In 2019, creating strong visual content is more important than ever.
Luckily, there are a number of social media apps designed to help you do just that.
In this post, I’ll go over 15 of my favorites that will help you create, edit and enhance your visuals.
I’m on Facebook. You’re on Facebook. We’re all on Facebook.
(And Instagram, and Twitter, etc., etc.,)
And while that’s great for growing an audience, it’s not so good for standing out in the crowd.
Competition on social media is fiercer than ever, and to stay on top of the game, you need a content strategy that breaks through the noise (and the tools to help you manage it).
That, and content that just looks good.
Creating high-quality visuals continues to be a best practice among brands on social media, and visuals continue to gain popularity among users.
But let’s face it: not all businesses have access to top-quality designers and videographers and their high-end equipment.
But truth is, you don’t actually need those things to create engaging visual content.
All you need? Is your Smartphone.
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Snapspeed
Snapspeed is an oldie but goodie.
Made by Google (so you know it’s gotta be good), Snapped is one of the more popular apps available – and for good reason.
With it, you can take any photo on your Smartphone and edit to practically professional quality.
You can go as in-depth as you want. For a quick improvement, you can access any of their built-in filters (yes, these go beyond your usual Instagram filters).
Or, for a custom edit, access the app’s impressive list of tools to enhance, crop, blur, or otherwise edit to your brand’s desire.
You can download the app for free on iOS or Android.
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Boomerang
Boomerang had a big impact on the social media app scene.
It works by splicing together a series of photos into one animated image. But unlike your ordinary animated image (think GIF), this one plays the series backward and forwards.
This one’s popular across the board, with general users and brands alike.
And the cool thing about it? It doesn’t really get old.
Using Boomerang to turn an average shot into a (often) humorous, super quick video. Use it for short product in action shots or behind-the-scenes looks at your business.
Take a look at how tech company the Verge uses Boomerang to show off a product in action, in just a few seconds flat.
https://www.instagram.com/p/9JS9zypGri/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again
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Social Media Apps: iWatermark+
This one’s tailor-made for branding images, allowing you to add logos to any of your images or videos.
As the name implies, they appear in watermark form, which means that not only will they brand your visuals in an unobtrusive way, but make it hard for anyone else to take credit for your image.
You can individually place the watermark on each photo, or upload in batch to multiple images or videos.
You can upload and store multiple logos, or create your own watermarks in the app.
Purchase iWatermark on iOS for $4.99 or Android for $3.99.
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MuseCam
MuseCam is another social media app designed to transform your photos into professional-grade images.
One of its better features is its built-in camera, which lets you shoot photos through the app using custom exposures and independent controls. That means more control over the quality of your original photos.
Then, of course, you can edit them as you’d like with MuseCam’s complex set of colors, filters, and tools.
It also features advanced tools like Depth of Field, which applies blur to your lense, and the Curves tool.
You can download MuseCam for free on iOS.
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Manual
As the name implies, Manual is focused primarily on letting you manually take and adjust photos.
Like MuseCam, it features its own in-app camera with custom exposure for your iPhone camera.
You can also adjust shutterspeed, ISO, focus, and white balance.
Granted, someone with little to no photography experience may be totally unfamiliar with those words and what they mean for your photos, but that’s the beauty of the app.
It lets those without photography know-how shoot photos like a pro, with a pretty quick learning curve.
Additionally, it lets you save pictures in RAW form. That means the images are captured without compression. For photo novices, that translates to a higher quality photo.
Think about: in-house product shots that look professional? Sounds like a social media must, if you ask me.
You can download Manual on iOS for $3.99.
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Social Media Apps: Adobe Spark Video
Video has taken social media by storm.
Which means as a brand, having an app that can create compelling, well-put-together videos is instrumental in your strategy.
Enter Adobe Spark Video. From the name alone (Adobe), you know you’re getting a top notch tool, only this one lives conveniently in your Smartphone.
The app lets you easily shoot and trim videos for social media, select a soundtrack, and add your own or choose from its library of images.
And beyond that, Adobe Spark will automatically add cinematic motion to your video. All that, and it can be done in just minutes.
You can download the app for free in the iOS store, with optional in-app upgrades.
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Adobe Spark Post
If you’re more interested in photo editing, Adobe Spark Post is the social media app for you.
It comes with professionally pre-designed templates you can build on. Or, upload your own photos and text and choose from the app’s design filters for a custom graphic.
It comes with auto resize, color, and text resize features, as well as the ability to mix selected photos into collages. With premium features upgrades, you can create branded images and templates as well.
This one will also help you save time; its auto resize will automatically resize your photos to fit the dimensions for Instagram, Facebook, etc.
