So you’ve started a content marketing or social media strategy for your business – that’s awesome! But, the recurring challenge you keep running into is developing enough content to continue publishing, posting and actually taking advantage of the strategy you’ve put into place.
We’ve seen businesses and organizations run into this problem, particularly in the area of social media images.
Where do I find enough quality stock images?
Are there any good free sources?
How do I edit my own photos?
What about adding text or creating graphics for social platforms?
We’re answering these questions and more – read on to learn how to make great social images!
Tip 1: Find a quality source for social media images.
There are some great free stock image options out there, as well as monthly subscriptions that will give you even more photos and image options. Our recommendations:
– Unsplash: This is a great stock photo site that is completely free to the public. You can search with different keywords to find the right image for your needs. If you haven’t started with social media marketing yet and aren’t ready to take the plunge on investing money into this yet, then this is a great option.
– Envato Elements: This is a monthly subscription that has everything from stock photos to video content and more. This is a better solution for more varied images and a ton of options to choose from. This requires a small fee each month, but is more than worth it for everything you get!
Quick tip: Be willing to spend a little bit of money on a monthly subscription if you’re going to be posting a lot of images. It really will be worth it as you’ll want to vary your content and images more and more. This will keep things interesting for your audience.
Tip 2: Choose a photo editing app for your social media images.
This is an important one, especially if you’ll be taking the photos yourself of your business, organization, or events you may be attending or throwing. Here’s a few of our favorites:
– Lightroom Mobile: If you know anything about photo editing, you know that Adobe’s Lightroom has been a popular software for a long time for photographers and amateurs alike. Adobe released a mobile version, that bonus – is completely free. You’ll need to create an Adobe ID if you don’t have one already (also totally free) and then you can get started editing. It’s a simple app that anyone can use to create stunning photos!
– Afterlight: This is a great, inexpensive mobile editing app as well. For $2.99 you get every tool that the app has. There are tons of options that include editing and a lot more. We love using this app!
-VSCO: This app is totally free and so easy to use. Choose filters, edit based on balance, contrast, exposure and more. There are tons of presets that can accompany this app as well.
Quick tip: Decide on a few presets that work well together from the app of your choice. This will give your page (particularly on Instagram) an overall cohesive aesthetic.
Tip 3: Install a graphic design app.
Even if you’re not a graphic designer, have no fear – all of our recommendations are extremely user-friendly!
– Adobe Spark: This is both a mobile and desktop app (the mobile is extremely convenient and easy to use on-the-go). While it is free, signing in with your Adobe ID will unlock a lot more options.
– Over: Is a mobile app as well where you can create visually stunning branding and graphics that are both fun and trendy. It is free to start and a subscription will unlock a lot more options for you.
Quick tip: These are a couple of our favorites and we have found the mobile app versions to be the very best and most user-friendly.
Tip 4: Vary the kinds of social media images you create.
You want to keep your viewers engaged with your social images. To do this, the content and images need to be varied week to week. Mix things up with all kinds of images like:
– Text graphics
– Stock photos
– A mix of photo and text
– Real photos of your business or organization, in real-time or staged
– Photos from events
The possibilities are endless! If that all sounds awesome, but you simply don’t have time for it all – we totally get it. That’s why we created ezContent – a one-stop-shop for all of your content marketing, social media, blog content, and lead magnet needs. If you’re interested in having us create social images for you each month, just shoot us a message anytime!
