Recently, specialists in closed chats, newbie targeting experts, smmschiki, as well as entrepreneurs who try their hand at themselves v promo posts, very often they ask the question “what size is needed for promo post? ". That is why, using examples, I decided to describe in detail what format should be banner for promo post so that it is displayed beautifully and as large as possible on PCs, mobile phones and tablets. Well, let's go 🙂
For an illustrative example, I will compare two banners with dimensions of 1280 * 720 and 800 * 525. By the way, the size and quality of the banner can be different - the most important thing here is proportions. So, this is how such a banner looks in the news feed on different devices:
PC - OLD DESIGN VKONTAKTE
As you can see, a banner with a size of 800 * 525 has a much larger margin on the right than when using a size of 1280 * 720. It is wider, though, and captures a larger area for viewing through the news feed. Let's see how these banners will look in the new VKontakte design.
PC - NEW DESIGN VKONTAKTE
Well, in the new VKontakte design, both of these sizes differ only in height, but the width remains the same. And, unlike the old version of VK, we do not see a large indent on the right. But the 800 * 525 banner captures a much larger visible area in the news feed than the size 1280 * 720 - the picture is higher and larger!
Now let's see how these banners will look in the mobile version of the VKontakte application on IOS.
MOBILE - NEWSLINE
Also, as in the new VKontakte design, the banner size 800 * 525 looks much larger (higher) than a banner with a size of 1280 * 720. And this is a very big plus for the mobile version, because the news viewing area there is small and ads with this banner size will capture most of it!
Well, now let's see how the square image will look in the news feed! For clarity, I will make a table.
| PC - old VKontakte design | PC - new design of VKontakte | Mobile - VKontakte application |
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Well, now we have clearly seen that pictures with a size of 800 * 525 and above get a larger view, approaching a square shape. But! do not forget that there is also text in promo posts, so when choosing the size of the picture, do not forget that to view the text on different devices, the picture should not occupy all the visible space in the news feed! It is important!
Since now part of the audience "sits" on VKontakte through the new design, and most through the old one, it is better to use the size 800 * 525. Yes, we tried and bothered with other sizes, trying to reduce the indent from the right edge, but it only increased and the smallest indent (taking into account more viewing through mobile) turned out to be 800 * 525.
Well, that's all for today. Thank you for your attention and quality promotions! 😉
Thank you for the attention!
In the summer of 2016, the developers of the social network Vkontakte finally surprised their users with a completely updated design. To tell the truth, the regulars of this site perceived the fresh design very ambiguously, to a greater extent it concerned the owners of communities with a merged picture as a design (avatar + banner). The distance between the pinned news and the avatar has literally doubled, the banner has noticeably enlarged and sank lower, and the community's thumbnail is now not a square, but a round area - all these awkward moments caused a lot of problems for people who ordered and installed designs for their groups earlier. The only way out in this situation was the reworking of the old design to meet the new requirements while maintaining the concept.
Although the design of Vkontakte communities seems to be a rather troublesome business (especially when compared with other social networks, where basically a rectangular cover and a square avatar are enough), in fact, this is not entirely true. Next, the requirements for graphic images and, in general, ways to arrange the group as such will be described.
The first way to make your community sales and attractive is with the standard avatar + banner + menu scheme.
Avatar
The avatar remained in the size of 200 by 500 pixels (but still better than 400 by 1000 with a margin of quality), although initially during the beta testing of the new design such a variant of the size as 200 by 300 was considered. The miniature is now round, but if this circle is inscribed in a square , then its dimensions will be 200 by 200 pixels, as it was before.
Banner (pinned post)
The optimal banner size is 1024 by 680 pixels (with a quality margin). I have seen many variations of the ideal banner size on the Internet, but still, at 1024 by 680, parts of the banner are not cut off when viewed from a computer, from a regular mobile version or from an Android application. It is also worth noting that the banner is now located below due to the duplicate community name in the area above the image and the posting date has been moved from the area below the image to the place under the duplicate name. Another important point is the lack of clickability on the banner from a mobile device. Those. from the phone, people will have to click on the link below the picture, not on the picture itself.
Menu
In terms of menu design and wiki markup, nothing has changed in general. As before, I use the menu width at 606 pixels and any length. For adaptability on mobile devices, it is better to typeset navigation inside the table - this way, when viewed on a phone, it simply shrinks proportionally to fit the screen. But if you have created a navigation where the items are simply located one below the other, then this need not be done - the method with the table is only necessary for those types of menus where the number of buttons in a row is more than one. In general, for the convenience of users, it is better not to make the menu only in the form of links to materials, but to create wiki pages with a complex structure.
