As a business owner, you likely already know that having amazing content is essential for attracting and retaining customers. But, creating great content can feel impossible between running your business and life outside of work. This is where content creation tools can help, saving you loads of time while levelling up the content you offer.
Many options for content creation tools range from free versions to those requiring a monthly subscription or a credit card upfront. Finding the best solution for your brand depends on the content type you’re developing and your audience. This guide shares the scope of available software and best practices for choosing the perfect mix.
Get your FREE Marketing Check now!
Table of Contents
- Essential Gear
- Camera Equipment
- Lighting
- Audio Equipment
- Tripods
- Gimbals
- Lens Kit
- AI Tools
- Chat GPT
- Rytr
- Copy.ai
- Visual Design Tools
- Canva
- Adobe Firefly
- Lumen5
- InShot
- Snapseed
- Glorify
- Writing Tools
- Grammarly
- Hemingway App
- SEO Writing Assistant
- Screen Capture
- Greenshot
- Keyword Research Tools
- Keyword Planner
- Keyword Magic Tools
- Project Management Tools
- Popular Project Management Systems
- Google Workspace
- Content Idea Generators
- Topic Research Tool
- AnswerThePublic
- TrendFeed
- Google Trends
- FAQs
- Conclusion
Essential Gear for Content Creators
Content creation is essential for sharing visual concepts through social media and other avenues. You’ll find content creator gear essential to modern marketing. While almost everyone is now creating some content, professionals and business owners should have the right tools.
Having the best setup can go far in producing better content that attracts and maintains your audience. While you could use your mobile device, most professionals know using the proper equipment gets better results.
Camera Equipment
One of the first tools you’ll need is a high-quality camera. Some top creators use camera lenses from brands like Canon EF or Sony FE.
Choosing a camera comes down to budget and features. While you could stick with using your mobile, having an independent, high-quality camera makes a huge difference. It helps get more precise control when creating both visual and video content.
Lighting
Are you noticing strange shadows or dark corners in your visual content?
Shadows and inconsistency can detract from the content. Getting rid of those inconsistencies is something both content creators and small businesses should pay attention to.
Proper lighting options can help get a level of content you’ll be proud of. Some, like the Celly RGB Ring Light, brighten dark images, combating shadows and inconsistent lighting. There are even mini selfie versions you can clip right on a phone like this Celly Click Selfie Light with 3 Tones.
Audio Equipment
How many videos or recordings have you listened to lately with audio quality issues?
Most people lose focus if an audio recording is full of distortions or other background sounds. Consider times you have heard popping noises or audio disruptions.
Having a clear sound that is audible and has the correct tonal balance should be on your radar. Using a brand like Boya provides consistent sound quality for smartphones and DSLR cameras.
Tripods
A common issue with visual recordings is shakes or unstable video content. Viewers want steady images.
One simple solution is to invest in either a monopod or a tripod. Options range from smaller sizes like the Celly Squiddy Flexible Mini Tripod to more sophisticated options like the FeiyuTech Scorp Pro 3 Axis Handheld Gimbal for DSLR.
Gimbals
Want steady motion images?
Gimbal stabilisers can give stability on a single axis for use in moving videos. This keeps the visual motion more consistent for live streaming.
There are options available like FeiyuTech VLog Pocket Gimbal that get the smooth images you might crave. Other devices such as the FeiyuTech G6 Max work with Mirrorless cameras, Action Cameras and even Smartphones.
Lens Kit
A lens kit allows users to enhance images. Think close-ups of a tiny flower, using various camera lenses. Getting great clarity allows for amazing photographs and a better experience, great for portrait photography.
AI Tools
Using artificial intelligence is growing within content creation. More and more AI tools are introduced yearly that help boost how small businesses generate social media posts. Using AI content creation tools helps businesses manage content more efficiently.
Over 75% of marketers are already using AI tools. By using AI tools, it might become much faster to finish a 500-word blog post in under an hour.
Just remember that using AI shouldn’t be seen as a way to replace you, but more as a tool to help make your work more efficient.
ChatGPT
One option for generating text or creating content ideas is ChatGPT. Open AI makes available both a free version and a paid version. Although be warned that AI tools can at times create issues, and thus can increase content creation time rather than decreasing it.
