Branded content is more than slapping your logo on a design. It’s about creating visual experiences that represent your brand while encouraging people to share, save, or comment. For Nigerian businesses, creators, and even personal brands, Canva has become the go-to tool for designing these visuals. It’s simple, accessible, and powerful when used right. But not every Canva design gets shared. To make content that travels beyond your page, you need a deliberate approach that combines aesthetics, relevance, and recognisable identity.
This post walks you through how to use Canva to create branded content that gets attention and shares.
Consistency is the backbone of recognisable content. Canva’s Brand Kit feature lets you store your brand colours, logos, and fonts in one place. This ensures every post carries your unique look without you having to remember hex codes or font styles. Even when you’re experimenting with different templates, applying your brand kit instantly gives each piece of content a uniform feel. People are more likely to remember and share content that feels professionally cohesive.
Canva’s ready-made templates are great starting points, but if you want your content to stand out, you must personalise them. Change the colours to your brand palette, replace default fonts with your chosen styles, and insert your logo subtly. Beyond that, adapt the design to reflect the local context. For a Nigerian audience, this might mean using locally relevant images, expressions, or cultural symbols. A well-customised template looks original and connects better with viewers.
Content that gets shared is usually optimised for the platform it’s on. Instagram favours square or vertical visuals, Twitter works better with sharp horizontal images, and LinkedIn prefers clean, text-forward designs. Canva allows you to resize designs for multiple platforms with a single click. This ensures that your content doesn’t just look good, it fits perfectly within the format expectations of each platform, increasing its chances of being shared.
Educational content tends to get shared more because it offers value people want to pass on. Use Canva to create infographics that break down complex topics into digestible visuals. Similarly, carousels on Instagram are a powerful format for storytelling or listing tips and steps. For example, a business coach might create a carousel on “5 Ways to Improve Your Cash Flow” with each slide styled with brand colours and minimal text. Canva’s grid view for carousels helps you maintain design flow across multiple slides.
Good design isn’t just about colours and images, it’s also about how you use text. Canva gives you access to hundreds of fonts, but the key is to maintain a hierarchy. Your headline should be bold and large enough to stop the scroll. Subheadings should guide the reader to the next point, and body text must be readable even on small screens. Consistent typography across your posts helps build brand familiarity, making it more likely for your content to be shared by those who recognise and trust your style.
People hesitate to share content that looks like a blatant advert. Instead of pasting a large logo in the centre, place a small, consistent brand mark in a corner. This could be your logo, your brand’s social media handle, or even a unique icon. Subtle branding ensures that when your content is shared, your identity travels with it without overwhelming the message.
Static images perform well, but motion grabs even more attention. Canva’s simple animation tools can turn your posts into engaging short videos or GIFs. Animate text, icons, or transitions between frames to create social posts that feel dynamic. These are particularly effective on Instagram Stories, Facebook, and WhatsApp Status, where quick, eye-catching content often gets shared.
The more you post, the more data you gather on what your audience enjoys and shares. Use social media insights to track which designs perform best, then refine your Canva templates based on that feedback. Don’t be afraid to tweak colours, text placement, or imagery style to align with what your audience prefers. Canva makes it easy to duplicate and revise designs quickly without starting from scratch each time.
Creating branded content that gets shared isn’t about being a design expert; it’s about being strategic with tools like Canva. With a solid brand kit, platform-specific formats, value-driven content, and subtle yet clear branding, you can create visuals that people are proud to share. Canva offers all the tools you need, but your consistency, creativity, and understanding of your audience will make your content travel far beyond your page. Keep designing, keep testing, and keep your brand identity sharp in every post.