If you need a single picture for decoration, then first fill in an avatar and a banner in the form of a fixed news into some group for experiments. Rewrite all the data from the sample community to your group: status, name (this is important, since this data is duplicated in the news) and ask the client for the text that will be above the banner.
After that, you can already take a sample using the screenshot, which must be placed in Photoshop.
There is also such a design method as "cover + banner + menu". In general, you can leave only the cover and put all the most important information on it. But in any case, the avatar must be set: it will not be visible in the group itself, but the community miniature will be taken from it. The optimal cover size is 1590 by 400 pixels, and you can upload an image using the Community Management - Community Cover: Upload command.
Image sizes for VKontakte design
- Avatar: 200 by 500 pixels (quality 400 by 1000 pixels);
- Avatar thumbnail 200 x 200px
- Banner or size of the pinned post in the group: 1024 by 680 pixels, but not less than 510px in width;
- Menu: width 606px;
- Cover 1590 x 400 pixels.
The number of active users and fans of social networks tends to 100% of the total number of users of the World Wide Web. At the same time, the social network VKontakte steadily occupies the leading positions in Runet. In addition, it is considered the most massive - more than 150 million registered users, and this does not include bots, abandoned and fake accounts.
This fact could not but be used in advertising whole. Today VKontakte offers the most convenient advertising, both for ordinary users, such as for advertising agencies. At the same time, VKontakte banners are the most popular. Users effectively use them for business development and informing about events in community groups:
1. Banners on VKontakte
Banner VKontakte is a static or animated picture with a signature and a slogan, which at the same time is a link, by clicking on which you can go to a page with more detailed information about a product, service, event. This action is called " click on the banner».
Advertising on the social network VKontakte is represented by two banners on the left edge. However, the profit from them is able to exceed the wildest expectations. It is interesting that you can place not only VKontakte advertising banners designed to sell a product / service, but also those that will be of interest to ordinary users.
This hybrid of professional and custom advertising can kill two birds with one stone. Thanks to it, the administration of the leading Russian social network has almost doubled the target audience of advertisers:
Types of advertising on VKontakte
Conventionally, VKontakte advertising is divided into two types ( by payment method). It can be called target and non-target. If with targeted advertising you pay for clicks on the banner, then with non-targeted advertising, you pay for impressions. At the same time, 1000 impressions are much cheaper than 1 transition. Whatever one may say, but from 1000 impressions, the subject is most likely to make at least 1 transition. Therefore, the second option turns out to be more profitable.
- Picture. A thematic image characterizing your product / service, page on a social network, etc.;
- Name. It can be a loud slogan, the name of the company;
- Signature. Short Entry or Unique Selling Proposition ( if the size of the banner allows it to fit).
VK ad placement rules
2. Why do we need VKontakte banners?
In addition to a wide audience reach and high popularity, VKontakte banner advertising has one very important advantage - the ability to accurately target. Almost 90% of the success of an advertising campaign depends on the correctness of its settings. After all, you are not interested in all VKontakte participants, but only in a certain part of them.
VK settings will allow you to independently determine which part of the audience your banner will be shown to. There is targeting by age, geography, gender, etc.
Having correctly set up targeting, you will exclude unnecessary impressions, thereby optimizing the budget for an advertising campaign.
As with other advertising platforms, it is important to understand what exactly is worth promoting through VKontakte. The main purpose of visiting a social network is communication and entertainment. From this we can conclude that it is best to advertise consumer goods; advertising conducted for the purpose of lead generation can also give a good result. Almost any highly specialized ad on VKontakte is doomed to fail.
Before inserting a banner, check if the advertised product / brand has a community, fan group, or public. Their presence will greatly increase the chances of your ad campaign being successful.
Also, pay attention to the price category. There is no point in promoting products on social media that cost more than $ 200:
3. How to place a banner on VKontakte? Cheat sheet for beginners, secrets and tips
Before adding a banner, follow the "Advertising" link in the footer of the page:
Next, click on “ Targeted ads"And get to the next page:
Click on " Create ad"And we see the following list:
Here you need to choose what exactly you will advertise: the VKontakte application (IFrame and Flash), the community ( public, group or meeting), video recording ( with a link to the advertiser's website) or an external site.
The last option is the most popular. A link from such a VKontakte banner, as a rule, redirects users to the landing page ( landing page).