A big plus for this tool is it works with blog posts and social media, helping to defeat creative blocks. Many businesses appreciate having software for brainstorming content ideas as well.
Rytr
Rytr uses AI and machine learning to give a fruitful output. Rytr is also one of the best AI content-writing tools for generating high-quality social posts at reasonable rates.
Business owners are already finding that it takes much less time by using content writing tools. Using Rytr you’re likely going to write in the first-person and it will help create new ways of phrasing content ideas.
Copy.ai
If generating product descriptions seems challenging, tools like Copy.ai will help. These innovative solutions are designed to assist e-commerce businesses in creating high-quality, engaging product descriptions that drive sales and enhance customer experiences.
Visual Design Tools
Research from We Are Social and Hootsuite showed that Australians already spend, on average, over 6 hours each day online. Creating graphics that gain customer attention is vital in digital marketing strategies.
| Tool | Description | Key Features |
| Canva | Graphic design platform for creating various visual content. | User-friendly interface, templates, free and paid versions. Great for graphic design. |
| Adobe Firefly | A suite of tools for high-end content creation that integrates AI. | Advanced editing capabilities, text-to-image generation, and lighting adjustments. |
| Lumen5 | Video creation platform powered by AI. | Creates videos from text, supports multiple platforms, free and paid options. |
Canva
Canva works perfectly as a tool when generating graphics. Many social media managers consider Canva the ultimate platform. The free version already offers enough options, however paying extra for monthly subscriptions can let creators create images and new content types.
You are not restricted by the media posts you want to create. Users can design a range of content including creating images for websites and social media, blog posts, or visual reports.
Adobe Firefly
The company Adobe offers popular options such as their suite called Adobe Firefly. You’re likely to already be familiar with using things like Adobe Photoshop.
Using platforms like this often gives users flexibility by mixing in manual steps with a content generator like AI. Adobe’s suite allows control of a camera’s lighting angles, making edits, or style factors, great for visual content creation. Many small businesses rely on automation to design many steps with Adobe’s offerings.
Lumen5
Lumen5 allows content creators to generate exciting videos and social media posts. This company, already known for its video content tools, allows using features powered by Artificial Intelligence.
The basic option lets users make up to five videos per month free, then costs can start at $10 USD for additional output. Video production time will drop drastically, meaning it gets made far faster. There is support for many platforms including iPhone and Android mobile options.
InShot
There’s something powerful about having mobile tools with easy-to-use interfaces to create image content or collages for team members. InShot allows image edits.
Some key capabilities like adding music or text on visual media are all achievable too. Inshot is a great tool to help manage content for your content marketing needs.
Snapseed
Being able to enhance imagery will result in quality graphics and make content truly impressive. Snapseed works on devices that are both Android and IOS to help create images.
Glorify
Business owners, like those running e-commerce platforms, will love Glorify with its focus on creation of stunning posts and content development. Glorify also helps with logo production. This might suit new start-ups and companies wanting image rebranding.
Writing Tools
With effective content, you will grow and have an edge by using many of the latest trends. Don’t only prioritise using copywriting tools, but include good AI copywriting software in your toolkit.
This will enhance what is developed, boost rankings and improve your content marketing plan. These content writing tools can help to create engaging content.
Grammarly
Grammarly makes analysing text input easy. They offer a simple-to-add plugin. After you finish writing or generating content, simply running some copy through this tool will give an assessment of how it sounds.
Hemingway App
Sometimes business owners feel at odds having to find and choose new, great content topics. Creating fresh, helpful and professional quality material adds an entire range of challenges.
Tools such as Hemingway will rank text and find areas to work on. The Hemingway App highlights common grammar issues while giving other tips on refining work output.
SEO Writing Assistant
Optimising written text with Search Engines should come to mind of any top creator. Getting the very best exposure online relies on using the correct tools.
By using the SEO writing assistant called SWA by SEMRush, users get insights for achieving higher rates of page one views. This allows for greater amounts of organic traffic.
Screen Capture
Think about the last software walk-through or a step-by-step instruction sheet that helped you through a challenge. Chances are this included some steps or instructions on how to complete something by including images.
Getting the content to start often requires capturing. Screen capture tools are important to include in the content creation process.
