Marketing Fails You Can Avoid Using Social Media on the Go

If you’re a social media manager who’s ever had to work away from a computer you know what kind of grim nightmare that is. Fumbling between apps on your phone while trying to make sense of different conversations and message streams is a maddening kind of hell that you wouldn’t wish on your most loathed competitor.

Luckily there’s the Hootsuite mobile app, which makes it easy to schedule, publish, and monitor social media conversations across multiple networks from anywhere. And the app’s latest features—which include the ability to edit and approve scheduled messages—can save you from some of the most common marketing fails. Do any of the following sound familiar?

“I just took this hilarious photo, but if I share it now in the middle of the night no one will see it. WHY DOES THE UNIVERSE HATE ME??!”

With the latest version of the mobile app you can easily capture an image and schedule it right from your phone or tablet (as well as capture, schedule and publish video).

You took the photo late at night, but that doesn’t mean you have to post it when only a handful on insomniacs will see it. Schedule it for the best times to post on social and get more engagement.

Or if you’d simply like a more convenient way to space out your social messages, you can use the app’s auto scheduling feature.

“Man, I did an awesome job scheduling that Instagram post today. Oh no… I forgot the caption.”

With this realization your commute becomes a race against time. Will you get to a computer to update the post before it gets published?

If you have the Hootsuite app on your phone there’s no need to panic. You can now edit your scheduled messages from anywhere. Get things done on the bus like a boss!

“The intern says he’s lined up some dope Tweets for the evening. But I don’t trust anyone who uses ‘dope’ in a professional setting.”

You don’t need to trust your intern to let him go wild with Hootsuite’s scheduling feature. If you have the latest version of the mobile app and you’re a business or enterprise Hootsuite user, you can remotely approve or reject messages drafted by team members. And if a change does need to be made, you can make it yourself. No need to call the office and dictate your edits to poor dopey Eric over the phone.

“My boss just sent me an email asking if I would respond to a new Facebook comment. But I’m already at the beach drinking a crantini out of a Slurpee cup.”

Don’t start brushing the sand off your backside just yet. With the Hootsuite mobile app you can easily monitor and respond to comments on Facebook from wherever your travels may take you. So chill (on the beach) and let your customers know you appreciate their support and business. Now cheers yourself for a job well done.

“Is it @lizscott? @elizabethscott? @elizabeth_scott? I can never remember…”

Normally it’s a fool’s errand trying to recall a client’s username to tag them in a post from your phone. But with Hootsuite new predictive @mentioning feature it’s easy to save time @mentioning users on Twitter and Instagram, and engaging Facebook Pages.

Give your favorite client a shout-out from the conference floor and build some brand awareness of your own.

And those are only some of the features included in the latest version of the Hootsuite mobile app. Try the app for yourself to discover all the benefits of doing social faster and more efficiently on the go.

Complete Guide to Social Media Advertising Stats

It feels like every month a social network unveils a new social media advertising tool. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have long planted their flags in this territory, while Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat are quickly gaining ground. This explosion in advertising options has left a lot of brands trying hard to play catch-up.

If you’re still not sure why you should put money behind your social media campaigns, we’ve gathered a long list of social media advertising stats that should help motivate you.

Social media advertising usage statistics
Social media advertising budgets have doubled worldwide over the past 2 years—going from $16 billion U.S. in 2014 to $31 billion in 2016

But despite this growing investment in social advertising, 46 percent of B2B marketers say they’re unsure whether their channels have generated any revenue for their business.
Social media spending in the U.S. alone is expected increase to $17.34 billion in 2019

That’s no small number. Marketers have recognized that social media advertising is a tool that they’re going to need to understand and use if they’re going to succeed at reaching coveted social media users moving forward.

This statistic shows that they’re making a commitment to doing just that.