VK banner ad formats
Three types of ads can be used:
- Picture + text. Here you can place a VKontakte banner 90 x 65 pixels with a title (25 characters) and a description (60 characters);
- Big picture. It is possible to add a banner with a size of 90 by 120 pixels without a description and with a title of 25 characters;
- Exclusive option. Banner 90 x 160 pixels with a title of 25 characters. Its main advantage is that while it is displayed, other ads are not shown. However, the cost of such advertising is 2 times higher.
Having chosen the desired format and uploading the data, you should specify the topic and subsection ( geography, demography, interests, education and work, as well as additional parameters). In the additional parameters, you can specify the operating system, device type, retargeting groups, browser.
The more precisely the target audience is configured, the better the CTR, and with good traffic and conversion.
At the final stage of setup, before making a VK banner, we indicate the payment method ( for impressions or transitions), advertising platforms ( you can additionally select partner sites of the social network), the cost of the transition. We assign a name to the advertising campaign.
We press " Create ad"! And we are waiting for it to be moderated. As a rule, after a couple of hours your VKontakte banners will begin to be shown to potential customers. Now your task is to track the statistics presented by the social network VKontakte and make timely decisions to improve performance.
4. How to insert a banner into a VKontakte group?
Let's look at how to make a banner in the VKontakte group.
Step 1. Go to the group page:
Step 2. In the block on the right, select the item " Advertise community»:
Before making a banner, we define the format of the banner, transitions or impressions. Save and wait for the banner to be moderated:
5. Banner advertising on VKontakte
Banner advertising on VKontakte often performs the function of image support, helps to promote new brands. However, this does not mean that it cannot be selling or less effective than contextual. Banner advertising contributes to the formation of a loyal audience by providing deferred demand. She gradually forms a potential client from the user. If you need to rebrand or enter the market with a new product, VKontakte banners work great for recognition.
Advertising on Facebook is designed for an older audience. Odnoklassniki covers the regions well. At the same time, VKontakte banner advertising is a universal solution that allows you to promote brands and new products among young people. She works where your potential clients rest, and speaks with them in their language, is in their area of interest.
When creating banners, it is important to take into account the characteristics of the audience and use the features of the corporate identity. The more professionally the banner is created, the more noticeable and effective it is.
6. How to create a VKontakte banner for your own website, why is it needed and how can it be used?
A clickable banner provides a transition to any page on the site. When creating it, you should consider the following points. After uploading the banner to the media files of your site, add the code anywhere in the resource. For example, you decided to add a VKontakte banner to your sidebar:
Go to widgets and add the following code:
In the "link address" field, indicate the address of the page where you want to redirect the visitor after he clicks on the banner. "Image path" is a link to the banner. Copy the link to the picture and paste it instead of the "Path to the picture".
Testing is one of the most important stages in the implementation of a successful advertising campaign. When choosing a VKontakte banner for a site, you need to provide for the creation of several headers, images and texts. Analyze statistics and make changes to the settings, this will optimize your advertising campaign:
7. Creation of banners for VKontakte
You can limit yourself to a simple image, however, personalization for a specific user and the interactivity of the banner will allow you to achieve a high result.
So, the banner should contain information of interest, a motivator for a transition / click, be beautiful, have a professional graphic design.
There are several ways to create banners:
- Order from a designer;
- Self-creation in a graphics editor;
- Using special programs to create banners;
- Creation using online services.
One of the most effective, easiest and fastest ways is to create online banners. For these purposes, you can use a service such as bannerfans.com. The Russian-language interface and a large selection of templates will allow you to create an interesting layout.
First, you select the background and size, then add an inscription in the "Text" tab, change the style, color and size of the font, and then work on the effects ( frames, shadows, etc.). At the final stage, save the banner in the required format.
An animated banner can be created using Easy GIF Animator. This program provides 20 trial runs, which will allow you to create multiple banners for free. The intuitive interface will allow you to quickly cope with the task:
Conclusion: Banner advertising on VKontakte provides precise adjustment of the target audience with a fairly wide coverage. However, you should avoid showing the banner to the same users multiple times. This can lead to an increase in the cost of the transition, a decrease in CTR, and "eating up" the budget. You can solve the problem by setting a limit on the number of views.
Good bad
In this article, I would like to systematize all my knowledge on the design of VKontakte groups based on my experience of interacting with clients and their preferences. Moreover, over the past six months, VKontakte has made many changes that many do not even suspect. I wanted to dwell on some innovations in more detail, since among them there are really worthwhile and useful things. We all seem to have already recovered from some shock after the redesign of VKontakte, and behind the visible changes, the multivariance of the functioning and content of the group was revealed. So now the design of groups involves a complex procedure that is not limited exclusively to the graphic component in the form of beautiful pictures. Now owners need to take into account the many nuances of building a group structure, depending on the subject of the business and the convenience of users.
