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18 Leading Instagram Tools Every Content Creator Needs

18 Leading Instagram Tools Every Content Creator Needs

In this article we will discuss about the top Instagram tools that will make your activities on Instagram much more streamlined and easier. 

This blog deals with the tools needed to help you or your business reach glory and your dream goals. Instagram today is one of the fastest-growing apps, with a fan following of 800 million from all sections of society. 

However, do you know Instagram can be a big source of revenue generation for your business? To leverage Instagram for the business, you need Instagram's growth service. 

Now, what's an Instagram growth service? 

Instagram growth service, as the name suggests, is any service that will promote the growth of your business through Instagram. Instagram growth service is generally obtained through Instagram tools.

And before jumping to these tools if you’re a traveler, photographer, fashion expert, or influencer, you will also need good camera for Instagram content.

Recommended: How to Monetize Instagram WITHOUT Having Followers? Know the Fastest Ways

In this article, we will discuss the top Instagram tools that will make your activities on Instagram much more streamlined and easier. 

A. INSTAGRAM DESIGN TOOLS 

1. Snapseed

Snapseed

OVERVIEW: 

Snapseed is a photo-editing application developed by NIK software but now acquired by Google. Any Instagram user will require editing assistance to create great pictures, even if they have great photography skills. These days 3D visuals and artistic creativity in regular photos are the new Instagram marketing trends. This Instagram tool has varied tools, looks, and filters to add magic to your photos. 

PROS: 

It is easily downloadable in Android and iOS applications. It is user-friendly. It provides unique tools like tune images, transforms, spot repair, etc. The filters range from lens blur to vintage to HDR scape. They have got beautiful frames to match your occasion. Fortunately, all these features are free of cost and devoid of annoying ads, which we know how much we hate.

CONS

It is a bit complicated to use. It is something not everybody can catch up on the first time, so a beginner needs time to learn before uploading anything. There are some limitations in sharing your content on Facebook and Twitter. There are no content-aware effects and layers provided on Android. 

Our Take:

This is a go-to app for uploading edited pictures and videos on Instagram. If you are satisfied with the editing features Instagram already has, this app might not be necessary. Having said this, you should still give this Instagram tool a try! 

2. Canva

Canva

OVERVIEW: 

Canva is a graphic design tool with tons of functionalities to fulfill all your social media requirements through their pre-prepared 60,000+ templates. This allows you to create customized creatives for your campaigns in a jiffy.

PROS: 

It is a very versatile app. It runs on the browser through the drag and drop technique and on Android and iOS. It can be used to prepare brochures, company logos, labels, invitation cards, WhatsApp statuses, resumes, menus, etc. Its basic facilities are free. It also provides paid services if you need them for big business programs and huge teams. 

CONS: 

Canva’s creative users seem to be fed up with the templates and photos available in it at present as they are no more engaging to them. It becomes clumsy to use it on smartphones as they require big screens and work efficiently with lightroom. But don't worry; the owners regularly work on its updates. 

Our Take:

It is an Instagram tool every marketer needs when the designer is not around. Very helpful for last-minute editing and graphic creation.

3. Vsco

Vsco

OVERVIEW: 

Vsco is a solid photo editing app and much in demand among teenagers. It also has got preset filters and makeover tools.

PROS: 

Its toolkit feature helps you to make finer adjustments in skin tone, clarity, sharpness, vignette, saturation, and other properties. One can edit short videos and photographs by adding hashtags and captions. Overall it is straightforward to use and available on Android and ios.

CONS: 

One of the most viewed flaws in this Instagram tool is that it doesn't provide privacy, as anyone can view your edits on the Vsco app. Also, there can be issues regarding the import and export of items, such as huge-sized videos.

Our Take:

Vsco provides some very subtle and smart edits, and it is a must-have if you want your images and creatives to look different.

B. INSTAGRAM MANAGEMENT TOOLS

1. HubSpot

OVERVIEW: 

HubSpot offers an all-in-one social media management tool with powerful social media listening, campaign management, and analytics capabilities, all packed into a straightforward interface. You can use it to monitor and respond to all IG comments, while the platform’s reports give you the insights necessary to schedule posts at the right time for optimal engagement. 

