As a business owner, you know the importance of having creative content on hand for your social media pages. That said, it isn’t always affordable to hire an outside social consultant or graphic designer — especially in the early stages. The good news is there are a ton of easy-to-use, effective online graphic design tools and apps to help. Here’s a few of the most popular to help you outshine the competition.
Canva
Canva is an incredibly popular tool, and for good reason. This drag-and-drop platform is simple to use, with dozens of pre-sized templates available for all of your social needs. Need something a little different? Start with a blank slate and create a custom size before you start exploring the images, frames, and features.
Canva is primarily free, but you can upgrade to a pro account or simply pay by the piece for embellishments as you use them. The a la carte method usually costs around $1 per piece. Upload your own images, use the ones Canva provides, or mix and match. It’s easy to create pieces that consistently match your brand or specific campaigns.
PicMonkey
Another great tool you can use to create complete social images is PicMonkey. It’s also free for the base, but you can upload to an inexpensive paid account for around $5/month. PicMonkey is an especially useful tool if you like creating collages with a series of products, staff photos, or even customer generated images.
Adobe Spark
With Adobe Spark, you aren’t just limited to still images. You can also create videos, animated social posts, and even full website pages. This is an incredibly useful tool for businesses who want to create branded stories incorporating different types of visual content. Start with the free version and then consider the individual plan ($9.99/month) or the team plan ($19.99/month per license).
Snappa
Have you ever looked at a gorgeous image in your social feed and wondered why you can’t get your text overlay to look as nice over the images behind it? Snappa is the solution you’ve been waiting for. This app is specifically designed to help with text design, placing a great deal of emphasis on help you get your background images and text to pair together just right. You’ll be able to darken or color the photo and alter some of the other effects, creating perfect balance.
Placeit
Ever wonder how designers make it look like their own website is on a screen within a photo? Apps like Placeit make it easy for you to create that effect on your own. Placeit offers a wide variety of templates for both video and photos. You’ll use your own URL to grab a screenshot to insert into the image. The app does the rest!
Pablo by Buffer
Buffer created their own social media image editor, which is a great tool for anyone, but especially if you are a Buffer user to begin with. Their tool is packed with royalty-free images free for use, or you can upload your own stock choices or personal photos.
Pablo’s resizing tools are also super compared to most other sites. You’ll just have to adjust your text overlays to make sure everything is properly aligned. Or, you can use their free Chrome extension and make it even easier to use. Simple. Free. Easy!
Word Swag
WordSwag is a super fun mobile app you can use on any smartphone (and yes, that means it’s iPhone and Android compatible). There is a small cost — $3.99 for Android or $4.99 for iOS. Use it to upload images of your own; then, choose from a wide variety of text templates to create something entirely new. It’s perfect for creating gorgeous quote images or even those (hopefully) viral memes with thousands of reshares. All you have to do is create your design and upload them to your social platforms.
Piktochart
Do infographics make you drool? We love them, but in many cases they do require a bit of an investment in both time and money. Look no further than Piktochart. This app is available for free, but you can also upgrade to a Lite version ($15/month) or Pro ($29/mo). The range of templates varies greatly, so you’ll want to consider the amount of artwork you want to create on a monthly basis as you choose. Start with the free version to test it out, though!
Over
Trying to figure out how to keep your Insta stories moving along? Over helps you get your design work over with (pun totally intended) and makes it easy to upload graphics with shapes, graphics, and text. Use it to drive your stories towards a more professional look and feel. The base version of the app, only available on iOS, is free; the Pro version is $9.99/month.
Skitch
Not every image you create has to come from an original photo. Skitch is an amazing tool that lets you capture screenshots. Use them individually or collage them together to create a gorgeous panorama of images. Circle important pieces of information, blur sensitive text, or add colorful overlays. This app’s annotation features leave a lot of room for creativity.
Desygner
Desygner (we see your clever name!) is well-known for its ease-of-use on both desktop and mobile devices, though you can still use it on the web. It’s easy to use and, like so many other apps, offers a stunning library of free images you can incorporate into your designs. Everything can be customized and rearranged, from text to layers. This app is free and can be upgraded for $6.95 for additional templates and features.
There are dozens of incredible apps out there – but sometimes, that’s exactly the issue. Figuring out which works best often comes down to trial and error. Experiment with as many as you’d like and then consider investing in the upgrades only if they really work for you. Remember – the point should always be to make work easier and more efficient (not increase costs and add more tasks). With tools like these, social media graphics will be easier than ever to manage and make.
Need more help than an app can provide? Hey, we get it. Social media marketing is hectic! Reach out to us here at the office to explore how we can help.
Eric Sachs
SEO virtuoso, CEO @Sachs Marketing Group. Focused on being of service to business owners - helping to better position them in the eyes of their audiences.