This mainly concerns the choice of graphic design from two mutually exclusive options, developing an internal menu, choosing an entry point to the internal menu, understanding the difference between a catalog and a showcase of goods, preparing promotional materials for promoting a group, using useful applications. But first things first. First, we will look at the main elements of the group design, then we will move on to their interaction in the form of various combinations and then we will talk about some useful tricks and subtleties.
1. Horizontal cover (header)
Let's start with a horizontal cover or header. The developers of VKontakte assure us that the cover, due to its size, gives great flexibility in the provision and visualization of information. Usually, in addition to a beautiful picture, the header contains a logo, accompanying information, contacts, a call to join a group, and a website address. I have a suspicion that someday the covers will become the only possible design option for the group, so I would recommend that you immediately switch to them in order to avoid force majeure redesigns later.
How to upload a cover
To download a cover, you need to go to Community Management >> Basic Information >> Community Cover >> Download. Recommended cover size is 1590 × 400 pixels. There can be no working buttons in the header that you can click on - in fact, this is a picture and that's it. Today, the cover is visible on mobile devices, and seems to be already visible in applications and clients.
Wiki tab Latest news
In the upper block under the header, there can now be three tabs: a pinned entry, information about the community and a wiki menu (only in groups, there is no such tab on public pages). The emphasis is still on the pinned post, but even with its presence, the user will now always have access to information about the community, switching through the tabs. To see the wiki menu tab (originally called Fresh News), you need to go to Community Management »Sections» Content »Restricted (or Opened)» Save.
2. Vertical avatar
Now let's turn our attention to the good old group avatar with the size of 200x500 pixels. So far, it is also a way of decorating a group. Usually the following information is located on the avatar: logo, accompanying text or slogan, contacts, call to join the group. On mobile devices, the entire avatar is not visible, only a part of it is visible - a thumbnail. To decorate the group, you can use either a horizontal header (cover) or a vertical banner. If there is a header, the vertical avatar is not visible. There cannot be any working buttons on the avatar that you can click on - in fact, this is a picture and that's it.
3. Miniature
Currently, a vertical avatar is used to create a thumbnail, the minimum size of which is 200x200 pixels. The thumbnail is used in posts and posts as a small circle at the title and as a larger circle in some community selections and mentions. In connection with the transition to a rounded shape, the requirements for miniatures have become more stringent. In order for the text on a miniature to be read completely, it must visually not go beyond the boundaries of the circle.
How to upload a thumbnail
The miniature has become a completely independent element and when using the cover (header) in the group's design, now you have to make a separate miniature, keep in mind. If the group does not have a header (cover), then to download a thumbnail, you need to click "Upload photo" in the avatar block (top right). If there is a header (cover) in the design, then to download the thumbnail, you need to click on the circle immediately below the header and select the "Upload photo" item there.
4. Banner
Banner (English banner - a flag, a banner) is a graphic image of an informational, advertising or incentive nature. The banner is attached as a picture to the post and can have only one internal link. Many are still convinced that several links can be made from a banner on the home page. This is not the case, just one link and that's it. I would highlight the following types of banners.
4.1 Information banner
A common type of banner containing general information about a company, group, service or event with a detailed list of benefits and other accompanying materials. Often used as a pinned post in a group. The size of such a banner is 510x307 pixels. At this size, the banner at the bottom coincides with the avatar. If there is no link with the avatar, then you can use any size. For example, I use 600x350 pixels. The format of a square 510x510 pixels is also convenient and is gaining popularity now - with this size, the banner occupies the largest possible area in the news feed.
4.2 Banner for entering the internal menu
If we add a catchy inscription "Open menu" to the banner from the previous paragraph, then we will get a banner, the main task of which is to serve as an entry point into the internal menu. Sometimes they make a trick in the form of several buttons on the banner, but this is an illusion, when the user clicks, he still gets to the internal page, and there each button has its own link. The size of such a banner is 510x307 pixels. With this size, the banner at the bottom coincides with the avatar. If the entrance to the menu is not tied to an avatar, then you can make any banner size, even a narrow button with the inscription "Open Menu". The main thing is that the banner width should be at least 510 pixels.
4.3 Card for repost, promotions
Recently, cards for reposts or promotions have acquired particular relevance. Its task is to call for concrete action. Basically it's "Join a group, repost or like and win a prize." Such banners are used as part of advertising campaigns or promotions both in their own groups and for promotion in other groups. I usually use 600x350 pixels.
