In a world where attention span is very short, getting the attention of audiences has become quite challenging. Every day, millions of people upload images on their social media accounts. But only a few of them actually inspire us and make us stop and notice, rather than move on entirely. But why do we not pay attention to all the images? There can be so many reasons behind this. But one potential reason can be because the image was likely boring or of low-quality, or not worth sharing.
When it comes to marketing on social media, graphics play an important role. Effective graphic design provides support for brand recognition and connects the target audience with businesses.
A lot of people have a misconception that social media graphics are simply beautiful images with text on it. Well, that’s not true! Social media graphics are those images that not only look beautiful but at the same time, are engaging and supportive too.
There was a time when companies didn’t require any tool to create social media graphics. It may be because earlier there was less competition. Very few companies approached social media to promote their business. They would generally hire one or two graphic designers to create creative images for all platforms.
But today, the business world has become very competitive. Every year new businesses open up. Promoting business through social media has become an inseparable part of any marketing strategy. This has brought about an increase in the demand for graphic designers. But not all startups can afford to hire a professional graphic designer during the initial stages. Fortunately, today we have various online tools that can help such companies create social media graphics at lower costs. All thanks to the latest technologies!
Let’s have a look at the top 10 design tools to create stunning social media graphics. Ready to get started! Read on!
Canva
When it comes to graphics, you cannot go wrong with Canva. It is a highly praised tool among both designers and non-designers. The tool has a library of 8000+ professional pre-designed templates that can be customized easily with its drag-and-drop feature. Some of its templates are free, and some will cost you $1 per template. The tool offers a 30-day free trial so that users can learn about its features thoroughly. If you choose its premium version, you can bring your whole team on board so that everyone sees all the designs in one place. The tool is available both on desktop and mobile.
Infogram
For every social media, a good rule of thumb is to show not tell. This may sound difficult, especially when you have already drafted content that can easily be re-used for social purposes. Here ‘showing’ doesn’t mean putting screenshots or links.
The best way to present your plain content is to turn them into infographics and in order to create that, no one can beat Infogram. This easy to use tool has a huge library of high-quality templates that can be used both on desktop and mobile.
Get custom templates with your brand logo, fonts, and colors and allow every team member to create visuals in minutes. You can keep track of each project easily. The tool also lets its users view and restore the previous versions of the projects.
They offer five plans: Basic, Pro, Business, Team, and Enterprise. The basic plan is free and for the rest of the plans, you need to pay different prices according to their monthly or annual billing.
Pexels
Infographics are just one of the ways to present information artistically without losing the attention of viewers. If you think that your target audience will respond more to videos, then go ahead and create your social media graphics in the form of videos. Pixels give users access to thousands of free images and videos.
When you browse this website, you may find it similar to other stock photo sites like Adobe, Shutterstock, etc. Undoubtedly, these sites provide high-quality images and videos too, but the major concern with these websites is that you will likely see the same images and videos with the brands that share the same expertise.
Also, as compared to Pixels, images on Shutterstock, Adobe, and other similar sites look somewhat unreal.
PicMonkey
Although PicMonkey is well-known as a reliable photo-editing tool, it is also great for creating custom social media graphics. The tool has pre-made templates that can be customized easily. The tool does not offer a free plan, but there is a free trial.
One of the best features of the tool is that it includes themed seasonal overlays and Photoshop cosmetic enhancement features. If you have your own idea but don’t know how to make it happen, Picmonkey has a library of easy-to-follow tutorials too.
The tool is available both on desktop and mobile. The tool provides a 7-day free trial and comes in three different billing versions: Basic ($7.99 USD/month), Pro ($12.99 USD/month), and Team ($33.99 USD/month).
BeFunky
If you’ve ever wanted to enhance images with an online photo editor but you were worried about the learning curve, then BeFunky is your ticket to success. Its drag-and-drop interface is so easy to use that even non-designers will be able to create stunning graphics in minutes.
