Content creation has evolved so rapidly in the last few years. Today, the standards for content quality are sky-high, whether it’s the recording quality of a podcast or the video editing for a brand’s TikTok.
For marketers and content creators, it’s becoming more and more important to take advantage of the many content creator tools out there to make content that stands out from the noise around you. But which tools should you be using?
At Slam Media Lab, we specialize in crafting quality content that speaks to your audience. We research, script, film, direct, edit, and ship engaging, valuable, on-brand content across all major social platforms.
Our expert team doesn’t do it alone, though—we’ve spent hours testing different content creator tools to find the software that boosts content quality and performance. If you’re interested in learning how to apply these tools to your own business, you can check out our “How to Start an Agency Course,” taught by our founder, Silvia Li Sam.
We’ll describe each tool in detail later in the article and explain what it brings to the table, but for now, here’s the list of our top content creator tools for 2024:
- Canva
- Grammarly
- Notion
- Ahrefs
- Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder
- Shutterstock
- Giphy
- Buzzsprout
- Airtable
- AnswerThePublic
- Rival IQ
- Descript
- DALL-E
- CapCut
- Hootsuite’s IG Hashtag Generator
From crafting compelling visuals to fine-tuning SEO strategies, these tools will help you stay ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving digital sphere.
Why Do You Need Content Creator Tools?
Sure, you can create content without specialized social media content creator tools, but there are a few reasons why tools can be valuable:
- You can create better-quality content with the right tools
- Your content will be more consistently on-brand
- Content creator tools can save you significant time in creating and posting your content
Let’s take a closer look at how the best content creator tools can be a great addition to your arsenal.
Boost Content Quality
In digital media, content is king, but quality is the crown jewel. Content creator tools equip us with the resources to refine our creations, whether through:
- Advanced photo editing
- Sophisticated video production
- Grammar-checking apps
- On-page technical SEO
By ensuring that our content is as professional as possible, these tools bolster our credibility as creators, instill confidence in our audience, and help our brands and products look a class above the competition.
Improve Content Consistency
Whether you’re new to content creation or you’ve been in the game for years, consistency is likely something you’re very familiar with. Both in terms of posting regularly and staying on-brand with your content writing strategy, making sure you stay consistent is one of the keys to producing quality content. This skill requires you to:
- Schedule your social media posts
- Tweak your tone of voice for consistency
- Create and adhere to brand style guidelines
Consistency helps your brand establish a cohesive, recognizable presence online. Brand consistency, in terms of your voice and your messaging, leads to brand recognition and developing a loyal, returning customer base. Posting consistently feeds the algorithm for different social channels, extending the reach and performance of your posts.
Enhance Your Efficiency
Most content creators wear many different hats, and time is of the essence when it comes to meeting deadlines without sacrificing your content’s quality. Content creator tools streamline workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and boost productivity, allowing you to focus your energy on what matters most: creating content that converts!
Whether it's AI-powered writing assistants that expedite the content creation process, video editing software that makes posting your reels a breeze, or applications for measuring SEO performance, these tools empower creators to work smarter, not harder, and achieve more in less time.
What to Look For in Content Creator Tools
Whenever you’re looking for new software, there are usually a few different options to choose from. So how do you narrow down the search to avoid testing 30 different products? You can start by asking these four questions:
- Does it fit the budget?
- Is there a learning curve?
- What’s the support like?
- Does it meet your needs?
Let’s expand on this to help you understand exactly what to look for in the best content creator tools.
Budget
Your decision shouldn’t be based on cost alone, but it’s a good place to start because it may help you rule out some options immediately if they are clearly out of your price range. For example, if you’re running a nonprofit Instagram account, you may not have the budget of a larger for-profit brand. You might find that some tools you're looking at have additional features you don’t need, which come at a higher cost.
Ideally, you want to find tools that are within your budget while still meeting your needs. You’ll find that some software comes with different payment tiers, allowing you to only pay for the features you need, and possibly unlock more features if you grow and scale your content operations later.
Learning Curve
The learning curve associated with content creator tools can vary significantly from one platform to another. While some tools have intuitive interfaces and user-friendly features, others may require a steep learning curve to master.
If it’s a tool you’re going to be using daily (like an editorial calendar for social media), and it’s a big part of your content operations, learning how to use it might be a worthwhile time investment. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for a quick tool for editing images, you might not want something too technical, especially if you need to train other team members.
Support
When it comes to software and tech, it’s almost inevitable that you’re going to run into a few roadblocks along the way. Whether you’re having trouble finding a specific feature or you’re running into technical difficulties, there’s a high chance that you’ll have to interact with the tool’s support crew at some stage.
Some software has great customer support, and it makes all the difference. Talking to a real person who clearly understands their product whenever you have an issue can lead to a quick resolution, potentially saving you hours of frustration. Invest in tools that prioritize their customers—you won’t regret it!
Features
Ultimately, the most critical consideration when evaluating content creator tools is whether they meet your specific needs. Assess your workflow, identify pain points, and determine which features are most important to you.
Whether you're seeking tools for graphic design, video editing, content management, social media scheduling, or technical SEO audit tools, prioritize platforms that offer the functionality and flexibility to accommodate your unique creative vision.
Our Favorite Content Creator Tools
So, without further ado, here are the content creator tools that have proven indispensable in helping us create high-converting, on-brand content that performs for every client.
Canva
Canva is a powerhouse graphic design platform that makes it easy to create stunning visuals for a wide range of purposes. From social media graphics to presentations and marketing materials, Canva's intuitive interface and vast library of templates make it a go-to tool for both novice and seasoned designers alike.
One of the best things about Canva is how easy it is to use—you can pick up the basics in no time at all. It’s also extremely affordable, with the free version offering a decent suite of basic design features to get you started, and the Pro version costing $15/month for additional features like background removal, AI tools, content scheduling capabilities, and 24/7 support.
Grammarly
Grammarly is a must-have tool for anyone creating content with text. This AI-powered writing assistant helps you check your grammar, punctuation, and style across various platforms, ensuring that every piece of content is polished to perfection. It’s a spellcheck plug-in with more advanced features that dive into tone, clarity, and how engaging your text is.
Whether you’re writing blog posts, crafting captions for your social posts, or creating high-converting ad copy, Grammarly can help you find the right tone while making sure your spelling and grammar are accurate. The free version is pretty robust, but the Premium plan ($12/month) unlocks extra features like a plagiarism checker and more advanced suggestions.
Notion
Notion is a versatile all-in-one workspace that enables you to organize projects, collaborate with team members, and manage tasks with amazing flexibility. Its customizable interface and diverse features make it a great tool for streamlining workflows, scheduling content, and boosting productivity.
At Slam Media Lab, we’re huge Notion fans! It plays a big role in how we manage content calendars and tasks internally, and we’ve also created a range of helpful templates that you can use as well, including our:
- Notion Content Creation Template
- Notion Documentation Template
- Notion Wiki Template
- Notion Task List Template
Notion does have a free plan, but it’s not really set up for teams. If you need to collaborate, you’ll have to upgrade to at least the Plus version, which is $8 per user per month.
Ahrefs
Technical SEO tools are so important for content creators, because without proper SEO, there’s a good chance your content will get lost in the noise and all your hard work will be for nothing. At Slam Media Lab, SEO is our bread and butter! We stay up-to-date with all the latest algorithm updates, news, and releases, and run technical SEO audits for clients to find and address SEO issues across their sites.
For content creators, one of our favorite small business SEO tools is Ahrefs. Ahrefs provides valuable insights into keyword research, competitor analysis, and website optimization. With its array of tools and reports, Ahrefs equips content creators with the analytics they need to improve their search engine visibility and drive organic traffic to their content.
Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder
Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder is a Google Chrome extension that will honestly save you hours if you take a lot of screenshots. If you’re making instructional guides, help center articles, or other content with edited or annotated screenshots, Nimbus will be your new best friend.
You can easily capture screenshots and recordings, and then edit them. You can even turn screen recordings and videos into short GIFs, which is perfect if you’re making short instructional content. We love Loom for quick and easy screen recording, but the ability to edit clips can sometimes make Nimbus a more versatile option.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock is a leading provider of high-quality stock images, videos, and music that caters to the diverse needs of content creators in every industry. With its vast library of assets and user-friendly search functionality, Shutterstock makes it easy to find the perfect visual elements to enhance any project.
There are lots of different options when it comes to stock images, so this tool isn’t the end all be all. However, you can pay per download or explore the subscription options that allow you to download a certain number of images (or videos, music, and other media) per month for a fixed price.
Giphy
Giphy is the ultimate destination for discovering and sharing animated GIFs, stickers, and memes. Whether you’re adding a touch of humor to your social media posts or injecting personality into an email blast, Giphy's extensive collection of animated content offers endless creative possibilities.
