The Best Free Tools for Social Media Content Creation
Jul 03, 2025
If things get quieter for your business during the summer, now is the perfect time to take a breath and get your digital marketing toolkit in shape. Ready for a busy autumn or even the run-up to Christmas.
And if you’re already flat-out? Bookmark this list for when you do have time. Every tool here is free (or has a generous free version) and will make your content creation life much easier. Some of the tools, like Canva, are worth upgrading to the paid version as you get so many fantastic features that you can’t really do without.
Whether you're a small business owner, freelancer, or work for a company, these are the tools I come back to again and again and recommend in my training sessions.
Images, Video And Editing
1. Canva
If you know me, you know I’m a Canva fan. Whether you're creating social media graphics, flyers, business cards, presentations or even editing videos, Canva has you covered.
✅ Free and Pro versions available.
✅ Easy to use, even for beginners. No graphic design experience is necessary
✅ Thousands of templates, videos and photos to use royalty-free
✅ Includes a social media scheduler, brand kit, and video editor
✅ Free for non-profits and education organisations
Bonus tip: The Pro version is worth every penny, but the free version is still brilliant and great to get you started. Plus find out how to get the most out of Canva on my blog.
2. Instagram Edits App
https://creators.instagram.com/edits
If you're editing short-form videos for Instagram Reels (or TikTok), Instagram’s Edits App is surprisingly powerful. You can now trim clips, adjust timing, reorder scenes, add text, filters, music, voiceover, and even use automatic captions, all without leaving the app. Available on iOS and Android
✅ Totally free to use
✅ Perfect for quick, on-the-go video edits
✅ Auto captions and text-to-speech make your content more accessible
✅ Great library of trending sounds and effects
✅ Easy to publish straight to Instagram Reels or Stories
Bonus tip: Use this for speed and convenience, especially if you're editing on your phone. It’s also a great way to test out content ideas before investing time in bigger edits.
3. InShot App
Another fantastic mobile video editing app. Slightly more manual than other apps but super easy to use and gives you more control. It's an excellent choice for editing LinkedIn videos or videos you want to repurpose across multiple channels, right from your phone.
✅ Free version available (adds watermark, upgrade removes it)
✅ Friendly drag‑and‑drop timeline for trimming, splitting, and speed‑ramping clips
✅ Built‑in music library, sound effects, voice‑over, filters, stickers and animated text
✅ Vertical canvas presets (9:16, 1:1, 4:5), ideal for social media formats. You can also edit photographs.
✅ Adjust video speed, merge clips, and export in HD
Bonus tip: Start with the free version to get familiar with the layout. If your videos gain traction, upgrading is well worth it for watermark removal and access to premium assets.
4. CapCut App
CapCut is a free video editing app (available on mobile and desktop) and perfect for Reels, TikToks, or Instagram Stories. Paid and free version.
✅ Templates for fast edits
✅ Auto-captions
✅ Transitions, effects, and text animations
✅ Easy to use even if you’ve never edited a video before
Bonus tip: Use the “auto cut” or “beat sync” features to quickly edit videos to music.
5. Filmora (Wondershare)
https://filmora.wondershare.net/
If you're ready to go beyond basic video edits but still want something easier than Premiere Pro or Final Cut, Filmora is a solid middle ground. It’s ideal for polished social media videos, YouTube content, or even client projects. It has a great desktop version if you are looking to edit on a larger screen.
✅ Free and paid versions available (free includes watermark)
✅ Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
✅ Huge library of music, effects, titles and transitions
✅ Supports green screen, audio ducking, screen recording and more
✅ Available for Windows and Mac
Bonus tip: Filmora’s free version is great for learning and experimenting. If you're producing videos regularly, the paid version is reasonably priced and removes the watermark. Highly recommend.
Content
6. ChatGPT
https://chatgpt.com/
Need help with captions, blog outlines, content ideas or even hashtags? ChatGPT is like having a creative partner on hand 24/7. It’s brilliant for beating blank-page syndrome and speeding up your content creation process.
✅ Free and premium versions available
✅ Great for brainstorming, rewriting, and generating ideas
✅ Works best with clear, specific prompts
Bonus tip: Don’t copy and paste, tweak and personalise. ChatGPT should sound like you, not a robot. Think of it as your first draft assistant, not your final editor.
