Free creative tools for socialgov
Looking for some new (and free!) creative tools & resources to up your socialgov game? Here’s a snapshot list of websites, apps and extensions that we’ve found useful, and you might, too. Use these resources to help you write better, find perfect pictures and create your creative — all crucial pieces of your government social media professional role.
Are you ready to write?
Simplify your writing, check your tone and get the right words down with Grammarly — a free, online writing assistant that helps copy edit and compose mistake-free writing.
If you’re looking for more in-depth reports on your writing while highlighting potential improvements, check out ProWritingAid free version for grammar checks, style edits, suggestions and more to strengthen your writing.
Are you a visual person? Sign up for Milanote, an easy-to-use tool to organize ideas and projects visually! Before you embark on your next big project, use this to easily collect everything in one place to make your creative a success.
Ever get writer's block? Here are some pro tips to unlock your creativity:
- Put the screen down, and do something else (take a walk, hang out with your dog, read a book outside) to stimulate your brain without draining it.
- Get organized. Clean your work area and make a to-do list to help get back on track.
- Try apps like Danger Notes (you’re forced to keep writing or you’ll lose everything!), Werdsmith for your own personal writing studio or WordPalette to help spark creativity through scrambled text.
Get picture perfect with these resources
Besides your in-house or freelancer images, sometimes what you need is a stock photo. Here are a few free resources and a helpful image resizer:
It’s also important to ensure the photos you use on social media communications, images, etc. are representative of your entire community. Take steps to diversify your photo library of real photos from your community for the most authentic representation, and you can ask for photos from your community to incorporate user-generated content. If you want to diversify your photos now, some of our members recommend using sites like Nappy and Pexels or Canva’s Natural Women Collection.
Create your creative
Now, it’s time to create! Once you have your edit-free writing and perfect free images, pull it all together with free templates, design types and graphics in Canva’s free version. Easily, as Canva’s website puts it, “design anything.”
Getting stuck on the perfect color combination? Use a color scheme generator like Coolors to create a perfect palette in no time. Play around with the generator and keep tweaking until you have it just right, and save your favorites by creating a free account.
Have fun creating your creative with these helpful, free resources!
Best communicate with the public you serve by becoming a part of the free Government Social Media network — only available to full/part-time employees of government or educational institutions.
We support the largest network of government social media professionals in the U.S. by guiding government agencies through complex social media issues. Government Social Media helps you successfully communicate with the public you serve, protect your agency and keep public trust while finding your support community.
