Vision 2020.
Bringing 2020 into focus.
Get focused in 2020.
The list goes on and on for all the ways we can set this year – 2020 – up with inspiration to make it the strongest yet for your organization and brand.
So to help get you started, if you’re as focused on leveling up as we are, we’ve compiled a list of five apps and programs we’re loving for 2020.
Breathe life into your photos. Plain and simple. We all know that on social media, visual content can create the most engagement, and the reality of small businesses is that you can’t always afford to have a professional photographer on site for your every day events. But you can take the images you snap with your smart phone and breathe new life into them. Pixaloop helps create animated photos and offers tools that give you precise animation control.
Raise your hand if as you are scrolling through your social media feeds – whether on Instagram or Facebook, timelines or stories – you often find yourself stopping to reflect on an inspirational quote or text that you can relate to. Yeah. Us, too. And that’s one of the reasons the Word Swag app is our jam.
With Word Swag, you can add awesome text in seconds to your photos.
It allows you to size for all the different social media channels and customize for your brand.
They say it’s like having a graphic designer in your pocket, and it’s true.
Ever felt like you wish you were more proficient in Photoshop, and that you could create color pop effects on your images – like make a photo of people black and white but keep the can of beer in their hand in all color?
You can with Color Pop Effects.
It’s among the most popular Instagram photo editor and like Word Swag makes you feel like you have a graphic designer in your pocket, Color Pop Effects is like having your own photo editor.
Give credit where credit is due. That’s a mantra we live by each day, and so should you. But what happens when you want to repost a photo or video from a fan on your Instagram account and you aren’t sure how to do it while also still giving them credit? That’s where Repost for Instagram comes in. Pro tip: splurge for the professional account so you can use Repost without the little ad graphic.
Posters. Invitations. Brochures. Presentations. Restaurant menus. Infographics.
You name it, you dream it, you can design it with Canva.
This app and program has been around since 2012, but it’s relevance and impact is only growing and if you haven’t started testing it out, make 2020 the year you do.
Canva is a simplified graphic design tool that features thousands of templates, allows you to load your own visual brand standards (colors, fonts, etc.), and features an easy drag and drop format.
Professional accounts – which aren’t that expensive – also give you access to vector artwork, images and more.
Pro tip: Canva launched a printing service, too. So if you are designing something you need to print, the program can help coordinate that for you, too, all in one place.
Inspired? Read this far? Here’s a challenge for you! Select three of the five apps listed above and download them NOW on your phone! Commit to spending one hour on each app to get to know it, play with it, test out some graphics and photos. Then take the next month and use your favorite one of the three you tested out a minimum of three times a week. See what growth and results you can get from that pilot program of sorts.