7. Awareness Days UK
Run by yours truly! 😉
Plan your seasonal and awareness day content using this free site.
✅ 1,000+ awareness days
✅ Search by category
✅ Updated regularly
✅ Great for sparking content ideas all year round
Bonus tip: Bookmark your favourite categories and check weekly for upcoming days.
8. Loom
https://www.loom.com/
Record short videos or screen recordings — brilliant for explainer videos, how-tos, or quick client updates.
✅ Free tier available
✅ Records your screen, camera or both
✅ Share via link instantly
Bonus tip: Record a quick tour of your website or a tutorial and use it in your content or emails.
9. Emojipedia
Find the perfect emoji — and check how it appears on different devices before you post.
✅ Free emoji search
✅ Emoji meanings and usage
✅ Platform previews (Apple, Android, etc.)
Bonus tip: Great for making your captions more visual and skimmable — especially on mobile.
Know Your Audience
10. Google Trends
https://trends.google.com/trends/
Helps you see what people are searching for online — ideal for content ideas, hashtags, and seasonal relevance.
✅ See trending topics in your country
✅ Compare search terms
✅ Discover rising interest over time
Bonus tip: Use it to time content around when your audience is most interested.
11. AnswerThePublic
https://answerthepublic.com/
A content idea generator that shows real questions people are asking about your topic online.
✅ Great for blog, Reel, or FAQ inspiration
✅ Free searches daily (freemium)
✅ Easy visual format
Bonus tip: Plug in your industry or topic (e.g. “interior design” or “email marketing”) and get instant content ideas.
12. Facebook Ad Library
See what ads other businesses (including your competitors!) are running on Facebook and Instagram.
✅ Great for inspiration
✅ See which creatives are being used
✅ 100% free and open to all
Bonus tip: Search by keyword or brand name to see what’s trending in your industry
Productivity Tools
13. Meta Business Suite
Still posting to Instagram and Facebook one at a time? Meta’s own tool lets you schedule to both — for free.
✅ Schedule Instagram and Facebook posts
✅ Access performance analytics
✅ Manage inboxes and comments
✅ Free and built-in to your Facebook business page
Bonus tip: Batch schedule a week or month of content when you have a quiet moment.
14. Bitly
Create short, trackable links for your posts, especially useful for Instagram bios, printed materials, or tracking marketing campaigns.
✅ Custom short links
✅ Click tracking
✅ Link in bio pages
Bonus tip: Use branded short links for a more polished, trustworthy look.
15. URL Campaign Builder
www.ga-dev-tools.google/campaign-url-builder
If you're running email campaigns or ads, this tool helps you track performance in Google Analytics by adding UTM parameters to your links.
✅ See which posts or emails drive traffic
✅ Track custom campaigns
✅ Easy to use, just fill in a form and copy the URL
Bonus tip:
Analytics
16. Google Analytics (GA4)
https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/
Still essential for measuring your website performance, traffic sources, and content impact.
✅ Track what content brings people to your site
✅ Monitor behaviour and conversions
✅ Integrates with Ads, email platforms, and more
Bonus tip: If GA4 still confuses you, you’re not alone — I cover this in training too!
17. Percentage Calculator
Perfect for checking how your content or ads are performing, especially when reviewing analytics or campaign results.
✅ Free, simple, no login needed
✅ Great for calculating % increase/decrease
✅ Also useful for discount planning and ad performance reviews
Bonus tip:
18. PageSpeed Insights
https://pagespeed.web.dev/
Check how fast your website loads — slow sites = lost visitors.
✅ Free from Google
✅ Scores for mobile and desktop
✅ Shows what’s slowing your site down
Bonus tip: If your score is poor, it may be time to optimise your images or talk to your web developer.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re prepping content in a quiet summer spell or frantically planning ahead for the autumn/winter push, these tools are well worth bookmarking.
I use many of them myself — and regularly recommend them in my training sessions. They’re free, beginner-friendly, and give you a big head start on content planning, video creation, design, analytics, and ads.
Need help putting them into action?
I offer hands-on digital marketing and content planning workshops, plus 1:1 support for businesses, charities, and teams.
Get in touch here and let’s make content feel easier.
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