Top 20 visual marketing apps for social media managers

June 21, 2021
By
Kyra Goodman

Visual marketing leverages rich, eye-catching graphics, photography and illustrations to communicate your client’s key messages faster and more effectively with their target audience. These are the apps that can get you there.

As a social media manager, your goal is to connect and convert audiences online. But here’s the thing: 81% of users only skim read digital content. With audience attention spans down to just 8 seconds, finding ways to communicate your key messages effectively has never been a bigger priority. And that’s where visual marketing comes in.

Instead of relying on text alone, visual marketing leverages rich, eye-catching graphics, photography and illustrations to communicate your client’s key messages faster and more effectively with their target audience. And 71% of other social media marketers are already taking advantage of this proven approach.

The good news? You don’t have to be a graphic designer or videographer to produce compelling visual content anymore. Instead, there are user-friendly visual marketing apps and platforms ready to streamline your visual content creation process. To help level-up your visual marketing and supercharge your efforts on social, we’ve rounded up 21 of the best visual marketing apps for social media managers:

Impresso | Professional promotional videos

Impresso app features

Do you work with eCommerce clients? Chances are you’re regularly tasked with creating promotional visual content to share across their social channels.But why stick to static graphics? With the video creation app Impresso, you can easily craft professional promotion videos, perfect for your client’s next social media marketing campaign.Whether you’ve got a flash sale or new collection to share, Impresso makes designing professional videos a breeze for social media marketers. Simply upload the video files or hi-res product photography you want to showcase, select from hundreds of plug-and-play templates and customise these designs to best reflect your client’s brand.Don’t have your own visual content to work with? Simply dive into Impresso’s library of engaging stock photography and videos (and add the perfect background music to your video, too).

Sked Social | #1 visual marketing social scheduler

Sked Social's visual planner tool

Most social schedulers only have one use: publishing your content.Unlike these schedulers, Sked Social has one goal: make it simple for social media managers to source, store, and share their visual marketing assets.Here's what users get from Sked Social:Perfect Instagram feedsKeep your aesthetics exactly how you want them. Drag and drop your images to your feed, and create curated perfection.Schedule everything for InstaImages, carousels, Reels, Stories and IGTV are yours to schedule to whatever day and time you want.Create content from your dashboardWith in-app access to Canva and Pexels, you can create your social designs or source gorgeous stock photography to share instantly.Find and share user-generated content in a heartbeatWith Hashtag and Creator search, you can see where your brand has been mentioned and who your super-followers are, and store and share their content.Store, sort and share from one placeSked Library gives visual marketers cloud storage and folders so all theYou can try it for yourself free for 7 days.

Over | Social-ready graphic designs

Over templates and layouts examples

Creating dazzling social graphic designs should take hours. That’s why social media marketers adore Over, the ultimate visual marketing app for creating beautiful social-ready designs.From branded Facebook posts to stunning Instagram Stories, Over gives marketers user-friendly tools to design social graphics on both desktop and mobile.This app is made for social marketers, with a centralised branding hub to save all of your client’s brand assets (including colours, fonts, logos and approved templates). Plus, there are stacks of premium templates being released regularly so you’ll always have a winning idea to share with your clients at your next meeting.

InShot | Video editing

InShot social video editor

Are you offering Reels, IGTV or video content to your clients? If you’re struggling to nail those Reels transitions and select the perfect filter, you need the visual marketing app, InShot.This free video editing and making app is ideal for social media marketers, with stacks of professional features to help you edit HD videos for your clients.No matter what social media platform you’re crafting video content for, InShot gives you the tools to trim, cut, merge and add unforgettable transitions to your video content. Plus, with easy-to-use speed control, text and sticker features, you’re guaranteed to nail every brief in record time.Oh, and InShot even offers preset video ratios tailored to each social platform, so you’ll never be guessing about asset sizing again.

SCRL | Photo editing

SCRL collages for Instagram

Are you creating Instagram carousels for your clients? If so, SCRL is the ultimate image editing app you need to know about.Unlike most photo editing tools, SCRL has a single focus: to help marketers craft seamless, stunning Instagram carousels. Instead of designing graphics for each slide, SCRL allows you to upload all the assets you want to share and design a beautiful collage that can be easily sliced into carousel slides.There’s stacks of hi-res stock imagery to choose from along with text overlays, frames, templates and so much more. Plus, you can easily change the aspect ratio of your design to suit a range of social formats (from carousels to IG Stories).

Canva | All-in-one design tool (now with free video editor)

Canva dashboard

As far as visual marketing apps are concerned, Canva is one of the most powerful players. From stunning Instagram Stories to animated Facebook Ads, Canva is the all-in-one graphic design platform that turns marketers into graphic designers.The drag-and-drop functionality of Canva (available on desktop and mobile) means you don’t need to be a Photoshop pro to create stunning, strategic visual marketing assets.With hundreds of templates, stock images, fonts, and graphic elements to choose from, bringing your client’s social content to life has never been easier. You know how important consistency is on social media, and Canva makes designing on-brand visuals a breeze with preset templates and asset sizing to suit every social platform.And just released is Canva's easy-to-use and gorgeously designed free video editing tool - an absolute must-try for brands with visual in mind.