Social media advertising isn’t only a North American phenomenon either…
In 2017, analysts predicted a 26.3% global increase on spending for social media ads

Of course North Americans are heavy users of social media, but so are people in South America, Europe, Asia, Africa… you get my point. Social media is being used everywhere, and social media advertising is growing globally. Regardless of your market, you can find ways to make social advertising work for you. This far reach is probably the reason that…
Social media ad spending is likely to exceed $35 billion in 2017, representing 16 percent of all digital ad spending globally

The actual number is $35.98 billion if you want to get technical. That represents an increase of almost $13 billion in just two years. Not only that, it means that social media will have maintained consistent growth (of about $6 billion every year) for nearly half a decade. Often these trends rise rapidly for a year or two and plateau. If social media advertising spend continues on this curve, there’s no telling how the industry and tools will evolve.

But that kind of spending must reflect just how expensive the ads themselves are, right? Well, actually…Over 50 percent of B2B marketers rank social media as a ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ low cost ad option

A survey asked 200 B2B marketers to rate the cost of demand generation channels based on the cost per lead. Just over 50 percent of the respondents ranked social media as “very low cost” or “somewhat low cost.”

This compares to 42.5 percent for search ads, and 41.7 percent for display ads. The truth is, social media ads are generally quite affordable. Many networks offer you the opportunity to test your content organically before promoting it, so you know you’re giving yourself the best opportunity to connect with your target audience. Plus, there are countless other ways to keep the cost of your social advertising low.

Social media advertising stats by network
Twitter advertising revenue totaled $545 million in Q3 of 2016, an increase of 60% year-over-year

Twitter’s earnings report laid it out clearly on the table: more people are turning to Twitter ads than ever before.

Twitter was one of the first networks to recognize and capitalize on the potential of social media advertising. In the years since they launched their first ad options, adoption has grown rapidly and steadily. With 60 percent growth year-over-year, there’s little doubt that Twitter ads have proven their worth as an effective option for businesses.

That may have a little something to do with Twitter’s great focus on mobile…
Mobile advertising revenue accounted for 86% of total Twitter advertising revenue

The future of technology lives in your pocket. People use smartphones so much today that every business is scrambling to optimize for mobile. Twitter has always been ahead of the game in terms of their mobile app development, and the same is true of their mobile advertising opportunities. It’s quite clear from this stat that mobile is where advertisers want to be, and that Twitter has managed to get them there.

So how do these revenue numbers translate into usage? Well…By June of 2014, nearly 80% of U.S. marketers were using promoted Tweets

Yes the stat is old, but that’s the point. By June of 2014, nearly 80 percent of U.S. marketers were using promoted Tweets. That figure shows the rapid adoption of Twitter ads, but it’s also safe to assume that the number will have increased since then, especially as Twitter expanded its advertising platform.

When more than 80 percent of marketers are using a specific tool, you have to believe that they’re garnering some value from doing so. And if you were to look at the data, it would seem to back up this theory.
In 2016, total Promoted Tweet engagements were up 91% year-over-year—much higher than traditional banner ads

Simply put, Twitter ads drive engagement. They’re targeting options allow you to connect with a very specific audience and provide them with content you’ve tested and know that they are interested in. This all translates into more engagement and more benefits to your business.

While Twitter is one of the social media advertising pioneers, there’s a younger player in the game…

Instagram
Instagram will bring in $1.53 billion in mobile ad revenue worldwide this year

Instagram ads are not to be underestimated. The social network started partnering up with big brands to test their advertising early in 2015, and the results turned heads.

In their first year of existence, Instagram ads pulled in an impressive $595 million. And, in 2016 that number has doubled. Those are incredible figures. And income is only one measurement. The other is eyes on the screen…
Instagram has over 500 million active monthly users—almost all of whom are under 35

As a mobile-first social network, Instagram is placed perfectly to capitalize mobile’s growth into the main vehicle of social network usage. Instagram is also most widely used by the next generation of buyers—90 percent of users are under 35. With Instagram ads, brands will be able to connect with consumers where they are—on mobile—and make an impression right now on young users whose incomes and spending will only increase year after year.

Finally, Instagram ads fit seamlessly into the native browsing experience. In other words, Instagram is an advertisers dream. Still, Instagram ads are a new tool, and haven’t really proven themselves in the long term.

