What is a digital content creation tool?
A digital content creation tool, or DCC for short, is a software application that can create digital content. The types of digital content that can be created with these tools vary greatly. This could include anything from a power point presentation to a short video.
DCCs were created to simplify the process of creating digital content. Instead of having to learn how to use multiple programs, you only need to be familiar with one to use most of them.
However, each type of DCC has it’s own strengths and weaknesses. Some are better suited for certain tasks than others. These differences will be explored in more detail below.
Digital Content Creation Tools
Successful content marketing often requires the persistent creation of great content on a regular basis.
This content could span from a simple blog post to an extremely complex interactive graphic. As with everything else, you can maximize your productivity by equipping your business with the right tools to tackle all kinds of digital content creation.
But in a constantly evolving digital landscape, tools come and go along with fads in various content types and formats. So long, word clouds!
Today, we’re glad to present you with an updated list of 12 fresh digital content creation tools that will help you stay on par with the tides:
GIPHY
SurveyMonkey
Snappa
Wideo
Venngage
Meme Generator
GameFroot
NoNotes
Checklist
Designspiration
PhraseGenerator
ThingLink
- GIPHY
Everyone loves a GIF (actually pronounced JIF).
These days, places like Facebook, Twitter, and even Slack have integrated GIFs into their platforms.
Why?
Because they not only let people express themselves easily and without having to put feelings into words, but they also make brands more relatable.
With GIPHY, access hundreds of thousands of available GIFs ready for repurposing, or create your own to showcase products, features, and tutorials. Simply upload a series of pictures, add some text, and voila:
Alex GilletteStory Outbrain
We created this for a post we shared on how Gillette influenced the purchase decision of a young man via their excellent video marketing.
- SurveyMonkey
Quizzes are still hot., But it is important to also include an added layer of purpose so they drive conversions.
This is where players like BuzzFeed and Refinery29 shine, and for those interested in making their content a little more engaging, it can easily be done with tools like SurveyMonkey.
Yes, most commonly associated with its survey services, SurveyMonkey has branched out to include a variety of new content types, including quizzes.
Customizable to include your logo, theme, and whatever variation of questions formats you’d like to combine, drafting a simple or robust quiz has never been easier. They even include a bank of popularly used questions to help spark inspiration.
Access stats on scores, rankings, percentiles, and completion rates to ensure ROI on this content creation tool.
- Snappa
Not everyone has the luxury of hiring a graphic designer. And often, even if they do have one or two dedicated staff members, the constant necessity for fresh content as an inbound tactic day in and day out can still create barriers to production.
Thankfully, tools like Snappa.io allow regular old marketers like you and me to create high-quality visual content without having to rely on design.
Ebook – Outbrain Blog
With a bevy of pre-designed templates in a variety of formats, start cranking out fresh content for your blog, social media, newsletter, paid media initiatives, and more. All your in-house design team has to do is make sure that everything matches brand guidelines.
- Wideo
Not a spelling error, Wideo has been simplifying video animation since 2013. As an incredibly effective marketing tactic, many businesses have pined over having the ability to produce video content on a regular basis.
With ready made templates and its easy drag and drop interface, upload images and original creative to turn weeks or months of dedicated resources into a wheelhouse of daily marketing, promo, and explainer videos.
Wideo – Outbrain Blog
This video, which we used Wideo to create, has received upwards of 27K views on YouTube.
- Venngage
Far from dead, the almighty infographic lives on to help content marketers — new and old — turn complex stories into aesthetically beautiful and comprehensible experiences.
With a sea of templates based on a variety of different layouts and constantly updated categories to suit your specific needs (think statistical, geographic, timeline, and charts), Venngage takes the cake in this department, leaving your graphic designer with more time free of grey hair.
Venngage – Outbrain Blog
- Meme Generator
Meme Generator stays.
When we created our original list of awesome digital content creation tools back in 2014, Meme Generator was poised for greatness, but little did we know it would remain a reigning champ.
It remains one ofthe simplest and most popular tools a marketer could employ. It is safe to say that sometimes the fewer frills, the better.
Word to the wise, though, the meme game has stepped up since we last wrote of it — so be prepared to do your research and hit the Reddit forums to ensure memes are properly vetted and up to snuff.
