It is a well-known fact that the most important organ of a business is marketing and especially digital marketing. We are all aware of conventional advertising means like hoardings, pamphlets, and posters. But, with the advent of technology in almost all walks of life, there are new advertising modes. The most important of these is social media marketing. DIY tools have been highly used by business owners to push their social media marketing growth.
There are different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter through which a huge number of people can be reached. Although youngsters or middle-aged folks tend to use social media more, there are some platforms in which many people are active irrespective of their age groups.
Apart from the wide reach that the ads get, social media allows businesses to tweak and alter the advertisement campaigns. This happens with the help of analytics tools that help one identify how many people saw the ad, how many clicked on it, etc. This is a rather interesting advantage to provide, given that such facilities aren’t available on television or radio ads.
Social media ad campaigns are also relatively less expensive. Businesses of any size can advertise on social media platforms without any major hassles. Graphic designing and content writing has to be done well for the posts. For these services, there are several Do It Yourself tools available online. Many startup owners find themselves checking these tools out and the simplicity of it all makes it very attractive to try out. But, there are many limitations associated with these tools.
Limitations of DIY tools
1. Lack of expertise –
It is a well-known fact that experience plays a major role in the output of any product. If someone who is highly oblivious to graphic designing starts trying it out, it is highly likely that s/he is going to need sufficient time to get to know the nitty-gritty of the job. The resulting designs are bound to be below the mark.
At the same time, if you decide to sign up for the services of a professional graphic designer, you are going to be getting the best services that would add value to your business.
2. Lack of resources –
Commoners who are unaware of the way graphic designing is actually done, are surely not going to be in possession of good software for designing. In such a case, the designer is less likely to use relevant tools. They also don’t have the facility of consulting with other professionals or peer-reviewing their designs. Their creativity is confined by the available options in the DIY tools. This would have a direct negative impact on the quality of designs produced.
3. Limited options –
DIY tools don’t let the designer explore much. They have certain fixed templates and options for adding attributes to them. This would mean that the design that a novice creates would depend on these options only and rarely her/his creativity. Most DIY tools don’t offer you an option to add whatever you want to the design.
The other problem associated with these options is that the templates could be used over and over again, by many businesses. So, when you are going to use these designs on your social media pages, the brand image is going to be affected because the audience can’t really distinguish your design from another business’. This lack of originality is known to damage the public opinions of businesses.
4. Ownership issues –
If you use a DIY tool for graphic designing for free, you could have that tool’s watermark in your designs. You will have to pay to remove their logo. If you are using a DIY tool for web designing, the ownership of the website does not lie with you in most cases. So, the data of the visitors to your website could be compromised. Lack of security is the last thing a growing business should be dealing with!
In order to make your website/design look like yours, you are going to have to pay. Instead, opt for a graphic designing or web designing package that offers multiple benefits. Unlimited graphic designing packages offer you good designs in a time frame, making it easier for you to concentrate on your business. Similarly, unlimited web design packages are also suggested.
5. Lack of critique –
If you opt for an unlimited graphic designing package, the services provider reviews the designs multiple times before the final delivery. The designer gets credible feedback from his/her peers and improves the designs accordingly. This option is not going to be available to someone who is new to graphic designing. S/he is going to stop at the point of her/his personal satisfaction. This may not yield a design that is good enough for the market.
6. Slow updating of new technologies –
A designing company has access to all new technologies and software that can be used for different businesses as the need arises. But, DIY tools take a lot of time to introduce these technologies in their platforms. So, if you are using a DIY tool for web designing or graphic designing, it is likely that you are using an outdated method while your competitors could be far ahead of you.
Canva, PicMonkey, and Pablo are common graphic designing DIY tools online. While there are several online tutorials on how to use them, startups should resort to procuring services from experienced and trained graphic designers. For startup growth, marketing is vital. So, taking a chance in this area is not really a good option. Also, several graphic designing and web designing packages offer long-term support apart from other services like logo designing. Therefore, it is important that a new business make an informed decision regarding all its operations.