Using PowerPoint for Social Media Posts

You may have need of adding a post regularly to Facebook or Twitter, etc. Rather than recreate each post, set up a design with a text box for future posts. Here’s how you can do it in PowerPoint.

1. Format your background either using an image or choose a solid color. (Hint: Keep it light so text doesn’t get lost.)
2. Insert a picture of the person who is posting or an appropriate image for your blog/posts.
3. Format
4. Picture Style
5. Click the drop down arrow so you can see your options. Mouse over the options to see what it will look like. Choose one.
6. Choose Picture Effects to give it a little dimension.
7. Add a text box. Add text for a title of the posts. Change the font to something interesting that stands out but is easy to read. You can be a little more creative here because it is only a small amount of text that is larger than normal.
8. Add another text box to give a title for the post. Here, I am using IT Tips as my example so I am using Tip #12. The number can easily be changed and helps keep track of the posts. Again, choose a color (try using the eyedropper tool to choose a color from the picture). You may also want to create the title using WordArt to make it stand out a bit. That’s what I chose to use here.
9. Add another text box but make this one larger. Change the background to a light color that works with the picture, title, background, etc.
10. You can leave it blank, but it will save you time if you add some placeholder text that you can choose a font, size for in advance. Here’s how to easily add placeholder text:
    1. Type the following: =Rand (3,2). This will give you 3 paragraphs of two lines each of “random” text. You can change the numbers to fit your needs.
    2. Format the text (font, size, etc.)

When you have it the way you want, save it as a PowerPoint file (or template) and use it when ready. Next, you need to put it in a format that you can use to add it to a social media post. Here’s what you do:

1. File
2. Export
3. Change file type
4. Choose either PNG or JPG
5. Save As and give the image a name (Hint: choosing a file name that is repeated in future posts makes it easier to locate. Adding the date or tip number also helps. For example, IT-Tip-12).
6. Post

You might want to make multiple versions depending on the social media platforms you are posting to. Just be sure to keep your design similar so it will be easily recognized.

There you have it! An easy, professional post template that will save you lots of time in the future. Enjoy!  See you next week. Faye

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