Instagram is one of the fastest growing visual content social media platforms, and it’s easy to see why: it’s just plain fun and entertaining. Instagram lets you create and share a digital scrapbook of your experiences. Your visual story can be as funky, artful, playful or serious as you want it to be. Like paging through a real magazine (remember those?), Instagram lets users scan through hundreds of eye-catching creative photos and videos. The best business accounts don’t just show products from the company, they also capture how it feels to use the products, whether they bring joy, relaxation, content or amusement.
The key to using Instagram well is creating fun, creative content. Here are some of my favorite tools for creating sweet images that your followers will love.
- Word Swag – http://www.wordswag.co Available only on iPhone or iPad. Allows you to add text to photos and create custom text layouts. You can upload your logo as well as access images from Pixabay.
- Canva – https://www.canva.com Available on desktop or iPad. Allows you to create graphic designs for the Web or print. When you use the “Magic Resize” option in the professional version, you can easily resize images to match the specs for any of the social media platforms – a huge time saver!
- Typorama – http://www.apperto.com/typorama Available only on iPhone or iPad. Lets you crop and use filters and overlays to create graphics. You can also access stock images and backgrounds from Pixabay.
- Phonto – http://www.phon.to Phonto is a mobile app that allows you to place text onto your images. One of the simpler, straight-forward tools.
- Over – http://www.madewithover.com. Similar to Word Swag and Typorama, Over has a “layers” feature that enables you to edit the layers of your design and create interesting effects with words and pictures.
If you are looking for more tools and tips for your social media marketing, check out my new book: The Social Media Cookbook, Strategic Marketing Recipes for Small Business Success, now available on Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/2ika6db.