But people are remembering them…Ad recall from sponsored posts on Instagram was 2.9x higher than Nielsen’s norms for online advertising

Facebook 

By the third quarter of 2016, Facebook brought in $6.8 billion in advertising revenue, up from $4.3 billion the year before

Instagram’s estimated $1.53 billion in ad revenue this year is impressive, but let’s not forget who bought whom. Facebook reported a remarkable $6.8 billion in advertising revenue this year. The figure grew by more than a billion dollars year-over-year—think about what that means for Facebook’s annual ad revenue.

The fact is, Facebook is the biggest social network in the world and, because of its widespread usage, many brands are more comfortable experimenting with ads on Facebook than anywhere else. Plus, it has a proven track record when it comes to social media advertising.
On Facebook, desktop ads have 8.1x higher click-through rates and mobile ads have 9.1x higher click-through rates than normal web ads

Think about that. Facebook joined the advertising game long after display ads and search ads had established themselves as a tool for businesses. In a very short amount of time, the social network was able to create ads that are far less obtrusive and far more effective than their counterparts. Between eight and nine percent higher click through rates should be enough to get you on board with Facebook ads. But this stat doesn’t even bring up the fact that Facebook ads (and, as mentioned above, social media ads in general) are often cheaper than other online alternatives.

Facebook’s impressive ad revenue growth can also be attributed to another factor, namely their increasing role as a leader in social video.

Learn more about Facebook ads in our beginner’s guide to advertising on Facebook.
Over 70% percent of marketers plan to increase their use of video ads next year

This stat, from a report by Mixpo, really shows that Facebook has become the platform of choice for video advertisers. Advertisers and agencies are clearly putting their trust in Facebook for all ad types, even those where Facebook is only now starting to gain a foothold.

If you look at the chart, Facebook clearly played second fiddle when it comes to video advertising in the last year. But it has quickly surpassed the video powerhouse that is 

YouTube

YouTube in terms of advertising interest.

That’s no small feat considering…
The number of YouTube channels earning 6 figures per year is up 50% year-over-year

This is an important sign for the video network. Despite all of Facebook’s gains, those who advertise on YouTube continue to increase their spend. One would imagine that this means the ads are working, and working well.

Well enough, at least, to support an increasingly diverse array of content creators.

And who are these advertisers?
100% of the top 100 global brands have run YouTube ads in the past year

YouTube has serious respect amongst big brands. While Facebook is becoming the video advertising tool for every business, YouTube is still maintaining—and as we saw above, actually increasing—powerful relationships with the biggest brands in the world.

Snapchat
While we’re on the topic of big brands…
Snapchat’s Sponsored Selfie Filters, which could cost up to $750,000 per day, are forecasted to reach 16 million viewers daily

Snapchat has a bit of a history of charging the big bucks for ads, and it seems to be working well for them. CEO Evan Spiegel and his team have forecasted that Sponsored Selfie Filters, which essentially allow users to turn their selfies into ads, will reach up to 16 million viewers a day. With the cost of these ads maxing out at $750,000 per day, you can bet Snapchat is turning to the biggest brands in the world, or at least those with huge social media advertising budgets.

Pinterest

And Snapchat is not the only newcomer to social media advertising. Pinterest has been around for a while, but it’s growing super fast. Although Instagram sees twice as many eyes as Pinterest daily, this social bookmarking platform is rife with inspired people who are looking to purchase. How many?
150 million people use Pinterest every month

That number is impressive, especially given that last year it was a third less. A jump of 50 percent in 12 months indicates something happening on the platform that all companies—small businesses and behemoth brands alike—can pay attention to. Even if you’re not a Pinterest aficionado, they’re making it easy for marketers to promote using the platform. Like Facebook, they’ve streamlined the process. It takes nine short seconds to go from viewing a Pin to promoting it.

That nine seconds sits between advertisers and 150 million fresh-faced creative users, 93 percent of whom have shopped online in the last month. Whether users are using social media as a wishlist or a shopping cart, studies have shown that they are actively browsing. This could be the reason that Pins with prices on them get 36 percent more likes than those without. And price doesn’t stop people from buying—the average order on Pinterest is $50—higher than any other social media platform.