Otherwise, you might get eaten by the internet sharks!
- Gamefroot
Years ago, gamification was at the peak of inflated expectations on what Gartner would consider it’s 7 Step Hype Cycle. Nearly impossible to implement unless serious developer work went into creating an experience, today, companies like Gamefroot allow common laymen to develop, test, and publish games.
A handful of templates make it easy to test the waters. A marketplace of free assets will have your audiences engaged, having fun, and even educated about important information.
Game Froot – Outbrain Blog
- NoNotes.com
Used for recording, transcribing, and video captioning, NoNotes.com is a triple threat in among audiences thirsty for podcast, interviews, and video content.
The only problem is, most marketers don’t have the equipment to properly conduct a podcast fast enough… or hands to jot down notes during comprehensive interviews… or the time to transcribe all of the above for the purpose of providing transcripts or even captioning videos.
NoNotes.com is free to try and cheap to add to your fulltime toolkit, allowing you to do all of the above with ease.
- Checklist
Checklist posts continue to perform really well across industries. They not only offer utility, they also force us to think about things we may not have previously considered.
Harder to translate into a blog post without the help of the design team and developers,
Checklist aims to solve the problem that many single content creators face — creating a blog post without the help of a design team or developers.
Create a checklist for any occasion, upload images, add a description, tag it, and then embed it right on your site or within a post. Forget about numbered bullet points. We’re not cavemen.
- Designspiration
So, you’ve been left to your own devices but you don’t exactly consider yourself the most aesthetically inclined.
That’s okay, Designspiration has you colored, I mean, covered…
Select their handy paintbrush, select up to five colors, and get ready for a host of visual ideas and concepts to help bolster your creativity. Okay, so they’ve got you colored.
Designspiration – Outbrain Blog
- PhraseGenerator
Turning quotes into graphics for social media is more common than not these days, but if you don’t have anything to contribute to the conversation, how can you reap the benefits?
Unless you’ve got talented in-house writers who can shell out some serious inspiration, best to stick to the classics. And now, they are easier to find than ever. While fairly rudimentary looking, PhraseGenerator let’s you mine academic, financial, political, historical, and even headlines, to surface the perfect motivational sentences for your audience.
- ThingLink
Take your images, graphics, and videos and make them interactive. Tagging important elements with rich links not only drive deeper engagement, but also meaningful conversions.
Use ThingLink to enhance the shopping experience, capture audience attention, and deconstruct ideas. It’s having the power of a Pinterest shopping button right on your owned, native content.
ThingLink – Outbrain Blog
We hope you find these tools useful, but I’m sure there are much more out there that your fellow readers would appreciate learning about. What are we missing? Let us know!
Once you get your content created, don’t forget, you can reach engaged audiences using our content discovery platform.
examples of digital content creation tools
There’s no doubt about it – we live in a visual age. That means if you don’t have a visual content creation strategy, you’re losing your audience.
The stats prove it:
Video gets lots of online attention across all age groups and is predicted to be 82% of online traffic by 2021
Content with images gets more views and more shares than other content
Images help your marketing convert, increasing signups in one case by as much as 329%
Video can help boost customer retention, as in the case of Tiger Fitness, who had a 60% returning customer rate
The bottom line: if you’re going to stay ahead of the marketing game, you need to use visual content marketing.
But not everybody’s a design whiz. We totally get that.
If creating visuals is a stretch, you’re going to need some help. That’s why we’ve put together this list of digital content creation software. It contains the tools you need to nail visual content creation, and there’s an added bonus.
All of the visual content creation tools listed below are free.
That means you can use visuals to get visitors’ attention without blowing a hole in your budget, and get the benefits of more attention, more leads, and ultimately, more sales.
Recommended Resource: Need to jumpstart your content marketing results? Get more traffic and conversions with our Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in 2020.
We’ve divided the tools into categories, so you can easily find the visual content creation tools you need first:
Image Creation Tools
Video Creation Tools
Animation Tools
Infographic Creation Tools
Screen Capture Tools
Meme Creation Tools
GIF Creation Tools
Presentation Creation Tools
Image Creation Tools
Let’s start our list of digital content creation tools with some tools focused on creating and editing images.
