Are you an influencer looking to level up?
In today’s social-media age, influencers play a huge role in content creation, product marketing, advertisement, and more. There are influencers across every industry, from fitness to fashion, and each influencer has a niche. However, influencing isn’t as easy as posting Instagrammable snapshots on your story. Luckily, there are a wealth of tools at your disposal that can be of great assistance to influencers of all experience levels. Here are nine essential creator tools needed to be a successful influencer.
Canva: Create Stunning Graphics
Nearly everyone in the digital marketing space is familiar with Canva. This powerful software can create any kind of content, ranging from business cards to wedding invitations and everything in between. Canva offers users both free and paid plans, with the latter allowing access to a nearly infinite database of pre-made content, additional design features, and much more. For influencers, Canva can help you create professional quality Instagram posts, fully custom Twitter headers, and anything else you may need. Also, Canva’s user interface is incredibly easy to learn, making it ideal for influencers without prior graphic design experience.
Loomly: Social Media Management, Simplified
Loomly is a household name in social media management, and for good reason. This platform can handle the hefty demands of nearly any influencer. Celebrity PR teams trust programs like Loomly to plan and schedule content, discover new trends, manage multiple social media accounts, and automate their uploads. This is especially useful for influencers who travel often, helping you stay on track with uploading. A major key to success as an influencer is posting content regularly, and Loomly can help you stay on top of things while keeping organized. For only $25 per month, Loomly can manage up to ten social media accounts simultaneously, making life much easier for influencers with multiple accounts.
Adobe Lightroom: Make the Most of Your Photos
If you want to become a major influencer, you will need a major editing program. Adobe Lightroom is one of the best software programs for creating stunning images and elevating your brand appearance. In addition to editing, Adobe Lightroom offers many presets and professional filters to make your photos pop. They offer a free plan with limited features or all-access for only $9.99 monthly.
Aspire
Securing brand deals is one of the most important aspects of being an influencer. Influencers make most of their money through these deals and paid advertisements, so finding brands that want to work with you is paramount. Aspire brings the brands to the creators. Influencers simply create a detailed profile, and the algorithm will automatically match them with brands based on their criteria. For major influencers, profiles are automatically generated in Aspire. However, to take full advantage of the platform, creators must opt-in to be part of their marketing and outreach campaigns.
Inshot
While Instagram’s built-in story tools have advanced significantly in recent years, they cannot offer the customization and detail that Inshot provides. Using Inshot, influencers can edit, filter, cut, combine, and even add music to photos or video clips to be used in Instagram stories or reels. Much like TikTok’s video editing software, Inshot also allows for fun sound effects, voice-overs, and more. Essentially, Inshot is a more powerful extension of the existing Instagram photo and video editing tools.
Keyhole
It’s no secret that hashtags carry significant power. Social media algorithms are designed to work with hashtags to curate user content. In marketing campaigns, hashtag engagement provides critical feedback to brands on the efficacy of their outreach. Keyhole is a program that provides comprehensive and up-to-date analytics on any hashtag. For influencers, tracking the impact of their hashtags can provide critical insight. Keyholes can also be used to find trending hashtags and help creators maximize their influence and reach.
Linktree
Most social media platforms only allow space for one link in a bio. This is an issue for influencers, who must promote as much backlink synergy as possible while directing followers to their unique affiliate marketing links. Enter Linktree, a popular software that allows creators to post multiple links through one main link. When creating a Linktree, influencers can add multiple links with labels describing where each link leads. These are all saved within a custom Linktr.ee link, which can then be added to the bio of your Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, or any social media account.
VSCO
Before Instagram offered more than the original basic filters, trendsetters edited their photos with VSCO, an app many have trusted since 2011 to make every picture more aesthetic. Today, VSCO remains just as popular, with over 200 presets and nearly unlimited customization. VSCO can add an edge to any picture or transform a boring snap into something truly worthy of the ‘gram.
Gleam Competitions
Nothing drives up user interaction quite like a giveaway. Many influencers turn to Gleam Competitions to make hosting contests and sweepstakes simple. Gleam handles the hard work of verifying user entries and streamlining the process for you and your followers. The software will automatically embed the contest within a webpage and generate a customized link that can be shared on any social media platform. This is a great way for influencers to drive their engagement while promoting growth through a giveaway or contest. It can also be used in collaboration with a brand as a clever marketing technique that benefits both the company and the creator.
To be a great influencer, you need the right tools.
While these are just a few of the essential creator tools that every influencer needs, they have the power to improve your life (and your analytics) seriously. Influencer marketing is certainly going to be sticking around for a while. By equipping yourself with the right tools, you can become far more successful as an influencer and a content creator.