Its tagline, “photo editing and graphic design made for everyone,” couldn’t be more accurate, as BeFunky is an all-in-one solution that has impressive functionality. With one or two clicks, you can crop images, turn photos into art, batch edit, remove backgrounds, retouch portraits, and make collages. You can even choose from hundreds of templates, thousands of vector graphics, and millions of stock photos that you can use in your designs.
BeFunky has a free version with limited features and a Plus ($11.99/ USD/month) version. You can find this tool on desktop and mobile.
Pablo
Pablo is another great tool that is created by Buffer. The tool lets its users create social media graphics as quickly as possible, without compromising on the quality. To create an image on Pablo, you first have to choose the image format (Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook & Twitter).
After that, from their library of 600k+ images, choose your image, and customize it as per your requirement. You can add your logo, text, and choose filters to achieve the desired effects.
By clicking on the ‘Upload Now’ button, you can even upload your own graphics or images. Once you are done, post it directly on social media. If you have scheduled your posts through Buffer, then Pablo helps in creating a seamless workflow.
Visme
Visme is another great tool to create stunning, engaging, and colorful visual content. To create social media graphics, you need to first select the option ‘social graphics.’ Browse their templates and choose the one that perfectly matches your requirements. Once you choose your template, it will take you to the designing dashboard where you can customize your image. You can add text, more graphics within the same image, as well as data, media, and colors of your choice.
The tool also provides a ‘Preview’ feature, where, before sharing or downloading, you can see how your final design would actually look like. Apart from social media, you can also use the tool to create other visual content such as presentations, documents, printables, Training & Development Materials etc.
The tool comes in three different plans: Single, Team, and Enterprise. The price of each plan varies according to their monthly and yearly billing.
Biteable
Biteable is a DIY video maker tool that promotes themselves as the ‘World’s simplest video maker’. It has thousands of pre-designed templates. You can either use those templates or create your own video from scratch. It provides a huge collection of video clips and images which can be added to your templates.
A lot of these come with a free plan. It also provides claymation as well as animation sequences to help users create engaging videos. Biteable comes in three differently priced versions: Starter ($15 USD/month), Small & Big business ($29 USD/month), and Unlimited plan ($49 USD/month).
Ripl
Ripl allows users to create custom designs and animated slideshows and collages that can directly be shared on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more. You can add music to your animations. The tool is available both on desktop and mobile and comes in both free and paid versions.
The free version gives access to ten designs, fonts, and three music tracks. The pro version ($14.99/month) gives access to 200+ premium designs, 150+ fonts, and 250+ music tracks. You can also include your own logo, music and schedule future posts that are not included in the free version.
Snappa
Snappa is quite familiar to Canva. It has a clean and easy-to-use interface. The tool allows users to create custom social media graphics that can be pre-scheduled from the same platform. It offers high-quality templates that can be resized to any size. If you want to use your own images, you can do that by simply uploading them to Snappa.
Although the platform has 200+ pre-loaded fonts, you can even import your fonts to keep your branding intact. To maximize the workflow, you can create folders for your work. The tool comes in three different plans: Starter, Pro, and Team. The Starter plan is free, while the prices of the rest of the two plans vary according to their monthly and annual billing.
Stencil
Stencil is an easy-to-use online graphic design and image editor tool that is designed for both beginners and experienced users. This tool comes with instant image resizing features that help users create images according to the required size of the particular platform.
Once you are done with the designing part, you can preview the design and share it on all social platforms instantly. If you have a Buffer account, you can also pre-schedule your posts right from Stencil. Although the tool comes with 875+ templates, 2800+ Google fonts, 200000+ icons, and graphics, you can even upload your own images and fonts.
The tool comes in three different plans: Free, Pro, and Unlimited. The prices of the Pro and Unlimited plans vary according to their monthly and yearly billings.
Conclusion
Designing engaging graphics is not as easy as it seems. But with the help of these tools, you can definitely convey your messages appropriately and share your ideas more creatively and interestingly. Are there any more tools that deserve to be on this list according to you? Share with us in the comments section below.
