How to make a cool picture for an Instagram post online? Designer service. Essential apps for Instagram stories

Greetings, dear readers! 🙋🏻

Video Splitter - Story Split

Drool - Instagram Story Maker

SEEZER Full Size Instagram Collage Story Maker

An alternative application for iOS with similar functionality is TwentyFour.

Story Splitter

An alternative premium application is Continual for Instagram. Expensive app, but in addition to necessary functions, allows you to publish videos in a story in a horizontal format.

Storeo for Instagram

Alternative, but paid application- Resize for Story. Its main difference is a more beautiful blur, as well as the ability to edit up to 10 photos at once.

RepostToStories for Instagram

RepostToStories for Instagram - in full free application, which allows you to repost regular photo and video posts in history. Publications can be either yours or someone else’s.

Main functionality of the application:

Well, that's all for me! If you liked this article, share it with your friends and acquaintances - we will be very pleased! 😀

If suddenly you know others useful applications for Android and iOS, leave a comment and I will definitely add them to the article.

Beautiful stories and good mood to you!

Currently, about 15 million companies in the world use Instagram for marketing, and more than half regularly create Stories.

1. Storytelling

One common use for stories is to show life behind the scenes. incredibly captivates users. For example:

• Restaurants reveal the process of preparing dishes.
• The musicians show how the album is recorded.
• Sports teams post images from practices.
• Fashion experts demonstrate their work on the ideal image.

2. Practical guide

3. Promote a blog post

Blog promotion is another way to use stories.

Instead of just asking people to visit your blog, show them key points post in Stories. Distributing content on various channels – great way ensure maximum coverage.

4. Lists

This strategy is used in Airbnb. They publish lists best places for life, jobs in their homes, etc.

You can publish:

• Various ways to use your products.
• Interesting statistics and facts about the industry.
• User Content.

Lists such as “ Best books for marketers" or "The most interesting things we learned about from social networks this month."

5. Limited time offers and promotions

IG Stories are stored for only 24 hours, so this method is very convenient for time-limited sales. This strategy is often used by online clothing stores.

To encourage followers to view their Stories, brands sometimes offer exclusive gifts or discount coupons in posts.

This is also great for online stores. You can create for stories unique code, to track how many sales this type of content generates.

7. Data, research and statistics

Perhaps you know of any Interesting Facts statistics related to your niche. Mention of interesting data may become in a good way grab your audience's attention before you post anything important.

8. Quotes

Some influencers such as Gary Vaynerchuk, often use motivational quotes in posts.

But this may not only be someone's inspiring statement. Share a phrase from your latest blog post or quote general director– if it is relevant to the audience, the post is likely to be shared.

9. Guest Post Introduction

Using IG Stories for guest posting has an advantage over traditional posts because a guest can post as many stories as they want without overloading their account.

10. Announcements, news, updates

You can use this template to warm up your followers when you're about to publish a new post or host an event. In the story that follows, the audience can expect details of the event.

How to Create Instagram Stories in 10 Minutes

WITH using Adobe Spark the following drawing was created in just four simple steps:

Here's what you need for this:

1. Select a story template

Adobe Spark templates for stories are sized accordingly (1080*1920 pixels).To find a template, create a new post, click More Sizes and select Instagram Stories.

Enter a title for the story and click Continue.Adobe Spark will create a design with the desired caption. Often it will look great without further changes.

2. Choose a background

The next step is to install a suitable background if you do not like the suggested background from Adobe. You can use a colored background or an image.

To apply a colored background, select the color you want in the sidebar and Adobe Spark will remove the suggested image.

To use an image, click the image and then click Replace above it. The platform has a search function free graphics(marked as Creative Common-licensed).

The advantage of using a simple colored background is that any text on it is easy to read. But if you choose the right image, Stories with an image as a background can look very attractive.

Stick to it following principles when selecting graphics for the background:

• Choose a picture that does not have many details, but has a clear background (for example, the sky and sea).
• Place text on parts of the image that have a uniform background.
• Use bright color for the font.

The example uses a photo as a background. It is installed in the following way:

3. Edit your signature

There are six options for editing the title:

• Form
• Color
• Font
• Letter spacing
• Alignment
• Transparency

If you can't find the right font, try a design from Adobe. To do this, turn the dial located on the right in any direction.

You can also make changes to the design you like - for example, adjust the color or font.

If you want to add more text to your graphic, click the green plus icon above the image and then add text.

4. Download

Click Share at the top of the page and then Download on the left.

Transfer the file to mobile phone– and publish a fresh story.

For iPhone, you can use Adobe Spark's iOS app to download graphics directly to your mobile phone (an Android version is also coming soon).

