Lately, I have been combing through the Facebook pages of many Caribbean entrepreneurs and small businesses. From my observation, one of the things that stand out among most of them is the poor quality or visually unappealing content. Honestly, my conscience couldn’t allow me to just let their situations be, so I directly messaged a few of them, and those that answered basically blamed their inability to use Photoshop or poor designing skills in general for the unattractive displays. Personally, I thought their excuses didn’t carry much weight, and for this reason, I decided to put together this blog post especially for entrepreneurs and small businesses struggling with creating visual content
Mobile Apps
First, I will a look at some mobile apps that can be used to create amazing content for free
- Wordswag– Personally, Wordswag is one of my go to apps for creating visual content. Unfortunately, it is not on android but only on IOS. The app allows you to add text to images, and in the event that you don’t have pictures on your phone, it is connected with Pixabay, which provides hundreds of free images.
- Instaquote– Yes I know; you see insta and you instantly think Instagram not Facebook. However, Facebook owns Instagram, so the graphics created with this app is completely compatible on Facebook. Fortunately, Instaquote also works on both Android and IOS, so feel free to exploit the app by easily adding text to images then uploading them to Facebook or Instagram.
- Diptic– I first saw Kim Garst using this app. I then used it myself and was blown away by it. Diptic is on both Android and IOS, but the IOS version has more functionalities. This app allows you to create some of the most amazing photo collages. And get this, the IOS version can be used to create animated photo collages. Dope, isn’t it? I know I said free earlier, but diptic has a small cost to it. But take it from me, its low price is absolutely worth it.
- Legend– You can find Legend in any app store. It is used for creating short videos. Not just any videos however, but quote videos, or at least that’s how I use it. Using the app is simple. First, select an image if you so desire then write your quote, and indicate how you’d want to animate it, and bammm, you have a piece of visually appealing content to share on Facebook.
- Brandr– I recently started using Brandr to create content and I must say I am pleased thus far. It can be used on IOS and Android, but it has more functionality on IOS. Unfortunately, these app developers are really biased and have no love for us Android users. Don’t pay me no mind guys; I am just joking because honestly the app developers are awesome. Check Brandr and I’d love to hear your feedback on it.
This is a visual created with Brandr
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Posted by SocialEyez Media on Saturday, March 5, 2016
Website/ Desktop Application
- Canva.com– Almost anyone you ask about creating free visually appealing content for Facebook will recommend Canva. It’s an amateur graphic designer’s best friend. Create any kind of visual content there then upload to Facebook. You should check it out; it’s just amazing.
- Designfeed.io– Now this right here is my new best friend, and it should be yours too. Designfeed allows you to create visually attractive content that is already optimized to the right size for all the social platforms, not just Facebook. Apart from its advanced optimization benefits, it finds photos for you to use with your creation. Honestly, I have been using this application like crazy over the past few days. Shout out to Donna Moritz from Socially Sorted for the recommendation.
This post was created using Designfeed.io
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Posted by SocialEyez Media on Sunday, March 6, 2016
- Easel.ly– Are you an infographic person? Well if you are or want to be, start using Easel.ly. The site allows you to create some awesome infographics for free. Check it out and prepare to be blown away.
- Quotescover.com– Presently, I don’t use quotescover as frequently as before. However, it is a powerful website if you want to create visually appealing images with quotes. Give it a try and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
- Pixabay.com– Okay so you can’t create anything on Pixabay, but guess what you can do. You can get free images and short videos to use to create your visually pleasing content with one of the aforementioned apps or websites above. Personally, it’s my go to source when I do not want to purchase images, which is kind of all the time.
Special Shout out
A special mention must be made to Rhonna designs, the Photoshop app, skitch, meme generator and Piktochart. Trust me, with all the free, easy to use tools you now know that are available, you have no reason to create and share crappy visuals on Facebook. Now get your creative juices flowing and feel free to share some of your designs with me on my Facebook page at Facebook.com/socialeyezmedia.