15 Feb 9 Easy Tools for Creating Social Media Content
Because you can’t just throw up a bunch of text on your social channels and call it a day, let’s talk about some easy tools for creating social media content. Of course, there are a lot of options out there, so I put together a list of our favorites.
The best part – they’re all free.
Video
Your smart phone
Unless you’re lugging around an old one, your smart phone has an amazing camera. Use it to create video, which is (arguably) the most popular social media content out there.
Don’t worry about a slickly edited video montage. You are not a vlogger who must crank out a daily video to keep your millions of viewers, all those advertisers and sponsors and your bank account happy.
Create a few short (less than five minutes) videos that address your top FAQs. Make sure the lighting is good and your camera is steady (use a small tripod or lean your phone against your computer).
Relax, be you and don’t worry about mistakes.
Graphics and images
Pablo
If you use Buffer as a social media management tool, use probably already know about Pablo. Pablo is Buffer’s built in image-design tool. It has more than 50,000 images to choose from, but the best feature is a technical one.
Pablo lets you choose the properly size the image based on the social media channel(s) you’re going to share it on. This ensures your image looks awesome – not wonky.
Canva
Canva is our go-to graphic design tool. It was created for non-designers and has a lot of great features, like photo editing and graphing (think pie charts and venn diagrams). We mostly use it to turn quotes into graphics, but that is just scratching the surface of its capabilities.
Pexels
Looking for a fabulous source of cost- and royalty-free photos? Pexels will be your new favorite website. The images are high quality and don’t really look like stock photos. The variety is unparalleled and the search feature makes it easy to find what you’re looking for quickly.
Visme
You can create infographics on Canva, but we always turn to Visme for this. They have hundreds of templates to choose from, and we really like their design tool. It lets you add audio, video and even interactive elements.
Quotes
GoodReads
Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. – Dr. Seuss
GoodReads is a great place to find inspiring quotes from books and authors (plus, it’s just fun social media content). That Dr. Seuss quote popped up when I landed on GoodReads’ quote section. I loved it so much, I felt compelled to share it.
And that’s just one of their popular quotes. You can also filter by recent, new and favorite authors. Do you follow friends on GoodReads? You can filter by their favorite quotes, too. When you find one you love, use one of the above graphic design tools to create a beautiful image.
Brainy Quote
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. – Charles Schultz
Brainy Quote goes beyond authors to include people in the news, popular topics and trending quotes. Just a warning – it can be easy to be sucked in – and lose 20 minutes of time because you’re so busy reading everything!
When you land on the perfect quote, turn it into a graphic using Canva or Pablo.
Social Media Content Ideas
Feedly
Feedly organizes your newsfeed so you can easily find great content – and not just to share on social media. It’s important to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in your industry, and Feedly definitely makes it easier.
When you find an article your audience will love, add some context. Why is it important to read? What’s the top takeaway? How will this info impact them?
BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo is a content discovery tool. In non-marketing terms, that means it tells you what people are talking about and what content is performing best on any given topic. Once you know what topic to write or talk about, it’s so much easier to create content.
Just type in a keyword, like tax preparation or dry skin, and you’ll get a list of articles that people are reading. Quick and easy!
Struggling with social media content?
If your social media strategy isn’t working or you don’t have time for the day-to-day management, let’s talk.
Image courtesy of bruce mars from Pexels
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