PROS: 

HubSpot’s social media tool integrates with other HubSpot products. That means you can see and manage how your social strategy impacts your overall marketing efforts. Its reports show you how much website traffic comes from your Instagram accounts, while the platform’s CRM lets you save and track each specific user interaction, which is perfect for personalized lead nurturing campaigns. You can also repurpose blog content into multiple social posts to make the most out of your existing content and boost ROI. 

CONS: 

HubSpot is quite pricey compared to other tools in this list. Its social media management solution also comes bundled with other omnichannel marketing features, which may not bring the best value for money if you strictly focus on social marketing. 

Our take: 

HubSpot is an excellent choice for businesses that want to link their Instagram strategies with other marketing channels for full control over their campaigns.    

2. SocialBee

social bee

OVERVIEW: 

SocialBee is a top-notch social media management tool jam-packed with numerous features that will enable you to share content across all your social media profiles in one place. The tool can help you save up to 8 hours per week from content planning, sharing, and monitoring. 

PROS: 

SocialBee’s best features are the Canva integration inside the app’s post editor, the ability to set a posting schedule in a content calendar and the option to customize the posts for each social media platform. 

Moreover, the tool offers analytics to evaluate the performance of your accounts and a real-time preview of your upcoming posts. 

SocialBee also provides direct Posting to Instagram, a 14-day free trial and value-based pricing. 

CONS:  

YouTube publishing is not supported yet. 

Our take: 

SocialBee is an essential social media management tool for sharing and scheduling content on Instagram and other social media platforms.

3. ContentStudio

content studio homepage

ContentStudio is one of the leading Instagram scheduling tools for creating, scheduling, and publishing Instagram posts, reels, and stories. The scheduler also lets you post images and carousel posts directly to Instagram. Your stories can be published using push notifications.

PROS:

All the features you need for Instagram publishing are covered by ContentStudio. Its unique values include best times to post on Instagram, custom publishing queues, approval workflows, a personalized media library, a multi-view content calendar, influencer collaborations, and AI caption generator. Tracking your profile performance via Instagram analytics and competitor analysis collectively boosts your Instagram strategy.

CONS:

It does not have a free version. In addition, it lacks features such as social media listening and A/B testing.

4. ExploreIg

exploreIG homepage

OVERVIEW:

ExploreIg is one of the best tools if you are looking to get tags, locations, posts, and followers for a certain keyword on Instagram. You can use it as a great IG profile viewer and an editing tool to get more information about a competitor. 

This application allows you to get an idea about your competitors that improve your results. 

PROS:

A free tool that helps you get more insight into your niche. It also lets you see your competitors and their good performance. You can download and use different types of content to find your marketing results.

CONS:

Does have bugs at times; also, no app store application is available, only accessible from the website.

Pricing: A Free tool

5. Hootsuite 

Hootsuite

OVERVIEW: 

It is one of the best management tools that will allow you to be active on social media 24x7. Hootsuite helps you never miss a post with its post-scheduling features. It also helps you generate good reports. Launched in 2008, it has been the go-to social media management tool.

PROS: 

This Instagram Analytics tool serves you through its multi-media linking property, sending real-time statistics and updates through emails. It is swift to update your posts to multiple platforms simultaneously. So it is time-saving. The app has regular software updates. They arrange interactive seminars for the learners. 

CONS:  

Its users may encounter a problem due to the clumsy way of presenting the streams. Hootsuite does not offer IG links on unpaid services for small family Instagram influencers until they become famous enough to buy a paid subscription.

Our take: 

A must-have social media management tool for businesses, marketers, and influencers. It is easy to use and is smart. 

6. Combin 

OVERVIEW: 

Combin a revolutionary Instagram analytics tool for those who want to invest more in their target audience. It has built-in spy-like technology to help you find users with similar interests as your work. 

PROS: 

It helps you engage followers who fulfill your criteria. They don't attract vague likes and posts. You only need to focus on relevant hashtags and locations to gather a large crowd. It makes your work less by deleting irrelevant and non-relative accounts that are not interested in it.