4.4 Banner with gif animation
After the VK developers made a larger size for gif pictures at the beginning of the year, the gifs immediately stood in a row with information banners. For example, on a GIF banner, you can give images of several changing products or texts - the movement immediately attracts attention. And when the function was added in June autorun gif animations in the news feed, the GIFs have become the object of close attention of advertisers and marketers.
5. Avatar design + pinned banner
Until recently, this modular design, consisting of an avatar and a pinned banner, was the most popular way to decorate groups. More details on how to make such a design are described in the lesson. With the advent of the cap (cover), the popularity of this design may decrease slightly.
Plus, there is a possibility that VKontakt will again change some parameters of the blocks and then all the design will fly off, as it has already been twice in the last six months. So, dear group owners, when choosing a design for your group, take this fact into account. Yes, and one more thing, in mobile devices, all the beauty of a single picture is not visible, since the avatar is not displayed, but only a thumbnail, and the pinned post is located just below.
6. Internal navigation menu
The menu in the form of active links is located on the internal page of VKontakte and is written using wiki markup commands. How to create the inner page itself is described in the lesson. With the help of the menu, the user navigates through the group. Below you will consider the types of the internal menu, but for now let's dwell on a few important points.
Entry points in the internal menu
I want to note one subtle point that is often overlooked. Sometimes clients order an internal menu from me, but at the same time they have absolutely no idea how the user will get into this very internal menu. And you can get into it in two ways: either through a fixed banner (see paragraph 4.2), or through a text link in the top tab under the status bar (see the figure below). Sometimes a text link is also placed in the "Links" block in the right column of the interface.
Internal menu links
Usually, when ordering, customers indicate the following menu items: About us, Our products (catalog), Delivery methods, Payment, Warranties, Reviews, Contacts, Promotions, Discounts, Schedule, How to order, Portfolio, Questions and answers, Info, Make an order. Links from menu items can go to the corresponding sections of the external site. Then the link will automatically open in a new window. Most of the points lead to the internal pages of VKontakte. In this case, the page opens in the same window and you have to make a link or a button "Return to the main menu".
Links to albums with photos and videos will open in a new window. Links to topics with discussions (for example, Reviews), to a dialog box for writing messages, to applications (see paragraph 10), to a selection by hashtags (see paragraph 12) open in the same window and in this case you can get back to the menu only through the main page of the site, or through the "Back" button in the browser. This is perhaps the most inconvenient moment with such links.
Editing menus
Clients often ask me if it is possible to edit the internal menu. My answer is, if you are a confident user and are familiar with wiki markup and editing modes, then you can edit. But if you are not familiar with all this, then absolutely not. In this case, you just knock off all the settings.
I will quote the words of the VKontakte developers themselves. “One simple advice will save you a lot of energy and nerves: work in only one mode. Either it's visual mode or wiki markup mode. It is the switching between these two modes in the process of working on the markup that brings most of the problems: pictures may shrink, various parameters may disappear. This is one of those moments that will definitely be corrected in the future, but for now you need to keep this fact in mind. "
Mobile responsiveness
And one more thing about adaptability. To make the internal menu look the same on mobile devices, you need to typeset on tables. Then the image will be hard-pinned. Otherwise, when the screen size is reduced, the pictures tend to slide one under the other, violating the originally conceived order.
Here, again, the words of the developers at the expense of adaptability. “The wiki menu is displayed in mobile browsers, but does not adapt to the screen size, which may cause images to look different from the computer. Guides can be found on the net for adapting wiki markup for mobile devices, but even they do not guarantee 100% performance on all devices. "
7. Types of internal navigation menu
Below are the most common types of internal menus. There are simpler and more affordable solutions with a high degree of reliability. And there are more complex and laborious designs in terms of graphics and layout. But they look more impressive.
7.2 Large graphical menu
In this case, the vertical row of links is located on a large background image and has a rigidly fixed structure. Here's a tutorial.
7.3 Menu in the form of icons, tiles
This design assumes several rows and columns in the form of graphic icons and inscriptions to them, or graphic multi-colored or monochrome tiles.
7.4 Dynamic menu with navigation effect
A very impressive design that mimics site navigation with the effect of clicking buttons or otherwise marking visited links. Such a menu is quite difficult to manage and requires skills in communicating with the wiki markup, since you will also have to edit the information on the pages in the wiki markup. Here is a tutorial on this topic.