Mojo | Stories video editor

Mojo animated stories for instagram

Are you one of the 500 million users who use Instagram Stories every day? With most brands sharing Instagram Stories at least twice per week, that’s a lot of content to be designing and producing as a social media marketer.Luckily, the visual marketing app, Mojo, is helping to streamline the Instagram Stories creation process. As one of the top story video editor apps, Mojo offers over 300 templates that marketers can use to craft stunning animated stories for their clients.Explore hundreds of editable templates, select from over 200 text styles and animate your stories in seconds. This handy mobile app is perfect for fast, efficient content creation and allows you to easily share your designs to Instagram Stories in seconds.

Made | Stories templates

Made Instagram Stories maker

Speaking of Instagram Stories, Made is another powerful visual marketing app that speeds up the story creation and collage process.Expect stacks of premium, minimal stories templates (perfect for clients with a professional and polished brand identity). As a social media marketer, you can easily jump onto Made to drag and drop your client’s imagery into stunning templates that you can customize to suit your campaign needs.Expect 80+ pattern designs, 16 memorable fonts, 10 pro-grade filters and even handy storyboards to plan your Instagram Stories flow from start to finish.

Unfold | Stories design tool

Unfold Story Maker and Collage

Want to tell an unforgettable story using Instagram Stories for your clients? You won’t want to miss Unfold, the leading Instagram Stories design tool with hundreds of award-winning templates to choose from.In fact, Unfold has been named in Apple and Google’s best apps of the year, and even took out the accolade for Innovation by Design at Fast Company’s Design Awards.So, what makes this visual marketing app standout? It’s focus on sleek, stunning Instagram Stories templates is at the core of the platform. With simple, easy-to-use templates, professional editing tools and filters, advanced font and text tools as well as easy exporting features, Unfold takes your social media creations from idea to execution in minutes.

Life Lapse | Stop motion videos

Stop motion video content is a powerful way to engage audiences on social media. And with the app Life Lapse, you can boost your client’s social engagement with social-ready stop motion videos.The platform guarantees users can learn how to craft eye-catching, post-ready videos in under 7 minutes. Inside the app, you’ll find a stack of beginner-friendly tools to help you craft incredible stop motion videos with ease.The platform produces Instagram-ready stop motion videos, with in-depth tutorials and expert tips to guide you through the process, too. If you’re ready to speed up your video creation process by 10x, Life Lapse is the app for you.

PicsArt | Image effects editor

PicsArt image and video editor

Want to produce thumb-stopping images for social media? Rather than simply adding a standard filter to your client’s photography, take their visual content to the next level with the app, PicsArt.This easy online photo editing platform has helped over 150 million monthly creators elevate their visual marketing on social media. PicsArt offers endless creative opportunities to make your client’s photography pop on screens across the globe.From pro-level templates to mesmerising photo effects and easy background eraser features, marketers can reap the benefits of easy-to-use design tools. From crafting a consistent Instagram Feed to producing conversion-driving Facebook ads, PicsArt gives you the tools you need to make it happen.

InStories | Stories video editor

Instories templates

Are you designing Instagram Stories that standout for your clients? If you’re looking to boost engagement and conversion on social media, the visual marketing app InStories can help you drive stronger results for your clients.This all-in-one video editing tool is perfect for content creators and markets, with a mobile-first app that allows users to easily create videos for Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok.Simply upload the photos and videos you want to edit, select from hundreds of click-worthy templates and experiment with endless fonts, animated transitions, music tracks and so much more. And with so many pre-made templates to choose from, you’ll never be left guessing about what design to create next.

500 Stories for Instagram | Video templates

500 Stories layout maker and story editor

Want to ensure your clients’ content stands out on social media? With the Instagram Stories app 500 Stories, you can gain access to hundreds of exclusive templates and one-of-a-kind fonts you won’t find on any other editing apps.

With compatibility on both Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, 500 Stories is designed specifically for social media managers.There’s 400 expertly-designed stories templates to replicate and customise for your clients, along with hundreds of animated text and graphic elements to elevate your visual content.

Adobe Spark Post | Stock photos, templates and themes

Adobe Spark graphic design creation tool

Any designer will vouch for the power of Adobe’s suite of graphic design tools. But sometimes loading up Illustrator or Photoshop just to create a social post can slow down the content creation process.For those moments when you need pro-grade graphics at the speed of social, open up the visual marketing app, Adobe Spark Post. With thousands of free images, stunning themes and templates and on-the-go software (for use on desktop and mobile), Adobe Spark Post gives you the best bits of Photoshop in a social-ready format.Plus, their bank of pro templates means you’ll always produce a winning visual design for your clients to share on socials. From LinkedIn infographics to YouTube thumbnails, this app offers endless possibilities for designing impactful social media content at scale.