If you wish you can add Additional information to the post using Instagram app. Draw, use stickers, hashtags and location to make the image more interesting.

Additional tools and resources

There are other great platforms for creating IG Stories videos and graphics. Some of them are listed below.

1. Video tool: Stories Ad

Accept that you will need to supplement all posts on social networks with pictures. Even a strong text post is doomed to a maximum of timid glances from your target audience if it is not supported by graphics. We don’t follow with our gaze the page of the book on which we just read the description of a girl walking down the street - we follow with our gaze real girl, because “the plot may be bad, but the graphics...”.

A worthwhile picture will be liked more willingly, shared faster, and remembered better. In the same way, a well-designed community automatically attracts attention, makes it easier to understand, and... what else, right down to conversions.

The trouble with many communities on social networks is that they are filled with non-authored content. And if the information is presented more or less adequately, then the pictures are a complete ambush: an abundance of stock photos, “staged” photos, the same cats and other animals, water signs other communities in the pictures (sometimes there are logos that clearly indicate where the illustration was honestly stolen from)… Poor quality or stretched graphics can completely “kill” the entire value of the post.

What if you are a graphic nerd and don’t understand how to work differently? Remember, or better yet, write down a few rules, following which you will succeed:

1. Effective images are recognizable images. Never give up uniform style- this way you will teach your audience to distinguish you from your competitors. It concerns fonts, colors, logo, layout grid, etc...

1. The design must be done professionally or at least “tastefully”. Even if neither you nor your subscribers are a design guru, a haphazard design is visible to both you and them. Several fonts of different sizes and styles in one picture are bad manners.

1. Structure information and highlight accents. At first glance at the picture, a person should understand where the main idea is and what he needs to do. Remember the rule: information should be easy to read from left to right and from top to bottom.

1. Design is communication, not art. Drawing images (especially for social networks) just for the sake of having them is strange, to say the least. Ideally, the picture should complement what is said in the text, or illustrate it, or focus attention on individual details... In other words: there is no text and no image; publication is one whole.

- Okay. graphics, of course (otherwise why are we here at all). It would be great to have a specially trained designer on staff for these purposes (or at least in phone book). But if it’s not there, you can try and cope on your own. For this, here is a list of graphic services and brief descriptions to them to make it easier to choose. Services are structured by level necessary preparation(to be honest, I'm still a beginner, perhaps simply because I have a designer). And, of course, they are all illustrated with images made with their help.

Beginner level.

Services in this group consist of a set typical functions, which give the picture an advertising look.
Main features: compress, crop an image, create/apply a contrast plate and write text on it, quickly assemble a collage and add a logo. Special skills and knowledge graphics programs they do not require, nor do they require money. Almost all are located in free access, are interchangeable, and therefore there is no special need to buy subscriptions.

The service is ideal for creating simple posts: image + text. There is a set high quality photos, you can upload your photo, add a logo or graphics. The program offers several formats for saving the layout, with adaptability for different social networks. Everything is convenient and free.

2. Fotostars (http://fotostars.me) (free)

The free online application will make the image for your post modern and stylish. The interface is in Russian - making it even easier to work. The menu has many filters, text and graphic solutions. Convenient for creating memes. You can save the picture in a convenient format.

3. PicMonkey (http://www.picmonkey.com) (free)

Popular online service. It’s easy to resize, edit a picture, add a filter or effect, text or logo. Functions for creating collages and large-format images are also available. The only thing is that you will have to look for the picture yourself.

4. Social Image Resizer Tool (http://www.internetmarketingninjas.com) (free)

The service will simply change the image size for any social network. Upload the image and select the desired format from the list - Facebook cover, post on Google+, etc.

5. BeFunky https://www.befunky.com (free)

A simple online service with a clear interface (you can choose the Russian language). Easily cope with all the tasks of creating a picture. Filters and tools are available for free, there are paid features, but for work and free ones are quite enough.

6. Photovisi https://www.photovisi.com/ (free)

A simple service for working with collages. You can add a background, text, but overall the service complex tasks doesn't solve.

7. Pixlr (https://pixlr.com) (free)

Professional full-fledged photo editor. Here you can work with effects, text and graphic elements. There are many features and editing options available.

8. Recite (http://www.recitethis.com) (free)

Service for creating quotes. Everything is easy and simple, almost in a couple of clicks. Will save the image to in the required format for various social networks. By the way, like everything free, sometimes it gets a bit glitchy.

9. Quozio (http://quozio.com) (free)

Simple and convenient service. Allows you to create unique quotes for social networks.

