As a marketer, using the right tools to do your job most effectively can make a world of difference. And when it comes to your social team and the content shared in social channels it’s important to note social media posts that include images are far more likely to get read than text-only posts. The good news is that you don’t have to be a graphic designer to design great graphics for your content and social media—here are a few of our team’s favorite resources for creating spectacular images.
The Value of an Image
Before we dive into the list, let’s get some perspective on how powerful images actually are to the success of your digital marketing activities. Jeff Bullas reports that posts with images get 94 percent more total views compared to their text-only counterparts. Audiences aren’t just viewing content with images—they’re also sharing it. In fact, almost 66 percent of social media shares include visual content.
We’ve worked with both enterprise level companies and mid-size B2B businesses who don’t understand the importance of images for their content and who have built corporate blogs or landing pages without taking the importance of visual content into consideration. Without fail, that content underperforms when shared as compared to content that contains interesting imagery, especially a header image.
Images don’t only contribute to clicks and shares, but they also contribute to the story of your brand. Consider this: After three days, people tend to remember 65 percent of the visual information you present compared to only 10 percent of information delivered without visuals. That makes sense—after all, people can often recall stories more than they recall bulleted lists and fact sheet data, and imagery is a form of storytelling. Don’t take my word for it—a recent survey revealed 65 percent of senior marketing executives feel visual assets are “core to how their brand story is communicated,” and a majority of them believe these attention-grabbing infographics, videos, photos, and illustrations will only grow more important with time.
That covers why you need to incorporate visuals into your content and social strategies. Now, onto the how.
Six Image Creating Resources You Can Use Today
Creating images for your content and social media can be quick and easy with one or more of the following tools:
- Canva. Canva is an optimal choice as a full-service image creator, especially for social marketers. Why? It’s simple to use, with a variety of premade, drag-and-drop elements from photos to decorative text. Canva allows you to create images that are complex and multi-layered or simplistic and modern—no design experience required. Canva might well be at the top of the list of our team’s favorite image creating tools.
- PicMonkey. PicMonkey is a photo-editing app with a suite of extra features, from collages to custom fonts and filters. Use it to design everything from your Facebook banner to your company logo.
- Relay. Relay uses templates, so it appropriately brands itself as powering “graphics that design themselves.” Add or remove graphics, text, shapes, or other design elements to your liking. This platform is especially well-suited for creating memes or other quick text-over-graphic designs, as they can be completed in minutes.
- Adobe Spark. Significantly less complicated than Photoshop and InDesign, Adobe Spark was created in the spirit of accessibility. Use it to swiftly make a social graphic, then upload it instantly from the app. Or, produce a web story or animated video incorporating your visuals for even more reach. Stumped for ideas? Check out the stocked “inspiration gallery” for a creative boost.
- BeFunky. The tagline for BeFunky is “photo editing and graphic design made for everyone,” and its ease of use lives up to that claim. Use it for simple photo editing, or combine several images together into a custom-designed collage. There’s also a ‘Designer Toolset’ for those who want to get a little more involved.
- Pablo in Buffer. You might use Buffer already as a social media analytics tool. Now, there’s Pablo for Buffer, a tool Entrepreneur says can generate social graphics in 30 seconds. The platform has an abundance of stock images, or you can upload your own to customize graphics. Share your creations on social or download them for later use, and be sure to check out the automatic sizing features and black and white options, too.
There you have it. A resource guide to bookmark for later use, as these tools will definitely come in handy. What did we miss? Do you have a favorite image-creating tool you’re dying to share with the rest of us? Please do.
Additional Resources on This Topic:
Content Marketing on a Budget: 9 Tools You Should Use
The Ultimate Guide to Creating Visually Appealing Content
8 Tools to Help Marketers Quickly Create Beautiful Designs
Photo Credit: BrickinNick Flickr via Compfight cc
Shelly Kramer is a 20+ year marketing veteran and CEO of V3 Broadsuite, a marketing consultancy, and the President of Broadsuite Media Group. She’s also a founding partner in Futurum, a research and analysis company, and a founding partner in XVA Labs, a company focused exclusively on helping brands navigate the process of digital transformation as it relates to corporate culture.
Shelly is a brand strategist focused on digital transformation, and delivering integrated marketing solutions for clients. She’s an expert at lead gen, omnichannel marketing, all things tech-related, content strategy and execution, connecting social media to business initiatives, and helping clients leverage the web for growth and profitability.
Research conducted by Onalytica throughout the course of this last year named Shelly as #42 on their list of Big Data: Top 100 Influencers and Brands for 2016, #38 on their list of Content Marketing: Top 100 Influencers and Brands for 2016, #38 on their list of Future of Work: Top 100 Influencers and Brands for 2016, and #66 on their IoT: Top 100 Influencers and Brands for 2016 list. This recognition indicates that when it comes to all things related to technology and how it powers business today, she brings a wealth of experience to the fore.
She was also recognized as one of MediaPost’s Top-100 Social Media Power Influencers, 2015 Edition, and has been recognized by Forbes on a number of occasions, most recently as one of the Top 40 Social Selling Marketing Experts and Top 50 Social Media Influencers.
Shelly is part marketer, part tech analyst, part futurist, and all geek, with a propensity for numbers, and producing results. You can find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