Millennials ... What is meant by this and why is this Generation so difficult to define

Adam Conover is a YouTube-personality-turned-TV-celebrity that is known for blowing minds and destroying everything we hold dear and true through humor and facts in his show Adam Ruins Everything.

As a marketer, I loved hearing his insights on old marketing tactics that have shaped many of our strongest cultural concepts. Listerine, for example, was originally a floor cleaner until the company invented the term ‘halitosis’ in the ‘20s and marketed the product as the only cure.

Conover’s insights into our modern culture have always been fascinating, but I was floored when he broke the concept of millennials during his speech at Deep Shift in early 2016. In it, he proclaimed that Millennials Don’t Exist. You mean the generation that I ‘specialize’ in discussing isn’t real? The group that I tout as my own, doesn’t exist?


But he was right: millennials don’t exist, and marketing to them through the special lens of ‘millennial’ could make our attempts at reaching them pointless.
Breaking the ‘generation’ mindset

Generational names are not scientific. As Conover describes in his video, even the Census Bureau doesn’t use generational names on the U.S. Census.

Why? Because the dates and associations are always arbitrary. They change constantly, and the names are always created by marketers. Baby boomers, gen X, the silent generation, and millennials were all coined by writers and marketers with the sole intent of making money off these groups.

The very people we are trying to reach are simply a concept in our head. We do this so we can clump them together and make them easier to understand, with the sole intent of selling them our product in whatever way this new generation might find appealing.

This makes sense, as many of the common associations with millennials are almost universal within the generation: raised in the technology boom, avid social media users, and generally burdened with a lot of debt coupled with slow wage growth (hence the millennial reluctance to move out of their parents’ houses and buy homes).

Yet this can also be really dangerous to use as a basis for a marketing campaign. These stereotypes, although true in some senses, often lead down a dangerous road that generalizes and alienates this young audience. As marketers, we have to break this generational mold other marketers have been trying to sell us for years.
The real identity of millennials

Although the term ‘millennials’ is often used for marketing tactics, there are some facts that can be attributed as truth about the younger generation.

For one, they are the most diverse generation in America to date. A 2015 report from the Census Bureau explains: “Reflecting these younger age groups, the population as a whole has become more racially and ethnically diverse in just the last decade, with the percentage minority climbing from 32.9 percent in 2004 to 37.9 percent in 2014.”

Additionally, they do enjoy the new media that is available at their fingertips—social media—just as any past generation enjoyed their popular media. Whether that be television, radio, newspapers, or even books.

Millennials, or the younger generation, are also not as self-centered as many (especially the news media) seem to assume. As Conover points out in his speech, referring to a study, all young people are narcissistic. When you’re a baby, you have a narrow view of the world around you. As you grow older that view changes and adjusts, often breaking your own personal narcissistic tendencies. This doesn’t make the millennial generation any different, and the generations before it were deemed just as self-serving and immoral by their parents.

Take for example this excerpt from an 1843 House of Commons speech on the immorality of the youth: “…a fearful multitude of untutored savages… [boys] with dogs at their heels and other evidence of dissolute habits… [girls who] drive coal-carts, ride astride upon horses, drink, swear, fight, smoke, whistle, and care for nobody… the morals of children are tenfold worse than formerly.”

The younger generation has also always been seen as the more progressive generation, often despite the antagonism of their predecessors. As the University of Southern California notes in their research on marketing to millennials, companies that focus on ‘green’ or corporate social responsability draw the majority of their support from millennials.

This ‘modern concept’ associated with climate change is being spearheaded by younger generations that have been immersed in this new concept from an early age, but those other generations are getting on the bandwagon, too. It’s just taking them a little longer to adjust to this new, progressive worldview. Just as support for ending the Vietnam war was spearheaded by baby boomers, but eventually supported by the majority.

