Canva Design Circle — A Facebook Group For Creatives
Canva is a graphic design platform that many media marketers use to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents, and other visual content. As an avid Canva user, I have fallen deeply in love with the platform and have integrated it into my everyday work, school, and creative hobbies! Though Canva provides training videos in their design school, I wanted to learn additional tips and tricks designers were using to elevate their graphics. So, I decided to research a Canva design community and came across the Canva Design Circle Facebook Group, established in 2016 with 216.3K members. I wanted to explore how Canva used Facebook Group best practices that have led to their established online success.
Target Niche Audiences
The backbone and foundation of any thriving online community are to identify and attract audiences with the same interests. This way, it will make it easier for audiences to interact and develop relationships. That is exactly what Canva did with their more than 60 million monthly active users across 190 countries and industries. Canva users share the same interest in utilizing the platform for bringing our creative ideas to life. Many users are not experienced graphic designers, but the platform has made it possible for people to dip their toes into graphic design in an easy-to-use platform. As we begin to become more established, we want to learn more innovative ways of using Canva, whether from Canva mentors, experts, or other users like ourselves. Canva established their Facebook community to do just that through the “About this group” section, stating:
“Learn how to make the most out of Canva, and get the latest updates, tips, and insights straight from the Canva team! This community is also a place for you to discuss anything design-related, so feel free to share your Canva tips and tricks, or share your designs for feedback!
Optimize Facebook Group and Setting Expectations
After stumbling upon the Facebook group, I decided to join it, and since it was set to private, I had to answer a set of pre-screening questions before being granted access to the group. These questions included how I use Canva, what industry I’m involved in, and agreeing to the terms of use. Seeing this, I knew this community would be structured around Canva based conversations and avoid anything that would change this being a pillar of best practices for developing a Facebook Group. Below are screenshots of Canvas Design Circle Facebook Group Rules. These entail what conversations should take place, what not to post, and overall, have fun and be creative!
Promote Conversation and Participation
Towards the top of the Facebook Group were pinned posts from the page’s admin named Ed From Canva. These pinned posts included Canva tutorials, open discussions, questions, spotlights, and even Canva challenges that users could partake in. Additionally, there is also an option for users to post anonymously, which I found interesting. These community strategies promote members to be active within the Facebook group to forge relationships and spark conversations. It was great that Canva allowed for anonymous posting so that more introverted users didn’t feel that they were stepping into the spotlight and could still conceal their privacy while being active in the group.
Provide Value Content
Another feature the Facebook Group had was pinned hashtag topics, making it easy to jump between different things being shared and talked about. Some of this included #ShowingMyDesign, #GiveMeFeedback, #CanvaQuestion, #CanvaHack, and so much more! However, the most exciting part of this Facebook group that provided value to the user, apart from sparking creativity and tutorials, was the Canva Mentors that users could message for help or additional tips. This is another central pillar for optimizing the success of a Facebook group by providing value and insight that will have community members coming back for more.
Overall, Canva’s Facebook Group is an excellent example of a well-optimized, functioning, and performing community. They have developed a space where creators who share the same love and use of Canva can come together to partake in the fun and creative conversations. What Canva executed the best was providing a value-based Facebook Group that was organized and promoted the essence of creativity and forward-thinking that the brand embodies. I am excited to continue exploring the group, learn from other Canva users and professionals, and meet like-minded creatives.
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