- Adobe Spark
adobe spark – digital content creation software
Adobe Spark is a fast content creation software that lets you easily combine text, images, and video content for better storytelling online.
- BeFunky Graphic Designer
be funky fast content creation software
If you’re looking for a way to quickly create collages and other photos, BeFunky Graphic Designer can help. You can also make cards, banners, brochures, and posters with this fast content creation software package.
- Canva
content creation tools for social media imclude canva
Canva is one of our favorite tools, making it easy to create and edit customized images for sharing on social media, illustrating blog posts, and much more. It’s an essential content marketing tool for many professionals.
- Fotor
free content marketing tools – fotor
Looking for photo editing, photo effects, and image retouching? Try the templates and tools from Fotor to make graphic design easy.
- Image Quote
handle content creation for social media with Image Quote
As the name suggests, Image Quote (previously known as Instaquote) is all about helping you create quote graphics by adding words to images. This is a mobile app, available for both iOS and Android.
- Pablo
6 Pablo by Buffer – digital content creation tools
If you’re looking for content creation tools for social media, then Pablo, by Buffer, is a good choice. It makes it easy to combine beautiful images with text, and includes filters. You can add your own logo, too.
- Photo Collage
photo collage is digital content creation software
Photo Collage opens with a blank canvas where you can add your photos and arrange them. You can also add text. It includes a handy tool to create your collage automatically if you don’t want the hassle of arranging the images yourself.
- Pixlr
8 Pixlr Web Apps
Pixlr is another useful free content creation tool. It’s available in three flavors:
A quick tool for adding fun filters
Pixlr Express, which includes more image editing
The full Pixlr Editor, which has many of the same functions as professional image editing software like Photoshop
- Quotes Cover
content creation for social media with quotes cover
You don’t have to login or sign up to use Quotes Cover. This free digital content creation tool lets you easily create quote graphics online. And you can use their designs as a starting point, making the process pretty quick.
- Quozio
quozio is fast content creation software
Quozio is another tool to help you speed up content creation for social media by making it easy to create quote graphics. Just enter your text in a box, say who said it, and you’ll soon have plenty of choices with different backgrounds and fonts. Sharing buttons are available just below, which keeps the process simple.
- Snappa
content creation tools for social media – snappa
The next on our list of free content marketing tools is Snappa. This web app is a full-featured drag and drop image editor, which lets you add and edit effects with a slider. You can upload your own graphics, and save designs in folders.
- Stencil
Stencil content creation tools
Stencil streamlines content creation for social media. This fast, simple app lets you easily combine photos, icons, and more to create your own images. And it includes templates and quote graphic templates, too.
Video Creation Tools
Our next selection of free visual content creation tools is all about video.
- Animaker
content creation tools – animaker
Want to get the effect of a studio-created animated video without the hefty price tag? That’s what Animaker offers. You can create multiple video types including explainer videos, whiteboard videos, and even infographic videos.
- iMovie
visual content creation tools – imovie
If you’re using iOS or MacOS, then iMovie is likely one of the best free content creation tools you can use. This app makes it easy to create and share videos, and to make Hollywood-style video trailers.
- Lumen5
lumen5 is a visual content tool
Lumen5 is one of the more interesting visual content creation tools on our list. That’s because it uses artificial intelligence to let you create a video from text. Enter a URL and the software will create videos to match, including photos and music. This is definitely one to keep an eye on.
- RawShorts
use rawshorts as a visual content creation tool
RawShorts is a drag and drop video editor designed to make it easy to create animated and explainer videos. It includes templates for many industries which users can select and customize. And it’s easy to add other media, transitions, and audio to your video creation.
- Soapbox
Soapbox by wistia
Soapbox is a Chrome extension from video hosting service Wistia. It lets you create and share videos in your browser window, with no technical skills required. The extension also includes a split-screen view, allowing you to record your webcam and your screen at the same time.
- VideoShop
digital content creation tools – videoshops
VideoShop lets you add music, sound effects, and voiceovers to your videos. You can also combine and edit clips, and add filters and transitions. Plus it’s easy to share your creations on social media. This app is available on iOS and Android.
Tools to Use: 11 Best Instagram Video Editing Tools Compared (Free and Paid)
Animation Tools
Want to make short animations to liven up your content marketing? These content creation tools will help.
