Image editing tools for hybrid creative marketers


As visual content continues to take over social media, photos and video are becoming the language of the next generation. With 74 percent of marketers using visual assets in their social media marketing, photography now plays a vital role in any marketing strategy. From this, a new generation of hybrid creative marketers has emerged, a group of already time-strapped professionals who are being asked to find and edit compelling imagery across all platforms every day.

This constant need for engaging visual content has generated a demand for new and simple design tools to meet marketers creative needs. For example, a realtor who wants to create a compelling newsletter for their distribution lists, or a local shop owner who wants to promote a holiday sale on Facebook and Instagram. However, a surprising amount of them don’t know which tools are best suited for their needs.

There are a few free, essential tools that exist to help marketers with little to no design skills, create something that will stand out. All of which make creating engaging content simple and fast, without the complexities and expense of advanced image editing software.

1. PixTeller -- The PixTeller platform is focused on simplicity (easy-to-use functionality) and allows you to start from scratch or by using a template. From social media designs to banners and presentations to catalogs, you can make a great variety of creations including multi-page designs and then share them on any social network.
2. GIMP -- Another alternative is GIMP, an image-editing tool that is similar to Photoshop in many ways. GIMP is much more technical offering additional features than those offered by PixTeller. For those marketers that require a more advanced level of image editing for their visual marketing efforts, and don’t want to splash out on a Photoshop subscription, GIMP might be worth a shot.
   
3. Shutterstock Editor -- (full disclosure, this is my favorite option and also happens to be the company I work for) Marketers can crop high-quality licensed photos from Shutterstock’s collection of over 100 million images using preset sizes for social media, email and presentations, or customize your own. For a more professionally designed feel, you can start with pre-made templates and make it your own by uploading your own logo and publishing your finished design straight to social media directly from within the application. Editor affords you the advantage of not having to leave your Shutterstock workspace as the workflow takes you fluidly from choosing your image to editing to posting it online.

The tools we have suggested are just a few examples that allow marketers to quickly edit images to support their campaigns and increase audience engagement. It’s worth playing around with each of them to find the one that best suits your needs -- your images and customers will thank you for it.

Tania Philip is VP of Product at Shutterstock.

Photo credit: Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock