July 22, 2025
How Good Design Helps People Find (and Trust) Your Brand on Social Media
Have you noticed how people, especially younger users, are using TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube like search engines? Instead of Googling “best coffee in London,” they’ll search it on TikTok to find videos with vibes, real opinions, and nice visuals. That’s a big shift, and for us designers and content creators, it’s a huge opportunity.
As platforms evolve into visual search engines, design becomes a search-ranking factor, not just in how content performs, but in how it’s perceived. Brands that invest in searchable, trustworthy, consistent design will show up more often and get clicked more often.
So here are a few points about how design plays a key role in this new way of searching and how brands can take full advantage of this.
People Click What Looks Good First
You know that split second where you’re scrolling and something makes you stop? That’s your design doing the heavy lifting. Now, imagine someone searches “best productivity apps” on Instagram. They’ll see a grid of content, but what stands out? Probably a clean layout, bold colours, or a short, punchy headline baked into the thumbnail. Make sure your visuals are scroll-stopping. Use clean text overlays, colour contrast, and a layout that makes it super obvious what your post is about without even clicking. Think: “How-to,” “Top 5,” or bold keywords.
Design Helps You Feel Real (Not Just Polished)
People use social media search to find honest recommendations. They want to see what other people actually use, love, or wear—not just ads. That’s why overly “perfect” design doesn’t always work. But thoughtful design that still feels human? That’s the sweet spot. Try blending authentic content (like user photos, behind-the-scenes, or unfiltered stories) with light design touches, like a logo watermark, captions, or a friendly font that keeps things on-brand without being too commercial.
Consistency Builds Recognition in the Feed
You know that feeling when you see a post and instantly know who it’s from? That’s visual branding doing its job. If your content looks different every time, people won’t connect the dots, especially when they’re searching for something fast. Use the same colours, font styles, and layout patterns across your content. You can still be creative, but having a visual identity makes your brand easier to recognise in a crowded search result.
Design Can Make Your Content More ‘Searchable’
Yes, hashtags and captions matter, but visuals also count, especially when platforms display thumbnails or autoplay content in search results. A clean text overlay like “5 Key Reasons to buy a golf cart” or “London’s Best Restaurant” instantly tells people what they’re getting, and that clarity leads to clicks. Use design to make the value of your content obvious at first glance. Don’t make people guess. Simple, clear titles or subtitles, readable fonts, and bold callouts go a long way.
Your Design Needs to Keep Up with Trends
Social search is real-time. People want what’s current. That means your content has to be quick to create and easy to adapt, without losing your brand style. Set up easy-to-edit templates. That way, when there’s a trending sound or meme, you can drop in your visuals and publish fast, without sacrificing quality or consistency.
When people search on social media, they don’t just look for information; they scan for visuals that feel relevant, trustworthy, and engaging. That’s where design comes in.
✅ If it looks good, people click.
✅ If it feels real, they trust.
✅ If it’s consistent, they remember.
If you’re ready to make your brand more discoverable through smart, scroll-stopping visuals, let’s talk!