- Boomerang
Boomerang from Instagram
Boomerang is a video app from Instagram, available both as a standalone app and within the Instagram app itself. It allows you to take short stop motion videos, and share them on Instagram. These are a highly engaging and popular content format on that platform.
- Biteable
biteable visual content creation
Biteable lets you create up to 5 videos per month in its free plan, and publish them to YouTube and Facebook. It says it’s the simplest way to create a video. You can easily choose from pre-made templates, styles, and soundtracks, or create your own. And you need just one click to share to your favorite social media platform.
- Google Photos
free content marketing tools – google photos
Google Photos has a built-in Assistant that works with the photos you upload to automatically create short movies and animations. If you want more control, you can also create them yourself from within the cross-platform app.
- Powtoon
powtoon is a well known visual content creation tool
Powtoon bridges the gap between videos and presentations, making it easy to create appealing visual content in only a few minutes. These are an excellent way to get attention and engage your audience.
- Renderforest
Renderforest
If you’re looking for a way to create visual content fast, RenderForest is a good option. This cloud-based animation and video maker helps you quickly make intro videos, explainer videos, presentations, infographics, and much more.
- RendrFX
RendrFX
RendrFX is a paid service, but you can create up to 3 watermarked videos for free. Add your content to the site’s many templates, and you’ll soon have an engaging video you can use anywhere.
Infographic Creation Tools
Next, it’s time to look at tools for infographics, which are one of the most engaging visual content formats.
- Easel.ly
easelly is one of the free content creation tools
Easel.ly aims to make it simple to create infographics by using pre-made templates and adding photos, images, and charts. The free version gives you access to 10 templates, but you’ll get hundreds more with a paid plan.
- Google Charts
google charts
While Google Charts doesn’t exactly let you create infographics, it’s a great tool to support infographic creation. That’s because it lets you visualize data by creating and customizing multiple chart formats.
- Infogram
infogram
If you’re looking for interactive visual content creation tools, Infogram is worth a try. In the free version, you get access to 37 types of interactive infographics plus 13 types of maps, and you can use drag and drop to create a stunning infographic.
- ThingLink
free content marketing tools – thinglink
ThingLink is another piece of digital content creation software with a focus on interactivity. You can embed images, video, 360° content, maps and more for a truly immersive experience.
- Venngage
Venngage
Venngage makes it easy to create infographics via a three-step process. First, choose a template, then add elements, and finally, customize your design. Some functionality is reduced in the free plan.
- Visme
use visme for visual content creation
If you want to get started with infographics, Visme has a lot to offer. It includes several templates, charts and widgets that you can use to create your infographic. However, you’ll need to upgrade for an even wider range and additional organizational features.
Screen Capture Tools
If you need fast content creation software, a screen capture tool’s a great way to illustrate something for your audience. Here are some worth checking out.
- CloudApp
use CloudApp for visual content creation
CloudApp is a favorite on the OptinMonster team because it’s the tool we use for creating screenshots, screen recordings, and animated GIFs. It’s simple to use and allows unlimited screenshots, even in the free version. You can also easily share and store images.
- Awesome Screenshot Awesome screenshot
Awesome Screenshot is a browser extension available for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari that lets you quickly capture web pages and add annotations. You can store, organize, and share images, too. - Firefox Screenshots Firefox Screenshots
Recent versions of the Firefox web browser include the built-in Firefox Screenshots tool. This lets you take a photo of a part of the screen, the visible screen area or the whole web page with just a couple of clicks. You get online storage for images, too. - Kap
digital content creation tools – kap
If you need a digital content creation tool for MacOS, then Kap could be useful. It’s an open-source screen recorder that’s fast, functional, and easy to use.
- Nimbus Capture
Nimbus Capture
Nimbus Capture is another browser screenshot tool that allows you to capture and edit screenshots. It works with Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge, as well as on Android, PCs, and Macs.
- Windows Snipping Tool
windows snipping tool
The Snipping Tool built into Windows is another easy way to create screenshots. You can use different types of screen captures and can highlight, annotate, and remove URLs from snips.