Greenshot
When thinking about the quality of screenshots, you may wonder ‘What image-capturing and visual processing application will create that polished final effect?’. Greenshot shows what’s possible to improve on image content.
Greenshot takes your captures further by easily allowing additions. These additions could be content boxes or arrows.
Keyword Research Tools
Are you worried or confused about picking which keywords to target to best gain awareness for content, your brand, and the reach of your marketing strategy?
Keyword research tools help take a lot of guess work out of the content creation process. These are a must-have tool for any content creator.
Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner made by Google comes for free.
Use this resource for enhancing content and gain insight from search phrase activity that occurs across social media. If your business does marketing on paid media platforms, Google’s Ad software will find volume data to help select your targets. Use their software and understand your key searcher’s intent and volume with the data.
Keyword Magic Tool
Keyword Magic Tool ranks keywords and phrase activity showing overall traffic as a monthly measure. When you gain more data insights on traffic amounts for specific keywords, this gets better rankings, more traffic and better visibility.
It comes with a paid service and many small business teams rate this system very highly. Using keyword research helps you create content around popular content.
Project Management Tools
Managing your content across digital marketing can be an ordeal, but many project management systems help. Not only can teams working from home or team members out in the field have collaboration using software, but those managing content development get support.
Popular Project Management Systems
There are many different project management systems around. Commonly used ones include Monday.com, Trello, Asana, Jira and Click Up. These days most are incorporating the use of AI efficiencies and intuitive behaviour to make the interface and UX experience easier.
Google Workspace
Having an active content marketing program also gets simplified with solutions from Google Workspace. Many businesses benefit from using these tools which not only handle documents for words, images, sheets or slides, but they often support teamwork working at the same time on a document.
Since information gets shared live online, various locations or workers get an ease for collaborating. Content management is very important, especially for large content types.
Content Idea Generators
At some point during the planning phases for most projects, we might experience having a content block or need to brainstorm content ideas. Even more concerning are times when your great ideas start getting ignored. And to top it off, you need to know what content search engines favour.
Research will show that it should never become harder or impossible for a content creator to not reach or retain their target base. Or that it takes too long in development and posting across social media and other destinations.
Using tools like AnswerThePublic, Trendfeed, Topic Research, and Google Trends all give you extra firepower for keeping things on track.
Topic Research Tool
With so much to keep track of these days, Semrush offers its very popular Topic Research Tool. This allows for more efficient brainstorming, resulting in more high-traffic volume ideas.
AnswerThePublic
Building content around user concerns helps content be seen by them. The AnswerThePublic system works by sourcing results from all search engines (including Google) so creators find new insight into audience priorities, questions and thinking.
TrendFeed
Research with new TrendFeed to keep current on social media news. This resource uses technology from artificial intelligence while working out new ways to keep ahead in your industry.
Google Trends
Finding information is already what most think of when using Google. Although there is more available including keeping on top of key trends that work across search to reach larger markets.
With data straight from the search engine giant, creators find data using their system known as Google Trends. These content idea generators help to inspire great content.
FAQs about Content Creation Tools
What are the tools used for content creation?
Many tools work including those for generating keywords like Keyword Planner or Keyword Magic and generating text like Grammarly or ChatGPT. You can use tools for image design using Canva or social planning by using TrendFeed.
Which is the best AI tool for content creation?
AI continues to rapidly improve, but the options available now should still produce far more efficiency for many than traditional development processes. ChatGPT by OpenAI stands out because it’s easy and gives a strong starting foundation.
Grammarly has great features that help when creating copy. You might also be aware of Rytr and Copy AI for generating copy, both are popular content creation tools. Many visual design choices now include some AI.
What are the 4 Cs of content creation?
In content, keep in mind your company’s key customers. Finding them with your campaign allows you to convert, connect and convey relevant context.
What are the 3 Cs of content creation?
Be creative, use the customer’s own voice and provide correct insights into what’s being researched to make concise content. Being great at making original content that connects is one factor of content success.
Conclusion
The need for better content continues. While making and sharing quality content keeps evolving, using the best content creation tools will save you time.
They will also expand your marketing, engagement, and customer base. Look to improve your process by not only seeking writing tools, but also graphic design, content management, and much more.
Connect with me on LinkedIn