To the outside world, creating posts for social media may seem easy. Marketers and brands around the world know there’s more to social media content creation and editing than meets the eye. From choosing the perfect image to represent your point of view, to writing Twitter updates with the perfect hashtag and tone of voice, here are some tools to help you along the way.
1 Hashtagify.me
Hashtagify.me is a free tool (with paid add-on features) that allows you to search for hashtags. Once you’ve searched for a hashtag, you can determine its popularity and how it’s used. The tool is simple to use: in the upper right-hand corner, type in a hashtag you are curious about, and search to find out its performance and related hashtags. You’ll also see the top influencers for that hashtag, as well as recent tweets using that hashtag. Paid users can sign up for alerts on particular hashtags, track influencers and usage patterns, and more.
2. SlideShare & SlideSnack
If your business utilises LinkedIn to share updates, SlideShare is a must. Once a separate site, SlideShare is now owned by LinkedIn. This allows the eye-catching images and presentations added to SlideShare to be automatically synced to the platform. By integrating these two platforms, you can have the best of both worlds: informative text articles and updates from LinkedIn and the captivating images of SlideShare. Sharing presentations, eBooks, infographics and more is always a great idea, and the platform allows you to simply press a button to distribute them to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
You can also embed your SlideShare presentation on your website using IFrame or WordPress shortcodes (depending on which platform you use).
Finally, you can take things to the next level with SlideSnack. This tool allows you to add your voice overlay to your content.
The tool also allows you to upload past presentations and add voice to them, then share them on YouTube or Facebook or embed them on websites such as Weebly, Blogger, WordPress, and more.
3. Grammarly
Grammarly is an all-in-one spellcheck and grammar tool that works all of the places Microsoft Word can’t. It helps users write mistake-free copy on Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and almost anywhere else on the web. Grammarly scans your text for common and complex grammatical mistakes, including everything from subject-verb agreement to article use to modifier placement. It also goes beyond regular checking to provide users for explanations and help them improve their skills. The Grammarly plugin is free for individual users, with paid features also available.
4. Typeform
Asking questions is a great way to earn engagement on social media. But sometimes asking one question isn’t enough to get the response you want from your audience. That’s where Typeform comes in. Typeform is a user-friendly quiz builder that allows you to ask your audience questions in many different formats, including image-based, multiple choice, short answer, yes or no, and more.
Once you have your quiz in place, you can share it across multiple social media networks in the formats that work best for your audience. 100 responses per month are free, and Pro+ and Pro Plus versions with additional features are also available.
5. Anchor
Anchor is a free social media platform for audio. With the Anchor app, users can easily create videos and audio recordings that are perfect for sharing on social media
How to Create Videos with the Ancho Mobile App:
Once you have recorded your audio, tap on the video icon.
Choose the theme of your Anchor video.
Check and edit the transcript of your recording.
Download it as a square, landscape, or portrait video.
Share it on social media!
6. Typorama
There are many free graphics tools that allow users to easily create beautiful images for social media, but most of them aren’t available (or aren’t very intuitive) on your smartphone. Typorama is an iPhone app that makes it easy to create amazing-looking graphics directly from your smartphone. You can create graphics of various sizes such as for Instagram story, Facebook cover photo, images with quotes, and more. ( For Android users, WordSwag is a great alternative.) Typograma is free for general use, with an upgrade fee of $4.99 to remove the company’s watermark, or $5.99 to unlock everything.
How to Create a Graphic with Typorama in Four Steps:
Choose a background or upload an image from your phone’s camera roll.
Select your graphic size.
Add and edit the text.
Save your graphic, or share it on social media!
7. PowToon
Video is exploding on social media networks. The problem is, many companies rely on expensive external agencies to create these videos. The finished product can look too contrived, miss the message mark, and really drain the budget. Tools like PowToon mean you don’t have to be a video master to create engaging videos. The PowToon platform allows users to choose from several templates and customize them according to their business. You can simply plug and play your content and share across your social media networks. Free and paid versions are available at up to $59 per month.
8.Animoto
Animoto is another great video platform that allows users who aren’t experts to create captivating multimedia. Animoto allows you to turn existing video clips and images into video slideshows with little effort. It’s one of the few video tools that also offers square videos for certain social media platforms and design tastes. Animoto starts at $16 per month, $42 per month or $64 per month, based on your business's needs. Annual subscriptions offer significant discounts.
How to Create Quick Videos with Animoto:
Use one of the many storyboards provided by Animoto to speed up your video creation process. Each comes with a song, a style, and a particular structure.
Replace the existing template content with your own text, video clips, and photos.
After you create your video, you can download it in various formats and levels of quality and upload it directly to Facebook or Twitter.
This image and video tool allows brands to showcase their products and digital designs in realistic web/ video environments. It can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on externally sourced product videos and images. A one-time purchase on the platform is free, or you can choose to pay $29 per month, $99 per month, or $199 depending on your brand’s needs.
How to Create Video Mock-ups with Placeit:
Search for your desired environment. Tip: include your preferred device (e.g. iPhone or Mac) and background (e.g. office or cafe).
Upload your image or enter a URL to grab a screenshot. Placeit will automatically place your image in your selected environment.
Once you have your product images, you have the tools you need to promote your products on social media via organic or paid posts.
10. Canva
A social media tools list wouldn’t be complete without Canva. One of the most popular tools for creating social media graphics, Canva allows users to create high-quality images quickly using layouts, templates and design elements. The free version of the tool is extremely comprehensive, but those who want more can invest $12.95 per user per month or go with enterprise pricing if it’s the best fit for their business.
How to Create Beautiful Graphics with Canva:
Search Canva’s amazing library of templates and choose to use them as-is or to customize them for your needs. There is a section specifically dedicated to social media graphics. You can access the library via the “Explore templates” option in your Canva dashboard or this direct link: https://www.canva.com/templates/.
Choose your unique elements to make the graphic your own.
Share your new visual on any social media platform!
11. Crello
Similar to Canva, Crello is a graphic design tool that makes it easy for brands to create stunning graphic without a lot of prior design knowledge. Crello’s advantage over Canva is that it offers more than 10,000 free design templates, 65 million stock images, and more than 11,000 design elements. Like Canva, a variety of different image types are offered, including templates specifically for social media. Crello is free for users, though some design elements cost $0.99.
How to Build Graphics Quickly with Crello:
Use Crello’s “Inspiration” tab to find a free design template or templates that works for your brand.
Simply click on a design template you love, and customize it using the Crello editor.
Save your finished product, and/or share it across your social media sites.
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Source: Digital Marketing Institute