and found one that speaks to you, click it and it will pop up on your artboard.
Start with the background. Is it a photo or a design? If it’s a design, use your specially cultivated brand kit color palette and change the colors to ones that match your brand. If there are Canva elements on the design, you have the ability to change the colors of those as well.
If it’s a photo, select one of your own photos to replace it with. Once you upload it, you can drag and drop it straight onto your canvas. Delete the previous background and send your new photo to the back to serve as the backdrop to your content.
Next, customize the text to whatever you need it to say. Change the font to your own brand’s by using the bar on the left side.
Once you’ve made those changes and did more tweaking to make the design your own, it’s time to download and post!
How WBD Takes Your Canva Game a Step Further
Anyone with a free account to Canva has access to their thousands of social media templates.
But did you know that Women’s Business Daily offers free, exclusive Canva Templates with your membership? Unlike the templates that are already floating all over Instagram, you get access to custom-made templates made with every WBD user in mind, waiting for you to make them your own. The templates even come with social media strategies built-in to help you plan out how to make your content work best for you.
A new batch comes out every month, so sign up today to get access to those and all the other perks that come with a WBD membership!
Author, Artist, Photographer.
Sarah Margaret is an artist who expresses her love for feminism, equality, and justice through a variety of mediums: photography, filmmaking, poetry, illustration, song, acting, and of course, writing.
She owns Still Poetry Photography, a company that showcases her passion for capturing poetic moments in time. Instead of poetry in motion, she captures visual poetry in fractions of a second, making cherished keepsakes of unforgettable moments.
She is the artist behind the Still Poetry Etsy shop, which houses her illustrations and bespoke, handmade items. She is the author of intricacies are just cracks in the wall, a narrative poetry anthology that follows a young woman discovering herself as she emerges from an abusive relationship.
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