And, if you create a template you’d like to use again, you can save it in the app for future use.
This one’s also free on iOS or Android, with optional in-app upgrades.
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Social Media Apps: Quik
Combine the best of photos and videos with Quik, an app dedicated to creating high-quality slideshows.
Best part: it couldn’t be easier to use.
Simply select the images or video clips you’d like to use, and Quik will do the rest. For reference, the rest includes adding in transitions and effects and syncing to music.
You can further customize with your own text overlays, music, and emojis. You can also choose with photo to feature (super important for branded content).
You can add up to 75 photos and videos, and choose from 23 themes. Quik lets you choose from square, vertical, or widescreen sizing to fit the social media platform of your choice.
Download the app for free on iOS or Android.
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Social Media Apps: Unfold
No surprise here, but Stories have transformed the way we use social media – brands included.
It’s all about short, in-the-moment segments. Usually, they have an unplanned feel and appearance. But as any brand knows, that “unplanned” moment takes quite a bit of planning.
Luckily, it doesn’t have to take a lot of time thanks to apps like Unfold.
With it, you can choose from 25 templated (75 if you go premium) and is known for its clean styles.
The bonus here for brands is that once you’ve found a template that suits your tone and style, you can stick with it. That way you can continuously create on-brand Stories that will easily identifiable to your audience.
Unfold is available as a free download on iOS and Android.
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InShot
One of the most frustrating parts of content curation is capturing the perfect shot at the wrong aspect ratio.
InShot ensures that almost every shot you take can be formatted to the correct social media size, whether it’s an Instagram Story, Twitter post or Facebook ad.
In lieu of completely resizing your images, you also have the option to choose to add the image to a background sized for a particular platform, either by choosing from their library or choosing an image of your own.
Download InShot for free on iOS and Android.
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A Design Kit
A Design Kit will help you add a creative touch to your social media Stories.
One of the best ways to engage viewers is by adding elements like polls and stickers.
But if you’re tired of Instagram’s built-in options, you can create your own with A Design Kit. It offers brushes, which let you draw or write over photos as you please, lets you add in backgrounds with textures like metallics and marbles, and features an impressive library of stickers to choose from.
The social media app is available for free on iOS.
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Create
When you’re tired of uploading images, try creating your own designs and layouts with Create.
You can, of course, use it to add cool graphics, text, and designs (think shapes, icons, arrows, etc.) to your own images.
But where Create really excels is in its ability to create unique graphics. It has almost all the functionality of a desktop design tool, available as an app on your smartphone.
Use its collection of graphics or draw your own in-app.
I know, designing and crafting your own graphic seems complicated, but Create comes with an intro video that walks you through how to use the app.
And what’s really cool about that one is that it allows you to share and collaborate with other members of your team as editable projects.
All that, and it comes as a free download on iOS.
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Social Media Apps: Legend
“Words move people. Legend moves words.”
That’s Legend’s slogan, and does a great job of communicating exactly what Legend can do for you.
If you haven’t guessed yet, it lets you add animation to text. Really good animation.
Each of the templates available was created by a professional motion designer, and two taps is all it takes to apply to your text.
Choose from hundreds of combination of typography, backgrounds, and animations.
This social media app is especially useful for a business who doesn’t have a physical product to show off, or just wants to add a little more variation to their content.
Get it for free on iOS.
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Hyperlapse
Hyperlapse lets you create time-lapse videos. For anyone unfamiliar, when time-lapse videos are played they appear to be moving much faster (or lapsing). Think of it as the opposite of slow motion.
This kind of video, while cool for viewers, was previously extremely hard to capture without the use of fancy equipment.
But with a tool like Hyperlapse, the process is simplified to a few taps. Tap to start, to stop, and choose the speed you’d like it to play – you can go up to 12 times the normal speed. Pretty cool, right?
Hyperlapse will stabilize any bumps due to walking, driving, etc., automatically, so your video appears as smooth as possible.
You can download Hyperlapse for free on iOS or on Android as Microsoft Hyperlapse Mobile.
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Social Media Apps: CutStory
Here’s another one dedicated to making social Story creation simpler, because Stories are great and all, but filming in short, 15-seconds bursts isn’t.
So don’t.
Instead, film your whole video – no time limits enforced – and import it to CutStory. The app will cut your story up into 15-second segments (or any time length of your choosing) and save it to your camera roll in chronological order for you to upload as an Instagram Story.
You can also text or stickers to your videos in the app.
Download it for free on iOS.
Wrapping Up Social Media Apps
Creating strong visual content doesn’t have to be complicated.
And with the help of the apps above, it’s easier than ever.
Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments!