The world is a very visual place. And in the world of social media and online engagement, that’s A lot of the time when you’re trying to capture the attention of prospects, the first thing they see from your business is an image, so you need to make sure it makes an impact. That means high-quality branded images to stay visible and stay competitive.
That’s where Canva comes in. When I work with a client on their branding, I’ll always ask if they have a Canva account, and more specifically, if they have a Canva pro account. It’s my absolute go-to tool for designing graphics for use on social media and other marketing, and it’s so simple that absolutely anyone can use it!
Table of Contents
What’s In Canva Pro?
First off, you might be thinking, why can’t I just use the free version of Canva? And for some people, the free version of Canva might be enough. But if you really want to grow your business, then Canva Pro has all the tools you need to do it. To give you an idea, Canva Pro includes everything the free version of Canva does, plus:
✦ Unlimited folders for your designs
✦ Team functionalities (so you can work closely with your team and graphic designer)
✦ Unlimited storage for photos and assets
✦ Ability to upload your own images
✦ Access to over 75 million premium stock photos, videos, audio and graphics (which are free to use)
✦ Magically resize your designs
✦ Upload custom fonts for your brand
✦ Set colour palettes for your brand
✦ Save templates for you and your team
✦ Organise your photos with folders
✦ Easily find your designs within the search bar
✦ Resize designs into custom dimensions
✦ Download your designs with a transparent background
✦ Export your designs as animated GIFs
✦ Priority level support from the Canva team
Just to name a few things! I find that Canva Pro is the perfect way to stay in control of your branding, create effective and consistent marketing materials and do it all quickly and efficiently. But just in case you aren’t 100% convinced, here are a few of my big reasons for upgrading to Canva Pro.
#1 Consistent Branding
One of the key features of good branding is consistency. Across all of your communications, through every single touchpoint, your business should look and feel the same. Use the same fonts, the same colours, and the same graphic style. Canva Pro gives you the ability to upload your brand style guidelines, including what your fonts are, your colours and a range of graphic elements you might use.
You can then use these to create templates for your designs, without having to worry about double-checking everything is right every time. Creating templates for each user also means you can make sure your image sizing is right, which can make all the difference online. This is one of my absolute favourite things about Canva Pro – which is why it’s first on the list!
#2 Create Lots of Content Types in One Place
As a business you’ll probably need to advertise in a lot of different places, using a lot of different types of content. For example, you might have Facebook and Instagram on social media, send out newsletters, publish blogs and infographics, print flyers and send out brochures – just to name a few. In the past, you would have to design each and everyone in a different programme, and you’d have to pull in all of your design elements separately.
But the beauty of Canva Pro is that it can do all of this for you, in one place. Canva gives you the ability to create almost every type of visual content you can think of, so you don’t have to waste time moving between platforms and you can explore new marketing avenues easily.
#3 Use Templates, or Be Unique
Some people just aren’t all that creatively minded – and that’s totally OK! We need the logical, lateral thinkers as much as the creatives. But that doesn’t mean an accountant can’t have gorgeous graphics on social media! Canva allows you to design completely from scratch if that’s your bag, but it also comes loaded with templates and ideas you can use too.
So if you’re not feeling inspired, just have a browse through the gallery, find something you like, and then tweak it to match your branding! It’s a fully drag and drop system, so you don’t need to have any special skills to create amazing designs. Honestly, it’s perfect for anyone, whether you’re a designer or you don’t have a creative bone in your body.
#4 Design on the Go
Canva Pro takes Canva and makes it portable! You can download the app on your phone or tablet and have access to all of your branding assets in seconds. This means you can design on the go and in minutes. Need to create a branded contract for a new customer? Open the app, grab your contract template and fill in the info. Had a great thought for a new offer and want to get it out into the world asap?
Just drag and drop the elements with your fingers and hit download. Need to make a quick announcement? You have the tools to make it stand out so that people notice. The app is just as easy to use as the desktop version, so you can have Canva in your pocket whenever you need it.
Ultimately Canva is one of the best marketing tools you can have in your arsenal as a business owner. It’s an easy to use tool that gives you access to more than you could possibly need in the marketing world. It’s powerful, it’s easy, and it’s affordable. So why wouldn’t you?
If you’re completely new to Canva but want to give it a try, then I recommend you join our Canva Coven! It’s a private Facebook group full of entrepreneurs who are all learning the ropes of Canva, sharing tips and getting feedback for their designs before they send them out into the world. Click the link here to request to join our coven, and get access to the knowledge of not just your Brand Alchemist, but loads of other amazing business women too! Or, if you want to ask a specific question about Canva, you can get in touch with me here too, I’m always happy to help!
…
I would love to see you in the Canva Coven .. If you’re a female entrepreneur and your business is struggling to be seen online then please join my free Facebook group to learn tips and tricks to make scroll-stopping graphics!
..
https://www.facebook.com/groups/canvacoven