No matter what name has been given to young generation of the day, those that came before them will always find a way to nitpick their actions and stereotype their behavior. Breaking those mindsets for ourselves will help us become better marketers for everyone.
The secret to marketing to millennials

So where does all this information leave marketers? Obviously your business—whether big or small—will want to reach out to this large demographic of young and eager shoppers.

The truth is, the best way to reach them is the same way you would want to be reached. The golden rule applies to marketing just as much as it does to real life. Treat your target audience as intelligent, eager, and trustworthy shoppers, and they will treat your business in kind.

I’ve written before about marketing to millennials by having your content reflect your values. Millennials don’t want to be marketed to through emoji or clickbait titles. Ads that fall flat are those that think the millennial generation can be reached through some secret code of emoji, when in reality they just want you to talk about what the product can do for them.

Create content that is shareable and valuable to the shopper, and you will succeed with any generation that is in the market.

In marketing, we have to be certain that we don’t fall for the stereotypes, and that we don’t become cynical to other generations. As the trends change, so will the generations, and we can’t let molds box us in.

Break your understanding of generational concepts, and market to people as people. You’ll garner respect and loyalty if you can show it in return.

Get The Most Out of Your Social Media Audience Research

Imagine you’re throwing a dinner party for some potential clients. You know that there’s a lot at stake with this one meal, and the future success of your business depends on it. You get to the grocery store when suddenly you realize you have no idea what your guests like or if any have dietary restrictions. If only you had done a little bit of audience research on your visitors.

In the same way that knowing your guests’ needs is important to the success of your dinner party, audience research is crucial for the success of your business’s social media strategy. If you don’t know who you’re talking to (or cooking for), you’re taking a shot in the dark. If you’re now frantically trying to get your audience research done, our guide below can help you out.

Once you’ve got that done, continue reading to learn how to put these valuable insights to use.

Completed your social media audience research? Here’s what to do next

Identify customer pain points

The more you know about what makes your target customers tick, the better prepared you are to solve these problems for them. With thorough audience research, you can identify your customers’ key pain points, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

A great example of this is with popular North American lifestyle magazine, Real Simple. Real Simple reaches “8 million smart, busy consumers who welcome creative solutions to their everyday challenges,” and provides these solutions through their magazine and social channels.

Real Simple understands their busy audience is looking for ways to balance an often high-stress lifestyle. The brand takes this knowledge to their social channels.

Their Instagram feed, for example, features a stress-relieving yoga pose every week, as well as an almost daily quick and healthy recipe idea.

Like Real Simple, your brand must consider the lifestyle of your audience and potential customers. What are they struggling with in their day-to-day lives, and how does your product or service help? After you’ve conducted audience research—whether through talking to and interviewing them, finding FAQs related to your industry, or other tactics—you need to put this information to work by working to genuinely solve their pain points.

Focus on the right networks

There’s no point in allocating resources to channels that your target audience doesn’t use. As your research should have shown, different networks have different audiences. After you’ve done your audience research, it’s important you take this information and use it to focus on the networks where your own customers are active.

Basic demographic research, such as that shared in my post The Top Social Media Sites That Matter to Marketers, should give you some direction. When you know who you are selling to, and where, you can much more effectively tailor your message and reach your target audience. This will also maximize any ad spend and yield better results.

Target your audience with social ads

You can always reach your customers organically, but the most effective way to target your audience is by leveraging the power of social media advertising.

Create content that addresses the customer pain points you found through your audience research and create social ads to put in front of your customers on your chosen networks.

Our post Social Media Advertising: The Complete Guide shares Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes’ six tips for social media advertising as the following:

• Use free social media to beta-test your paid social ads
• Take advantage of targeting features.
• Rotate ads frequently
• Use small samples to test the text and images used in your ads.
• Understand how ads are sold on different networks.
• Design ads with mobile in mind.

With these tips in mind, you can narrow down your network to ones you found most effective in your audience research.