10. Fotor http://www.fotor.com (free)

The service is primarily for posting on Facebook. Lots of available pictures, graphic tools, filters and circuits.

11. Аfterlight (http://afterlight.us) ($)

The application creates simple pictures with text, filters, graphic elements. You can choose from 59 filters, 15 photo resizing tools, 77 frames and 66 textures. Pictures adapt to different social networks: Facebook, Vkontakte, Twitter and Google+, and postcards. Price of pleasure: 69 UAH (you can buy it).

12. Paint (free)

Multifunctional graphic editor Microsoft. It's included in the package standard programs Windows OS, starting with the very first one. For solving simple problems, it will certainly be suitable: change the size, add style or text, draw (if you know how), create an accent, etc. But for more complex tasks it is better to use something more serious.

I periodically use this service to create teasers for targeted advertising. Especially for overlaying texts on images. Filters - almost never, but they are there.

14. Photoshop Online (http://editor.0lik.ru/) (free)

The service has earned its name for a reason. Its main beauty is that it allows you to work with layers in portable mode. And this opens up a lot of new horizons, as you understand...

15. Krob.me (http://krob.me/) (free)

Free service for creating template infographics (such as buy, move in, get settled). Everything is beautiful and easy, the only thing is that there are problems with the layout of elements (for example, in the screenshot I could not remove my face from the header of the picture).

“SMM specialist” level (an intermediate stage of evolution between a beginner and a design celestial).

Services at this level easily present visually complex information - diagrams, graphs, infographics, presentations... In essence, these are constructors. Usually have standard set functions, filters and templates. But here it’s more difficult - you need to think, analyze and understand in advance what problem should be solved by this picture.

The tool creates images for VKontakte, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, presentations, infographics, etc. The logic is very simple, so working with this service is extremely easy and convenient. Just choose a background, place graphic elements and add text. Most of the service’s tools are free; this is enough to work online.

Service for creating infographics. It will help present information in an interesting format for the user. All the basic functions are enough for a decent post. if you want more, a set of themes costs from $3.

18. Infogr.am (https://infogr.am) (free, $)

The service is suitable for designing tables, graphs and providing complex information, which contains a lot of numbers, in a form that is easy for users to understand. Basic functions enough to solve basic problems. You can buy a business account for $19. There are much more opportunities there. Whether you need it - see for yourself.

Professional service for working with pictures. Opportunities: from creating pictures with publications to complex infographics and presentations. Very clear interface And convenient features. Almost everything is available in basic account. If the set of functions is not enough, you can buy larger set for $19 per month.

20. Infoactive https://infoactive.co ($)

The service is very serious. Everything is paid and nothing test periods use. It costs $30 a month and makes incredibly cool presentations, infographics and summary graphs. Suitable for large companies(though if you can afford to spend $30...).

Designer level.

Services at this level - graphic editor, the purpose of which is to present the material the way you need (and not the way tight trouser legs allow free software). These are desktop programs with many functions for work. You get a high-quality and “tasty” layout, and then you can adapt it to any media.

P. S. There will be no more examples of illustrations in this block - not my flight services. Therefore, consider all of the following to be a typical cutaway first aid kit of some designer. As they say: “from his words it was written down correctly, it was read by him”...

21. AdobePhotoshop (free, $)

A program for working with any images and layouts. The most popular among designers (otherwise you didn’t know, right?). Can create any layout from scratch and adapt it even to fit a bald person. Of course, licensed version costs money, but... you know how to Google, right?

22. Adobe Illustrator(free, $)

A program that allows you to create a layout yourself. Analogue of Photoshop, but is more suitable for working with vector images. It will help you make a truly unique layout and stand out. The program is desktop, the licensed version costs money.

23. CorelDraw (free, $)

The third most popular product for designer work. A hodgepodge of functions allows you to create unique products food design and adapt them for placement at any buffet venues.

24. ACDSee (free, $)

Shareware program for working with images and photos. Lots of filters, text and graphic blocks for working with images. One of the nice things that lies on the surface is the function of adding watermarks and a logo.

25. Graffiti VKontakte (free)

The service is available only on VKontakte. To draw good graffiti you need to be able to draw in principle. Therefore, if you do not have artistic skills, it is better to abandon this idea before even starting. But if there is... Try it, in general.

You will still have to master at least one service. Or urgently look for a designer. Here everyone decides what suits him best. But you can’t live without pictures – that’s for sure.

P.S. If you decide to work on your own, then here is a small but important hint for you on what image sizes you need to prepare for each social network. Picture taken in the right size, scales correctly, does not blur or stretch. Save the template for yourself.