5 Ways to Create Better Visuals for Your Brand's Instagram and Snapchat Content
Are you tired of bland content that doesn’t help your businesses stand out or make a statement?
Is your company looking to raise the quality of its social media posts?
When using platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat for marketing, there’s no substitution for well-designed content.
Don’t have a professional designer in-house? Is hiring one just not in the budget?
Here are five tools that can make you a professional designer! Well, maybe not quite... but these tools will help you produce much better visuals for your brand’s social media content.
Let’s get started!
1. Bitmoji
By now, most people have at least heard of Bitmoji. Widely popular among Snapchat users, this app allows you to create personal emojis and use them as stickers and overlays within the Snapchat interface and other platforms, including Instagram.
Begin by opening the app and creating your first avatar. Pick your Bitmoji’s gender, style (Bitmoji or Bitstrips), and then proceed to customize some of the finer details. You can edit features such as face shape, hair color, eye color, skin tone, and clothing, and more!
Now that you have your very own Bitmoji, some clever sticker templates will be generated. Feel free to use them in your stories, on your posts, or elsewhere!
2. Pepper Filters
If you’ve spent time browsing through some of the different features that are available on Instagram and Snapchat, you are probably aware of geofilters. These overlays usually show up in stories, where a user can indicate their current location in a unique and colorful way.
Many geofilters are available within the original applications, but if you’re looking to be more creative and enhance the quality of your posts, check out Pepper Filters. This application allows you to create eye-popping geofilters that be used in both Instagram and Snapchat.
To start, visit the Pepper Filters site and choose from some different templates. Your template will then appear in the phone simulator, which will be shown on the right side of your screen.
Now, double-click on the filter to start editing it. Almost every component of the filter can be customized, whether it’s the typeface, the text, or the graphic itself. Once your geofilter is complete, you will need to purchase it... but the beauty of geofilters is that you can recycle them again and again for different applications and campaigns.
3. PromoRepublic
PromoRepublic is an image designer tool with more options than you could possibly need. Primarily used for Instagram posts, the application features plenty of templates and a built-in editor for you to use.
Once you’ve linked PromoRepublic to your Instagram, start by scrolling through the templates library, which is arranged by topic. After you have selected a template you want to use, you can customize it by adding your company’s logo, text, and other overlays, such as banners and frames. If you’re happy with your post, you can add captions, hashtags, and then schedule it (or add it to your queue) to be published.
But that’s not all! After you have published your content, you can use the app’s statistics tool, which allows you to monitor your post’s performance and how it measures up to your other content.
4. Apple Clips
Apple wants its piece of the Instagram and Snapchat pie, and this versatile application makes a strong case.
Open up Clips, and you’ll find that it works much like Instagram or Snapchat, but with a whole new set of design possibilities. Take a video and then spend a few seconds (or minutes... or hours...) browsing through the different stickers, overlays, and filters.
What sets Clips apart is that it capitalizes on augmented reality (AR) by providing its users with plenty of immersive 360-degree backgrounds and locations to use in their videos. Once a clip is finished, there are plenty of ways to export the custom creation. In addition to Instagram and Snapchat, the video can be uploaded via Facebook, text, email, or posted directly to YouTube.
Oh, and it’s free... Enjoy!
5. GoAnimate
Ever wondered how companies can create custom animated videos to post to their social media accounts? Maybe they have a skilled designer or a team that creates this kind of content for them.
Well, the good news is that your brand can create its animated video content too, and without the help of a designer or a design team. Visit GoAnimate’s site and choose from categories such as business friendly, whiteboard animation, and video infographics. The interface will walk you through every component of your visual creation, from characters to narration, to sound effects, and more!
GoAnimate has a free 14-day trial, and if you like the services (you probably will!), you can choose a membership plan.
Content design is extremely important in an age when successful marketing relies on its visuals. If you don’t have the luxury or expertise of a professional designer, these five resources will help you create new, attractive content for your brand’s Instagram and Snapchat accounts. Try them out today!