Facebook Advertising

Your audience research will be put to good use with Facebook’s advertising options. Facebook lets you target your ads by location, age, gender, and language, along with more detailed targeting options such as:

• Demographics (education, relationships, parenting, etc.)
• Interests (hobbies, sports, technology, etc.)
• Behaviors (including information gathered from Facebook’s partners)

As our previous post  Social Media Advertising: The Complete Guide explains, “Once you’ve created your target audience, you can narrow your focus even further based on type of device, and even whether the Facebook user is connected via data or Wi-Fi.”

Twitter Advertising

On Twitter, you can use Twitter Ads, Promoted Accounts, or Promoted Trends to advertise to your optimal audience.

In addition to regular demographic targeting, Twitter offers more detailed options. Your audience research might have revealed characteristics about your target customer that you can put to use here. With Twitter’s detailed targeting, you can make sure your ads reach users with interests, behaviors, and using keywords aligned with your findings.

To make the most of your Twitter ads, our post How to Use Twitter Ads: The Complete Guide for Business shares the following tips:

• Introduce your business and highlight your unique selling proposition so your audience wants to click, follow, and engage
• Include a clear CTA to increase follows, Retweets, and searches
• Include cards to add extra functionality like lead collection, app installs, and website previews
• Customize your ads based on your audience research

Instagram Advertising

One of Instagram’s best features is their ad targeting options. Using your audience research, you can optimize your Instagram ads to better align with your target customers.

In addition to knowing your audience, our post Instagram Ads: The Complete Guide For Business shares the following best practices to keep in mind when creating and running an Instagram campaign:

• Captivate with captions designed for your target audience. Think about how your audience might react to certain tones and captions, and work from there.
• Use hashtags that are relevant to your target audience. Take note of hashtags other businesses in your industry use, and test them out.
• Be consistent so that your target audience can recognize your content immediately.

The audience research you worked so hard to collect is a waste if you don’t know how to use it. Follow the above guide to get the most out of your valuable audience research and boost your business’ bottom line.

The Best Photo Editing Apps, Chosen by You

When I got my first cell phone in 2004 (RIP Nokia block phone) everyone couldn’t stop oohing and aahing over the fact that rather than the slightly green tinted black and white of most other models available at the time, its screen was in glorious color. Today, our phone screens are not only in color, but have clear and vibrant resolutions that surpass the quality of many of the digital cameras that were available at the time. With these advances in mobile image technology, there’s simply no excuse for bad photos in this day and age. As your social media presence is only as good as the images you are sharing, it’s worth the extra bit of effort and time to make them the best they can be. From adding filters to changing brightness, saturation, and colors, the possibilities for enhancing the look of your pictures are endless with all of the editing programs available today.

With the overwhelming amount of both free and paid apps and programs available, we asked our visually-savvy Twitter followers to share their favorite photo editing app and they answered the call. Whether you use the camera on your phone or a standalone camera, the image editors picked by our followers are sure to take any photo from terrible to shareable—no darkroom required.

View image on Twitter

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Hootsuite 

✔@hootsuite

What's your favorite photo editing app?

10:16 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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Mobile focused

The two most popular responses we received were for the extremely popular apps VSCO Cam and Snapseed. This is unsurprising, as sites such as “The Digital Camera” claim they are “the two applications that all photographic smartphones should have.” Both very user-friendly tools, Snapseed and VSCO Cam definitely have their own unique strengths.

VSCO Cam (Free for iOS and Android)

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

What's your favorite photo editing app? pic.twitter.com/y6xV8Fevxl

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TheCantineCo @TheCantineCo

@hootsuite 100%  @vsco

10:20 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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If you are at all interested in phone photography, you have most likely heard of VSCO Cam (free in the App Store and Google Play), or have seen the hashtag #VSCOcam on countless Instagram photos. When downloaded, VSCO Cam will adjust its settings according to the model of phone you are using, and provide the tools and filters to grant you the best results. Once in the app, you can either use the built-in camera to take the photo (recommended, as you can adjust exposure, focus, etc.) or upload a photo from your phone’s regular photo library and then use VSCO Cam’s editing tools to perfect your vision. As far as editing goes, the filters provided for free in the app are in a league of their own in their exquisite simplicity, and won’t give your photo that cringeworthy over-edited look that many other editing app filters do. Along with applying filters, you can adjust the photo’s elements including brightness, contrast, temperature, fade, and sharpness, among many other features.