With Giphy Create, you can also make your own GIFs by uploading your video and adding captions, stickers, filters, drawings, and more. Giphy is also free, so whether you’re using Instagram for a small business or running a company’s Facebook page, it’s a great addition to your toolkit.
Buzzsprout
For anyone in the podcast business, Buzzsprout is one of the best hosting platforms out there. It stores all your podcasts online and allows you to distribute them across various platforms, including Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts. It’s user-friendly and has a great selection of free resources to help you get started.
As well as being able to distribute your podcasts, one of the major draws of Buzzsprout is its analytics platform. You’ll be able to see each episode’s performance, what devices your listeners use, and where your audience is located. Insightful analytics like this are so important in content creator tools!
Airtable
Like Notion, Airtable is another great choice for managing your content and creating a calendar. You can use the platform to collaborate with your team, organize and assign tasks, and track the performance of all your marketing campaigns in one place. For content creators, Notion and Airtable have similar capabilities, so it usually comes down to personal preference.
For more Airtable resources, take a look at these from Slam Media Lab:
- Airtable social media calendar
- Airtable social media automation
- Airtable content calendar
- Webflow form file uploads to Airtable
If you’re not sure whether Airtable is right for you and your team, you can also check out our comparison guides to using Airtable vs Google Sheets and Trello vs Airtable.
AnswerThePublic
Struggling to think of new content ideas? AnswerThePublic is a valuable tool for generating content ideas and uncovering the questions and concerns of your target audience. By analyzing search engine data, AnswerThePublic provides insights into the topics that matter most to your audience, helping you create content that resonates and drives engagement.
AnswerThePublic can be particularly valuable for helping you develop a content writing strategy. By starting with one general topic, like “vegetable gardening,” it can show you all the related questions your audience is asking about vegetable gardening, giving you free, relevant ideas for topics that will really resonate with your audience.
Rival IQ
Rival IQ is a competitive analysis platform that enables content creators to gain valuable insights into their competitors' strategies across social media channels. With its comprehensive analytics and reporting tools, Rival IQ allows you to identify trends, track performance, and stay one step ahead of your competitors.
If you’re not sure how to use TikTok for your small business for maximum effect, Rival IQ is a great place to start. It can help show you how you stack up among your competitors, allowing you to tweak your TikTok content planner to work the algorithm in your favor and deliver better content that reaches (and resonates with) your audience.
Descript
Descript is an innovative audio and video editing platform that combines transcription, editing, and collaboration features into a seamless workflow. With its intuitive interface and powerful editing tools, Descript revolutionizes the way content creators edit and produce multimedia content. Whether you’re making podcasts or videos (or podcasts with videos), Descript has all the recording, editing, and publishing tools you need.
DALL·E
Dall·E, Dall·E 2, and Dall·E 3 are all machine-learning text-to-image models that can interpret text inputs and produce an image in response to a written description. Developed by OpenAI, Dall·E is a great choice if you can’t find a stock image that meets your needs, or you need a highly specific image created.
We cover how to use AI tools like ChatGPT and Dall·E in our “How to Start an Agency” course!
CapCut
If you’re running a small business on TikTok, meet CapCut. It’s widely considered the best video content creator tool and editor for TikTok, but it can be used for Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts as well. It offers a lot more features than TikTok’s in-app editing, and also integrates with TikTok to help you upload your content.
CapCut is user-friendly, won’t take you long to get the hang of, and is one of the most valuable agency tools when it comes to elevating your content and adding new layers of professionalism to your videos. There’s a free plan that gives you a pretty good look at the platform, while paid plans start at $7.99/month.
Hootsuite’s IG Hashtag Generator
Navigating small business hashtags for Instagram isn’t always straightforward. How many hashtags should you use per post? Should you focus on niche hashtags or more common ones? Hootsuite’s IG Hashtag Generator is a great tool to help you find the answers.
Simply copy in the caption for your Instagram post, type in some keywords, and let Hootsuite generate the best hashtags for your post. It’s completely free, quick and easy to use, and can make a big difference to the number of eyeballs on your social posts.
Level Up Your Content With Slam Media Lab
Creating great content isn’t easy, especially when you have to work so hard just to stand out in an endless feed. The right content creator tools can really help you cut through the noise, develop quality, on-brand content, and make sure it’s reaching your audience.
At Slam Media Lab, creating quality content is what we do. From crafting the perfect TikTok script templates to developing and executing your nonprofit content marketing strategy, our team of expert content creators live for developing unique, high-converting content that hits your audience in all the right places.
Ready to level up your content game with Slam Media Lab? Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with one of our experts!