CONS: 

This is not a bot app. It is labor-intensive work and makes you manually input the related data, based upon which it will show you the results. Thereafter, it is your choice whom to follow and whom not. There are also very few customization options available. It is too simplified. 

Our take: 

It is an advantageous app for lead generation as it helps you find the right audience. An absolute must-have.

7. Sendible

sendible

OVERVIEW: 

Sendible is a leading social media management platform that helps you to publish, collaborate, and analyze your account information in one go. Multiple brands are used at large scales for positioning and automating their business ideas on virtual stands.

PROS: 

It comes with powerful techniques to delight your clients every step. Its unified priority inbox is the most loved feature of all. This helps to deliver important conversations from multiple resources into a single stream. 

Its way of presenting the reports is remarkable. It represents meaningful and impressive-looking insights in the most understandable ways. It saves many hours for the curators through its compose box feature that helps you schedule your posts in bulk in the most sophisticated manner with zero errors. 

CONS: 

The existing users seem unsatisfied with its clumsy inbox feature and calendar settings. The services offered are expensive. Dashboard loading time is slow. It has limited reporting analytics.

Our take:

If you want to leverage the power of data in your Instagram marketing efforts, then the tool will let you do just that. It has great reports to gauge your Instagram marketing efforts.

C. INSTAGRAM VIDEO APPS

1. Later 

Later

OVERVIEW: 

Later is an Instagram tool to effectively manage your videos on Instagram. It is a must-have tool for social media influencers who want to make their video strategy on Instagram strong, as it also helps manage video content on the app through scheduling and more.

PROS: 

Its job is to help you plan, schedule, publish, and measure the results of your social media accounts, mostly the video Instagram posts. It can be used by marketers, business owners, and independent content creators.

CONS: 

This app is loaded with too many features and, therefore, can be a bit complicated. 

Our Take:

This will take some time to master, but it is a good tool to start your video editing and create killer content for your IGTV

2. Boomerang 

Boomerang 

OVERVIEW: 

It's an app owned by Instagram. It is available on the Instagram app, so you don't need to download it. It's used to create a 1sec video loop. The boomerang can include photos or small activities. It is a mix of gifs and stops motion. 

PROS: 

It's straightforward to use. Nowadays it is more in demand too. It helps you capture small moments you tend to miss out on long videos, such as blowing candles, your baby's first steps, etc. On Boomerang, you can apply pre-build filters available on Instagram and add music.

CONS: 

We couldn't find any major issues with this app, except that it sometimes doesn't work well on iOS devices. We think this cannot undo the fun users get from using this app.

Our Take:

It is a must-have classic app for every content creator, marketer, or anyone who wants to upload great micro video content on Instagram.

3. Life Lapse 

Life lapse

OVERVIEW: 

Life Lapse is one of those video apps that help you create professional quality videos without expensive equipment and a studio.

PROS: 

As the name suggests, it helps you create personal time-lapse and stop-motion videos. You can turn a series of photos into a video show. It is free of ads. There is not much editing required, and easy to align with too.

CONS: 

The app requires storage capability and good software to run smoothly. It may take time to efficiently process the files. 

Our take: 

If you are a fan of slow-motion videos, then you must have this app on your device.

D. INSTAGRAM HASHTAGS GENERATOR TOOLS

1. Kicksta 

OVERVIEW: 

Kicksta is a social media platform that helps you gather organic followers and likes with real-time manual work. It doesn't use bots and spam methods to increase followers. 

PROS:  

You don't need to share your Instagram password anytime or lose any money, as you can cancel your subscription anytime. It has a creative and professional plan with distinguished features in each of them according to the need. It ignores new accounts, private, inactive, and suspicious accounts, which renders the user data safe. 

CONS:

Pricing is high as compared to other apps. Its actual growth is through likes and their analysis. Gives no free trial, and major support is limited to the premium planners. 

Our take: 

You would love its subscription plan. It helps you alter your plan according to what you need. If you are new to a hashtag generator tool, you need to stay away from this because there is no free trial to see if you need such tools.