Meme Creation Tools
Whether they’re cat pictures or screenshots from movies, it’s hard to imagine the web without memes, so here are some visual content creation tools to help you create your own.
- iMeme
imeme visual content creation software
iMeme is a digital content creation software for making memes. It includes 50 common memes, or you can use your own photos. You can also customize the text. There’s just one downside: there’s no built-in sharing. You’ll have to download your newly created meme and share it manually.
- Kapwing
Kapwing
If you’re looking for a simple meme creator, Kapwing is worth a look. Just upload or paste a link to an image, video, or GIF; add your text; then share your new meme.
- Make a Meme
visual content creation tools – make a meme
With Make a Meme, you can upload an image, add text via the onscreen input boxes, then press a button to create your meme. If you’re happy with the meme preview, it’s then easy to share from the preview page.
- Meme Buddy
use meme buddy as a visual content creation tool
Meme Buddy is an online meme generator with a difference: it lets you make a meme by voice via an integration with Google Assistant. You can choose images, add text, translate memes, and much more, all without having to touch a keyboard.
- Meme Generator
Meme Generator for visual content creation
The meme creation process in the Meme Generator is pretty simple. You search for or add an image, add some text, and then share your meme. It’s pretty quick, making it easy to get started with meme creation.
GIF Creation Tools
A little bit of animation is great for getting visitors’ attention, so it doesn’t hurt to add GIFs to your digital content creation mix. Here are some tools to help you get started.
- Ezgif
ezgif
Want to create a GIF fast? With Ezgif you can upload a series of images and it’ll create the GIF for you. You can adjust the order of uploaded images, change the GIF size, and tweak animation settings, too.
- GIFMaker GIF Maker
GIFMaker lets you upload up to 300 images to create a new animated GIF. You can use the online GIF creator to change the canvas size and animation speed. There’s also the option to add music from YouTube to make your GIF even more appealing. - Giphy
giphy is a visual content creation tool
Giphy is one of the best-known content creation tools for social media. It integrates with multiple apps to help people find the right GIF to share. But it also includes an online GIF creator. Just upload a photo or a video, set your animation speed, and add some decorative effects, then your GIF is ready to upload and share.
- Imgflip
imgflip is a digital content creation tool
Like other online meme generators, Imgflip works with existing memes or lets you upload your own image. Once that’s done, you can easily add text to the top, bottom or both to create your meme.
- Google Slides
Google Slides
If you’re already using other Google services, then Google Slides is a useful part of the suite. It allows you to quickly create visually appealing presentations using pre-made templates. You can also use Slides to work with imported PowerPoint presentations or to export your creations to PowerPoint. Best of all, you never lose your work since everything auto-saves.
- Emaze
emaze is fast content creation software
Emaze is an online presentation tool, with templates for design, business and education in a variety of categories. Just choose a template and start editing, and you’ll soon have an attractive presentation. You can also create other visual content, as well as websites, with this software.
- Prezi
Prezi
Prezi offers presentation design for non-designers, letting you get started quickly with templates relating to different niches. This fast content creation software also makes it easy to change how you navigate through a presentation based on your audience. And it provides stats on audience interaction. The free version has some limitations.
- SlideDog
SlideDog presentation software
SlideDog lets you create and play presentations and media playlists. There’s just one catch: in the free version, you can only use Pro features for 15 minutes at a time. Presentations are interactive, and you can livestream and share content. SlideDog integrates with all common presentation and media software.
- Slides
slides is a free visual content creation tool
Slides is a browser-based presentation tool that offers a live presentation mode. It includes vertical slides, and lets you create private slide decks by default. And it includes the ability to embed presentations and to get data on viewer activity.
- Sway
Sway
Sway is an online presentation tool from Microsoft that lets you create presentations from existing templates or documents. It’ll also help you get started by gathering resources related to your chosen topic.
That’s it! With these visual content creation tools, you have everything you need to grab visitors’ attention. Next, see our list of the best WordPress plugins to grow your business.
But don’t stop there – use the videos, presentations, memes, GIFs and more to improve your OptinMonster marketing campaigns.
OptinMonster customer Sportique doubled conversions by using an edited image as part of an optin form and combining it with OptinMonster’s exit-intent technology to get visitors’ attention just before they clicked away from the site.
Conclusion
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