Looking for more advice on PR, social media, and marketing? Why not get in contact or submit a brief to inject a little ingeniousness into your brand.
In 2017, it has never been more vital for brands to have great words, pictures, videos and similar share-ables in order to compete effectively in the world of digital marketing. But not all content is good content, despite what some say.
So whilst good content sells, bad, unimaginative and unprofessional content isn’t likely to persuade anyone any time soon. From great photography and slick moving images, to hilarious GIFs, you don’t have to be a natural born cinematographer or tech genius to create something truly memorable. Instead, simply use one of these seven essential tools for better digital content creation, and establish your firm as a sector leader when it comes to online marketing.
[Tweet “7 essential tools for better #digital #content creation- great tips from @SmokingGunPR”]
Canva
Move over graphic designers, Canva places lay-folk in the creative driving seat. Having received praise from the likes of PSFK and The Webbys, we reiterate just how good this app and browser-based tool is. From Facebook cover images to infographics, flyers, posters and more, the simple drag and drop interface makes artwork and original content a breeze.
Pixlr
Like Photoshop, only without the costly Adobe subscription. Pixlr is completely free to use, and allows you to professionally edit, fix, adjust and alter photographs to create the ultimate images. Available within your browser, there are also specialist apps available to download, and the website has full mobile support, meaning you can get to work on the fly, wherever you are.
PicMonkey
Another great photo editor, regular PicMonkey users cite the intuitive and clear interface as one of the main reasons you’d opt to use this over other image software. Unfortunately, it does have one limitation compared with Pixlr- you cannot start a project with a blank canvas, and instead must have a picture there to begin with. Still, it’s a small price to pay for something this easy to use.
[Tweet “Top advice from @SmokingGunPR on the best free tools for creating #digital #content.”]
GifGrabber
A great GIF is like content gold dust- invaluable. The problem is not everyone realises just how easy they are to make. GifGrabber provides all the evidence you need. Take any video- whether that’s a YouTube link or raw footage- and turn it into a looped clip, with added text. It couldn’t be any simpler, or effective (there are tons of these apps on the market, but this is the most straightforward).
Ripl
Ripl allows you to create truly eye-catching animated posts from the sanctity of your own desktop, or whilst you’re out and about via the mobile app. Better yet, even if you’re not capable of producing Dreamworks standard artistry normally you’ll struggle to go wrong with this excellent tool. You’ll probably struggle to put it down, too, given how incredibly addictive the process is.
iMovie
OK, so this entry is bias towards Apple users- iMovie is only available on Mac OS and iOS. Nevertheless, this film editing programme set a benchmark for free video software when it first appeared, and the latest versions rival pricey paid-for stuff like Final Cut. There’s not much you can’t do, and even the mobile version can achieve everything you would want for brand work, and a lot more.
Adobe Premiere Clip
The industry standard when it comes to free video editing apps available on Android, this app allows you to edit footage, add music and effects, and even auto-generate videos based on images and raw footage. Although not the least complicated software you’ll use, the results are incredible and it syncs with the paid-for Adobe Premiere Pro for Mac and PC, which is rather handy.
Looking for more advice on PR, social media, and marketing? Why not get in contact or submit a brief to inject a little ingeniousness into your brand.
