My favourite tools that level up my content game

I feel like something I’ve lost since the pandemic has been feeling creative and motivated to create content. My best ideas and feelings of creativity come from being outside. 😆

My recent break from mindless scrolling on social media (especially Instagram) has given me the space to enjoy creating content again. 😊 So with that said, I’m excited to share this blog post with you all, it’s been on a personal backlog for a while now – my favourite tools for social media.

I often have folks telling me that I’m “so good” at social media and creating content. I laugh at this comment because although I consider myself an avid content creator, social media was an accident. I grew up online, found social media, signed up, and never shied away from sharing my thoughts. I guess from the outside; it might look like everything on my platforms are planned and thorough. Although that is the case sometimes, most of the time I shit post. 💩 I wanted to share that to manage your expectations – I’m no social media guru, just someone who likes to overshare. 😂

Focusing on the times, I plan my content-sharing on social media; these are my favourite tools for the job! Please note that some are free tools, others paid. Funnily enough, I have a “Pawlean” budget every month where I dedicate a certain amount for things like subscriptions for Pawlean-related activities. 😆 But I’m sure that there are free options available that do the job just as well!

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Buffer

First on my list has to be my most used tool – Buffer. I’ve used Buffer for wait for it… buffering my content on social media (sorry not sorry, I had to 😂)

Every month, I like to sit down and schedule my content on Twitter and LinkedIn (Company Page) By content, I mean my blog posts, podcast episodes, YouTube videos etc.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I have terrible “content anxiety” sometimes. So I try to avoid clicking “Publish Now” or “Post Now” as often as possible. Buffer has been fantastic for avoiding that and making sure that I have my content re-used and re-shared often. After all, I put in time and effort into my content, so I’d like to extend the life of them as often as I can. 😎

I pay for a subscription on Buffer because I like scheduling A LOT of my content every month. I would say that the free version is enough for most people. I have too much content. 😆

Unfold

Unfold is an app that provides you Story Templates for your Instagram Stories (or whatever Story platform you like to use… There are so many of them nowadays that I’ve lost track 😅)

Often I use this to put together a Story that looks “put together”, and on “Pawlean brand” (i.e. with a purple background.) For example, when I want to share feedback or comments on my content, I like to open up my Unfold template to make it look prettier. There are also some great templates there that I sometimes use for the day-to-day snaps. It’s nice to switch it up a bit and personally be more intentional rather than just snapping uploading.

I don’t pay for Unfold+ because the free version is enough for my needs.

Snapseed

Snapseed is a complete and professional photo editor by Google, and it’s completely free. When I want a simple edit of my photos for my blog, Instagram or other social media platforms, I stand by Snapseed. I use it every day! It’s simple and has everything that I need to make photos look great without any excessive filters.

Ferrite

Ferrite is an audio editor that I primarily use on my iPad. I recently switched from editing episodes on my laptop to my iPad, mostly because of speed (my iPad is much faster than my older 2014 MacBook Pro.) Ferrite has all the excellent editing features that I need, especially with the full version.

Adobe Creative Cloud

And the big one – Adobe Creative Cloud. I mostly use Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush (iPhone/iPad app) and Lightroom (iPhone/iPad app.)

Adobe Creative Cloud is probably my longest running subscription ever since I graduated from University and could no longer use the Uni’s free subscription (That’s a top tip for uni students out there reading this, make the most of those licenses! 😆)

I use Adobe Creative Cloud almost every day for most of my creative work, e.g. editing video, photos for my blog or social media, podcast episodes and just for fun too!

I have the app versions for when I need a quick edit or something creating on my iPhone and iPad. I found that my Apple Pencil and iPad combo has been a fantastic companion to Adobe CC.

The CC subscription has also been fantastic for cross-platform editing with the additional Cloud storage.

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I hope this was a useful post for those curious about some of the tools that I use to up my social media game. 🤩 Let me know if you use any of them and if there are any that you love, share them with me!