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

What's your favorite photo editing app? pic.twitter.com/y6xV8Fevxl

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Raquel @Quelalex

@hootsuite @vsco for me

10:32 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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To help you get the most out of the app, here are some tips for using VSCO Cam provided by photographers around the web:

• “To find the filters you use regularly fast every time you open VSCOcam, simply go to settings>preset preferences and drag your favourite filters to the top. That way, you can conveniently access your most-liked filters without having to scroll.” – Amanda Mabel
• “Layer multiple filters to obtain interesting effects – about 2 filters per photo are my standard. Do ensure that you don’t use so many filters that the photo ends up destroyed!” – Amanda Mabel
• If editing a photo shot with a digital camera, use the tint tool and try adding a bit of magenta as many digital cameras tend to “pull green” – Erin Paris

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

What's your favorite photo editing app? pic.twitter.com/y6xV8Fevxl

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Rachel Harris @_rachelharris

@hootsuite Totally agree about @vsco!

10:05 PM - 20 Oct 2015

 
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Snapseed (Free for iOS and Android)

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

What's your favorite photo editing app? pic.twitter.com/y6xV8Fevxl

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Joe Iker Maalouf @Jomaalouf

@hootsuite @snapseed and @mextures are the best!

10:18 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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Snapseed is another favorite amongst both professional and casual mobile photographers alike. The app’s features and interface are easy enough for the everyday beginner to quickly prepare their photos for Instagram, but offer a depth that more advanced photographers will appreciate. The developer behind Snapseed is a little company you may have heard of called Google, and they recently released Version 2.0 which introduced a new, even easier to use interface and a wider offering of features and tools. With this, you can still apply the tune image, details, selective focus, and more by sliding your finger up and down or left and right, which gives you more control over the edits. There are now brush, spot repair, and transform tools which can bring your images as close to perfection as possible.

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

What's your favorite photo editing app? pic.twitter.com/y6xV8Fevxl

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STREET INFERNO @Streetlnferno

@hootsuite snapseed

10:23 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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To help you get the most out of this essential app, here are some basic tips for using Snapseed:

• If you forget what each of the icons mean, you can simply click the question mark icon and a very helpful overlay will appear, labeling each of the features
• Use the stacks feature to go back and see your photo before any number of previous edits, without having to redo the entire thing
• Use the pinch zoom feature to see a close up of an edit you have made for the most detailed view of your image

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

What's your favorite photo editing app? pic.twitter.com/y6xV8Fevxl

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Katrina Valenton @katrinavalenton

@hootsuite Currently, my favourite photo editing app is @snapseed!

10:32 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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Instagram Centric

Thanks to Instagram’s mammoth popularity, countless apps and programs have been introduced specifically for the app. Some brought up by those who responded to our Twitter question include:

InstaSize (Free for iOS and Android)

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

What's your favorite photo editing app? pic.twitter.com/y6xV8Fevxl

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💀A YOUNG-OG💀 @hustlernature

@hootsuite #InstaSize it's the best 2 new...#HootChat #Hootsuite

10:22 PM - 19 Oct 2015 · Los Angeles, CA

 
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InstaSize takes your regular sized photos and adjusts them so that they will fit to Instagram’s sizing guidelines. In doing this, your image resolution isn’t lost like with other automatic sizing apps. It also offers filters and basic editing tools.

Instabox/Insta Pic Square (Free for iOS and Android)

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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Matti Perkkiö @mattiperkkio

@hootsuite Instabox is great!

8:06 AM - 20 Oct 2015

 
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Instabox (iOS) or Insta Pic Square (Android) will resize images without reducing their quality in order to fit into Instagram’s ideal guidelines. It also offers over 100 collage templates and frames for if you’re feeling fancy.

Bonus: Download a free cheat sheet to quickly find the best image sizes for every social network and learn how you can use Hootsuite to easily add them to any post.

