Instagram’s popularity and quickly changing platform has clients asking us, “What Instagram tools should we use?” Let’s look at my top TWO Instagram tools, what you get with the free versions, and a preview of what the paid versions have to offer.

We love it when clients have the drive to learn more about presenting their brands and communicating better on social media. Our whole goal is communication that speaks to people! When your audience shifts into an area you aren’t as sure about, it’s time to dive in, learn quickly, and adapt. Hopefully, these Instagram tools will help you on your journey.

You’ll also notice… these aren’t just “Instagram tools,” but apps that you can use in multiple places which is great if you need to have your images on more than just Instagram.

VSCO
Available for free in the App Store and Google Play. Level up to the paid version for $19.99 USD/yr.

I first learned about the VSCO app at a photography class. I took the teacher’s advice, downloaded it, and started using VSCO THAT DAY. Since then, not only have I loved the functionality and how it makes ok photos look much better, but also how intuitive and fun it is to use. If you have any experience with Lightbox or Photoshop, you’ll see functions you’d expect to for basic photo editing.

VSCO allows you to import photos from your phone or take photos within the app. From there, you can use their free basic photo editing tools. This includes Exposure, Adjust (Cropping and Alignment), Sharpen and more. There are also “Presets,” which are groups of settings which you can play with and see what works for you.

If you want access to more Presets, tips and tricks, and access to a wider photography community, VSCO has a paid annual subscription of $19.99 USD.

Want to know more about photography or how to use specific functions like Exposure, Sharpen, etc.? Check out tutorials like this one to grow in your photography knowledge.
The VSCO app makes this handsome boy looks even better!

Over
Available for free in the App Store and Google Play.

Over PRO has a monthly option at $14.99 USD/month (no free trial, subscription starts immediately), or save a bit and pay $99.99 USD/year (7-day free trial, then charged the yearly fee).

I LOVE OVER. Love. It. There might be a better app out there for making your IG posts and stories pop. I haven’t found it yet. I’ve tried others yet none strike the balance between control and templated looks. With Instagram so focused on images, it really is all about how you present it. Typically I get the feed into a good flow but SOMETIMES it needs to be a bit more fancy and I want to take it up a notch.

What do I love about Over?

  • Plays off what I’ve already worked on with the brand. The app allows you to import images and use your branded colors (so have those Hexcodes ready!). There are images and graphics in the free version should you need them too.
  • Source for tips, tricks, and trends for social graphics, social media engagement and more to keep you up to speed with what’s going on at a glance.
  • Over has so many layouts and templates for not just Instagram, but also Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. Posts, stories, covers, all of it. And if you need a custom size, just pop in the pixels and go.

If you don’t have access already to more graphics and fonts, Over PRO has both monthly and annual subscriptions available. Pro will also give you more layout templates and team sharing functions.

Time to test it out for yourself!

Let these Instagram tools serve as your jumping off point. Test them out and see how they work for your organization. Some apps out there are fantastic, and others, well, not so much. Read the reviews so you know what the latest versions are like and dive on in.

What are your favorite Instagram apps? Any questions about Instagram or social media we can talk about in a future post? Let us know below, we’d love to hear from you.