Tezza | Filters and editing tools for Insta and Tik Tok

Tezza App

Designing a compelling and consistent online presence starts with stunning visual content. Whether you’re using bespoke imagery or curating hi-res stock photography, ensure every piece of content your clients share to socials feels cohesive with the visual marketing app, Tezza.If an editorial-style aesthetic is on-brand for your clients, Tezza will help you achieve this with ease. Explore over 140 premium templates, with hundreds of present filters and simple editing tools that will elevate every social media post.Whether you leverage stop-motion effects on Instagram, glitter filters for TikTok or vintage frames for Instagram Stories, Tezza ensures every piece of content captures attention and drives engagement for your clients.

PicMonkey | Photo effects and filters

PicMonkey photo editing and design

9,000 graphics, 1000s of templates. 100s of memorable fonts. That’s exactly what you can expect from the visual marketing app, PicMonkey.On social media, high quality visuals are what will determine whether users stop or scroll past your client’s content. But with PicMonkey, you can ensure every post you create is optimised to inspire meaningful engagement.This free mobile and desktop app offers unique photo effects and filters, stacks of lighting adjustments, and plenty of ways to personalise each asset to hit your campaign goals. The tool lets you call out promotional information and craft a compelling visual hook using text overlays or add animated graphics to capture attention. PicMonkey is the ultimate editing tool that allows you to directly share your creations to social media.

Fotor | Photoshop alternative

Fotor photo ediate and graphic design maker

Want to empower your team to craft high-quality visual content for your clients? Head straight to Fotor, the visual marketing app that delivers the easier online Photoshop alternative.From editing photos to create designs and collages, Fotor ensures every piece of visual content your agency creates is polished, professional and designed to impress.In a few clicks, social media managers (like you) can resize images to suit each social platform, remove backgrounds, enhance image quality and even retouch photography.Plus, if your clients want to showcase their products or services in action, you can easily create Instagram Stories slides, YouTube Thumbnails and Facebook posts using their plug-and-play templates.

Soapbox by Wista | Educational video content

Wistia Soapbox

For clients working in the B2B space, visual content can effectively share their expertise and position them as a leader in their field. And the easiest way to do just that is using the visual marketing app, Soapbox by Wista.Unlike most video creation software, Soapbox is all about crafting educational video content designed to teach viewers something new. Forget hiring out a studio or booking a videographer. Instead, Soapbox lets you and your clients record, edit and publish professional instructional videos using your own webcam.Simply download the Chrome extension, hit record and produce compelling presentations in minutes. Soapbox allows you to record your entire screen and yourself giving the presentation to produce relevant, timely content and share it fast.By empowering your clients to get in front of the camera, Soapbox helps you to produce humanised visual content that builds trust and thought leadership while also providing tangible value to audiences on B2B platforms, such as LinkedIn.

Biteable | Video marketing software

Biteable video maker

Think animations are only for creative studios? Think again. As social media marketers, creating dynamic visual content will help you to communicate your client’s key message in powerful and effective ways. And that’s where the visual marketing app, Biteable, comes in.Design irresistible ads, product promotions and social-friendly animations in minutes using Biteable’s user-friendly software. The tool’s stunning templates and quick and easy to use and customise, with no design or animation experience needed.Whether you’re creating brand announcement videos or how-to style tutorials, Biteable enables marketers to design on-brand visual content that hooks users in and builds brand awareness. From Pinterest to YouTube, Biteable’s omnichannel tools allow marketers to design engaging social media content in minutes.

Infogram | Quick infographic design

Infogram infographic maker

Statistics are a powerful way to educate and inform audiences on social media. But reading slabs of stat-heavy text is an effective way to communicate with users online.Instead, the visual marketing app Infogram empowers marketers to design engaging infographics in minutes. By visualising reports and insights, brands can communicate their key messages with audiences in dynamic visual ways.Browse through Infogram’s collection of designer infographic templates and upload your clients’ brand assets to produce on-brand visuals with ease. From animations to video visualisations, this tool offers incredible opportunities for brands to communicate interesting learnings in engaging formats.The best bit? Each infographic can be optimised to align with creative best-practice on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to take the guesswork out of content creation for social media.

Giphy | Gif creator

GIPHY gif creator

Want to design or curate hilarious GIFs for your client’s social channels? Look no further than Giphy, the ultimate GIF creator tool.As a social media marketer, you know the importance of using light-hearted, relatable content to build trust and rapport with audiences. And that's exactly what GIFs can do. Using on-brand humour, GIFs are a powerful visual content format to boost engagement on social media.Whether you browse their catalogue (featuring thousands of social-ready GIFs) or create your own using their online GIF maker, Giphy is the go-to app for crafting memorable, relatable visual content.

Get more from your visual marketing

Once you've found the perfect tools for you, it's time to use them to create killer visual marketing and social media campaigns.To give you some inspiration, direction and ideas, check out these articles:

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