Mobile and desktop

Sometimes you want to have the option of editing photos on both your phone and your desktop for the cross-device convenience this provides. While editing photos on the run is easy, being able to view and edit on a larger screen is unmatched for precision and quality. Numerous responses to our Twitter question suggested programs that have both mobile and desktop versions, including the following.

Pixlr (Free for desktop, iOS, Android)

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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Rivelino Rigters @blackrockstar78

@hootsuite pixlr is my favourite app

10:18 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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Pixlr is a photo-editing program that offers not only a downloadable desktop version but a web-based one along with a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices. The downloadable desktop version offers the most features, but the popular Pixlr web app offers two options: “Pixlr Editor,” which works in layers and “Pixlr Express,” which offers quick fixes and overlays for photos. The mobile app, “Autodesk Pixlr,” allows you to “quickly crop, rotate, and fine-tune any image.” The app alone boasts over two million photo possibilities available, allowing for extra-personalized images.

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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Concetta Ruotolo @ConcettaRuotolo

@hootsuite also for me pixlr is very good!

10:30 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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One Canvas One Soul @1canvas1soul

@hootsuite pixlr

9:08 PM - 20 Oct 2015

 
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Photoshop

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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Elsie Whitelock @GoBeyondLines

@hootsuite photoshop of course

10:19 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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We didn’t expect that a question about photo-editing programs would forget about Adobe Photoshop. The desktop version is the most powerful image-editing software available and is widely considered the industry standard for professional photographers. It’s safe to say that most of the professional images you see on a daily basis have been edited with Photoshop. If you want to do something to a photo, chances are that you can do it with Photoshop. Everything from creating 3D imaging to removing blemishes, morphing two photos together, and switching colors around, are possible with the program.

However, this unparalleled range of features comes at a price, making the desktop, full version of Photoshop an investment, especially if you are simply a casual everyday mobile phone photographer. Recognizing the desire for a more accessible version of Photoshop on the go, Adobe introduced the Adobe Photoshop Express app (Free for iOS and Android). The app offers basics such as cropping, straightening, rotating, and red-eye solutions, as well as more advanced features like blemish removal, corrections, “auto-fix”, “looks” (their version of filters), and many more customizable options.

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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Justin Beausoleil @viralbee

@hootsuite iPhoto for quick edits and Photoshop for serious work.

2:26 PM - 20 Oct 2015

 
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Other favorites

Along with the most popular mentioned above, these are some other photo editing apps and programs mentioned as your favorites:

Canva (Free, online and for iPad)

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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Social Network Diva @prism4

@hootsuite I  #Canva

8:34 AM - 20 Oct 2015

 
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Both a web-based program and an iPad app, Canva features an easy-to-use drag and drop feature for creating professional-looking graphics and design. According to their website, Canva’s main purpose is to help you “design presentations, social media graphics, and more with thousands of beautiful layouts.”

Pablo (Free, online)

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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Troy Muir @Troy_Muir

@hootsuite Pablo by the awesome team at @buffer - easy, beautiful and integrated.

1:31 AM - 21 Oct 2015

 
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The stunning web-based program Pablo allows anyone to easily create social media-ready images, and as of October 2015, over 500,000 images have been created this way. According to Entrepreneur, Pablo allows users to “choose from stock images or upload their own photos, which they can then overlay with icons, (like a company logo,) or text. Images are created in under 30 seconds and are ideal for entrepreneurs looking to stand out in a cluttered social world.”

A Beautiful Mess ($0.99 for iOS and $1.04 Android)

19 Oct 15

Hootsuite 

✔ @hootsuite

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Navicore Solutions @navicorePR

.@hootsuite A Beautiful Mess! Easy to use and creates large clear images. #love @abeautifulmess

10:19 PM - 19 Oct 2015

 
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The A Beautiful Mess app is an extension of the popular lifestyle blogging website of the same name. The free app allows users to add filters, fonts, hand drawn doodles, and other fun add-ons that follow the bright and colorful aesthetic of the brand. Users can also instantly share to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter easily, and through the popular hashtag #ABeautifulMess, join the community of creators.