Why does a social media manager need a good set of mobile content creation apps in their repertoire? Let’s face it. We’re a nation of mobile phone addicts. More than 70% keep a cell phone within reach most of the time, and we check our phones 46 times a day, according to Deloitte.
My Favorite Mobile Content Creation Apps
It stands to reason that mobile content creation apps will save time, create immediacy and improve your productivity. Here are some of my favorites. Most of these apps use a freemium pricing model, so you can experiment for free and then pay a small amount if the extra filters, features or broader stock photo or font choices seem worth it.
Visual Treatments for Mobile Content
Although your phone has basic photo editing capabilities, you can lift your content to the next level by applying interesting filters to photos and business posts. Since the vast majority of images in a feed are photos, a consistent visual treatment can make your posts stand out and give them a recognizable branding.
- PRISMA – This is the hottest filter app right now and my personal favorite. It has an abundance of different artistic treatments, plus they are quickly rendered, making it easy to choose between options.
- Brushstroke – This is useful if you want to give your photo posts a classical, painterly feel.
- Waterlogue – This is nice for watercolor looks, which are best for floral and outdoor photos. It’s a challenge to depict people with this app, and it is slow. My nickname for it: water slog! I still enjoy using it occasionally.
Using unique filters from PRISMA to create a distinctive feel for images, such as this photo of sushi:
Comprehensive Post Creation
There is a broad set of apps that allows you to create simple posts with image and text. They usually include stock photos, stock post templates, and also allow you to upload your own photos.
- Over – This is stupid-simple, with image, text and color options.
- Instaquote – Another simple app which is easy to use for Instagram “quote of the day” posts.
- Canva – This has got to be the most popular content creation app, thanks to its amazingly simple interface and promotion from Chief Evangelist Guy Kawasaki.
My informal survey indicates at least 85% of professional content creators are already using the Canva. It has reasonable capabilities for individual users, and better features and stock photos for those willing to pay a bit more. Although you can do content creation on the mobile app, I find the mobile interface a bit awkward.
But Canva has a great case for use if you frequently use Instagram. Instagram has been ornery about developing desktop creation capability and integrating with scheduling apps. That means that with some high-end apps social media managers have to create the posts, email to themselves, then post directly from their phones at the appropriate time. With cloud-based Canva, all of your devices automatically access the same content. I find it works to develop sophisticated content in the desktop version of Canva, and then simply download from the mobile version when its time to post in Instagram.
Curating Instagram Content
Although Instagram is also ornery about letting you share curated content created by other accounts, you can use Repost or Instagrab to share posts created by other accounts on your Instagram feed. These tools copy the photo and allow you to put the artist’s name as a watermark on the photo. You should always @ hot link to their account in the text. Sharing content properly from related accounts can build up both followings. For example, a food blogger may wish to share content from a restaurant or bar’s Instagram account. On the Social Media Dallas account, I find that some of our most popular posts are Dallas skyline shots taken by local photographers like Kevin Hann or Stephen Goodgame who are growing their brands.
Mobile Video Apps
If you do any Facebook posts, you know that using video pumps up your post views dramatically. Plus, video Facebook ads run in the penny per view range, which is incredibly cost-effective. There are several apps which let you turn still images into videos for that viral boost.
- DIPTIC – Although this has several modes, I especially like the way you can upload 4 photos and have them viewed as a “video.”
- RIPL – RIPL lets you upload your photo and easily add text. You select from several moving text styles and type of post movement. I find this works great for event promotion. You can even select stock background music to enhance the post appeal.
These apps are best for both Facebook and Instagram, since they have more of a square image size.
Here’s an example of using RIPL to take still shots and use moving text to grab viewer attention. You can also enjoy the lower ad costs associated with Facebook video:
Customer or Reader Responsiveness and Mobile Content Apps
If you manage a blog you probably want to run the mobile version of Blogger or WordPress on your phone so you can quickly respond to any comments. These apps also let you make corrections on the fly—in the unlikely event you have a typo or need to make a correction!
Download a few of these mobile content creation apps, and you’ll have power in your pocket and more free time on your hands! Although there are literally hundreds of mobile content creation apps online, these are some of my favorites.
What other apps do you enjoy for mobile content creation?
