While tools do not the creator make, they almost certainly come in handy for any digital marketer. Thankfully, in the Information Age, we currently enjoy, there is a wealth of resources available to any upstart content creator to optimize their brand as well as their clients’. Below are some of our personal favorites.
1. Unsplash
WEBSITE: WWW.UNSPLASH.COM
WHY WE LOVE IT:
Gone are the days where you needed to pay monthly for hi-res stock photos. With Unsplash, you have free access to some of the most unique and visually stunning hi-res photography you’ll see anywhere on the web. Simply visit their website, type what sort of image you’re looking for in the search bar, scroll through, and download the perfect image for your blog article or social media visual post.
We recommend creating an account for your marketing agency so you can create collections your social media managers have access to or can contribute their favorite images to for immediate or future use. Also, sharing is caring, so while it’s not mandatory, it’s always nice to share the image you downloaded on Twitter to shout out its generous photographer. It’s simple and automatic making it easy to tweet, and the mentioned photographer will surely appreciate the gesture.
2. Canva
WEBSITE: WWW.CANVA.COM
WHY WE LOVE IT:
Canva is any social media manager’s best friend when it comes to creating visually stunning content. With amazing free and paid templates already formatted for the various social media networks out there, you no longer need Photoshop to generate quality visual posts for your or your clients’ social media pages.
Just choose the network for which you want a design and get to editing. It is intuitive and easy to use, even for beginners. Though Canva has its own library of quality images you can use to create content, we love combining the quality images we get from Unsplash with Canva’s templates. It’s quite the match made in visual heaven.
3. Powtoons
WEBSITE: WWW.POWTOONS.COM
WHY WE LOVE IT:
We’ve all seen and enjoyed animated videos, from storyboards to whiteboard explainer videos. Well, if you’ve ever thought you needed superpowers to be able to create those for yourself or your clients, you were mistaken, thankfully, we might add. Thanks to Powtoons, content marketers the world over can now create a range of animated video content to accomplish so many business objectives. From explainer videos to training seminars to videos that introduce new employees, Powtoons empowers you to be your own expert animator.
Sure, there is a bit of a learning curve, but learning something so fun is actually a treat. So, check out their website and watch their how-to video, choose a plan, and get to creating. Once you sign up for a Pro account, you’ll even be invited to join their exclusive Facebook group, where you’ll get technical support, l feedback on your animated videos before you distribute them, and learn best practices.
4. Missinglettr
WEBSITE: WWW.MISSINGLETTR.COM
WHY WE LOVE IT:
Every (good) social media manager or marketer understands the mission-critical role blogging plays in engaging your audience and increasing your brand awareness. And, if you’re like us, not only do you blog for your brand but for your clients too. A good social media manager understands that each blog article is a source of other kinds of social media content, e.g. Facebook, IG, and Twitter posts.
Missinglettr enables you to seamlessly break down the rich content in your blog articles and turn them into engaging posts across your social media accounts. The added benefit is that all these subsequent posts also serve to bring audiences from your various social media back to your blog page and, therefore, your website. This is actually a great resource for your clients for whom you manage their social media ecosystem because it increases their web traffic. Give them a try today.
5. VEED
WEBSITE: HTTPS://WWW.VEED.IO/ADD-SUBTITLES-VIDEO
WHY WE LOVE IT:
VEED is a simple online video editor. If you want to trim, filter, rotate, crop, add text, draw, and more on your videos and don't have time or the know-how, VEED is the tool designed exactly for that. We think video editing should be easy, simple, and accessible to all. It is designed for content creators, social publishers, dank memers, and anyone who wants to get involved in making video content. Check out the endless possibilities on their website above.
6. FlexClip
WEBSITE: WWW.FLEXCLIP.COM
WHY WE LOVE IT:
FlexClip is an online video editor that can help you create professional-looking videos while keeping the process simple, inexpensive, and elegant. It will provide thousands of customizable templates and a library of 4,000,000+ images, videos, and music of its own and from well-known sources such as Storyblocks and Unsplash to incorporate into your video.
Of course, it contains all the functions that you would expect from a basic editor (splicing, trimming, and speed setting) and much more. In addition to having storyboard editing features, the platform also provides a timeline feature to boot. Anyway, FlexClip is good for novice and experienced video editors alike since it's deceptively easy to use and has amazing flexibility.
Well, we hope you fellow content marketers have enjoyed this little nugget and will put the information to use for your own success. For more such gems, be sure to subscribe to our blog by entering your information below. For a comprehensive guide on understanding content marketing, check out this in-depth article: What is Content Marketing?
P.S. Always remember, these are just tools; it still takes a creative mind to make them worth the while.