2. Flick

flick

OVERVIEW: 

Flick is one of the most advanced tools for enhancing hashtag strategy. You can gain more followers by finding the right hashtags and ranking free. 

Pros: 

It has got a variety of reliable metrics behind every hashtag. It gives you real on-time average likes, media count, and average comments on your posts section. The advanced hashtag metrics include the data on the traffic generated by a particular post, the competition score, and the estimated audience you can reach by using it. It keeps updating its hashtags every day.

CONS: 

The users face problems saving the hashtags they have already used for future use. 

Our take:

A must-have tool. If you want to leverage data, you will love this app as the reports are very detailed. 

3. Tailwind 

OVERVIEW: 

Tailwind is an app that can skyrocket your posts with the help of mind-blowing captions and hashtags. It has got other features like post-scheduling and building custom designs.

PROS

The user interface of this app is attractive. They have tutorials for new app users, which is commendable.

They give you the latest trending hashtags and the optimal time to use them.

CONS

There are not many cons with Tailwind. But connecting multiple accounts can get complex, but it's only a one-time thing. You might find using this app a bit complex without going through the tutorial.

Our take:

It is a great tool to use for finding hashtags. It might get tricky if you're using it for the first time. Don't forget to go through the tutorials first.

E. INSTAGRAM ANALYTICS TOOLS

1. Social Sprout 

sproutsocial

OVERVIEW: 

Social Sprout gives you the platform to manage and analyze your business campaign under one roof. 

PROS: 

It has a well-organized dashboard that makes it simpler to use by everyone. Monitoring your viewer's messages and email replies becomes easy. Post-scheduling tasks are resolved with no hassles. 

CONS: 

It has got limited social media networks under it. It is currently priced higher than its competitors. 

Our take: 

One of the best social media management tools to have. The product is highly versatile.

2. Iconosquare 

iconosquare

OVERVIEW: 

Initially called STATIGRAM, Iconosquare provides you with efficient analytics and followers range and measures fans. It is useful for all business types. 

PROS

It has various features other than reporting and analytics, such as real-time post-performance, data filters, followers' growth management, identifying top followers, and tracking influential posts, profiles and locations. It does advanced scheduling too. 

CONS:  

It is limited mostly to Instagram and Facebook. It does not separate organic and paid posts. There is difficulty in tracking comments. It is expensive.

Our take:

If you agree with the abovementioned cons, you must have this Instagram tool.

3. Socialfox 

Socialfox

OVERVIEW: 

SocialFox is a complete guide to your influencer marketing on social media. It is a digital marketing site filled with CRO websites, Google and Facebook ads, and SEO services.

PROS: 

It consistently maintains the brand's image and searches for the best influencers that match your needs. They treat influencers as partners and believe in establishing real trust in relations. Their campaigns are well organized with set guidelines and the best Instagram analytics tools. They show a good response to their connected communities also. 

CONS: 

It is not available in the play store and is still developing.

Our Take: 

It is a good Instagram tool if you want to start influencer marketing. But as we said in the cons, we suggest you wait until this app is fully developed.

Conclusion 

Instagram is the most popular social media platform for marketers and businesses looking to grow their audience online and reach out to them.

To do this effectively, these Instagram tools are imperative. Not only do they help you create smart posts, but they also allow your brand to appear hip and cool.

Also, if you haven't used any of the Instagram tools mentioned above and have a decent following, know that a successful business like yours should start exploring the potential of these Instagram tools.

These tools will also help you stay consistent and keep posting every day. You need to be consistent with your posts, IG TV videos, and live sessions, which is the only way to grow on this social media platform.

More importantly, these tools will keep your followers engaged and help you gain new ones. Monitor and keep on updating your hashtags with time. Also, promote your account legally.  

Deepak Sharma is the Founder and CEO of WithStartups – A Digital Marketing Company in Gurgaon for startups. As a serial entrepreneur, Deepak has worked across sectors and countries, and loves using technology to solve branding and customer acquisition problems. He is a published author and mentor to many startups.

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