5 tools every Instagram creator needs to use in 2022

1. Linktree - Link-in-bio tool

If you check out the profiles of your competitors, other influencers, brands, and even A-list celebrities, you’ll notice that almost every page has a clickable link in their Instagram bio – especially a Linktree link. 

Something like this: 

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And when you click on the link, you’ll get redirected to a directory of the creator’s website, product page, content, other social media channels, sponsorship deals, and a lot more. 

Does it look familiar to you? 

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This little add-on is more than just a way to add multiple links to your profile. It gives you a way to build connections with your fans through more meaningful and engaging content. 

For instance, you can encourage your Instagram audience to click on the link in your bio to view your tutorial, which can further prompt them to sign up for your beta list or buy your product. 

With a customer base of over 18 million brands, artists, publishers, agencies, and influencers worldwide – that’s where Linktree comes in. 

The tool is incredibly user-friendly and visually appealing (read: it’s a pleasure to use!). Start by adding your links. All you need to do is to add your URLs, titles, and you’re all set. 

You also get a medley of unique pre-designed themes – both free and paid. Or you can create your own theme from scratch. 

Aside from textual links, Linktree also lets you add music links, video links, display products from your Shopify store, a support me link, contact details, and more. 

If you want, you can also show your support for an important cause by displaying a banner on your profile. However, only one banner can be active at a time.

It also has other nifty features like: 

1. Collect payments and donations
2. Embed Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook videos 
3. Extensive third-party integrations like MailChimp, Google Sheets, etc. 
4. View insight into your traffic and decipher which content is performing the best.
5. Besides Instagram, add Linktree link to your Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter bio 
   

The best part? There’s a free forever plan that lets you add unlimited links and a customizable Linktree.  

Pricing: Paid plans start from $5/mo when paid annually and go up to $24/mo. 

2. Pixelcut - graphic design app for Instagram and e-commerce 

If there’s one thing to credit the rise of Instagram, it would be visual aesthetics. But if you’re struggling to get the aesthetics of your feed right, Pixelcut is the tool for you. 

Pixelcut is a post-production suite for Instagram — an easy and affordable way to design your feed and profile. It's a quick way to design stunning Instagram posts from your phone without the need to use complex design software. 

You can create and edit a wide range of designs for your Instagram (some of which include: banners, ads, any image size, videos, and even stories) and even schedule ahead of time. They’ll give you a notification reminder when it’s time to post. The app even allows you to save templates, custom color palettes, logos, stickers, among other elements that you can access later on for your content. You can also explore and use templates created by other creators like you. 

We also got the chance to talk to Tito Mendoza, a budding digital creator, musician, and podcaster who swears by Pixelcut. Tito suggested, 

“My daily driver is Pixelcut for creating my Instagram posts. The most convenient aspect of the app is being able to save custom templates that fit the need for whatever platform/medium I choose while keeping the "brand" or  "vibe" that I'm trying to achieve".

I can set up a collection of templates that have the same backgrounds, text, colors, and element layouts for different aspect ratios to optimize for Instagram stories, posts, and reels. This is a huge time saver. Whenever I have something new to post or promote, I can choose a template that I've created and generate something quickly without having to start from scratch every single time.”

Pricing: Free for Instagram. 

3. Content Cal - social media scheduling tool 

Content Cal is a social media scheduling tool that helps you plan, manage and automate content on all major social media networks: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn. The straightforward and visual drag-and-drop interface makes team collaboration, content planning, scheduling posts, and more a breeze. 

The built-in calendar also makes it easy to create workflows, duplicate posts, preset times, and share the schedule with your team members. It’s not merely about sharing the calendar with your team. You and your team can actually curate, draft, and map out your content and posting schedule in tandem. 

The team at Girls in Marketing, an Instagram channel striving to bridge the digital skills gap and equalize gender seniority in marketing, also told us about their use of Content Cal: 

"Social media scheduling tools are a must-have when it comes to content creation. We use Content Cal as it’s helpful when it comes to other team members approving/editing content before it’s scheduled."

Pricing: Starts at $30 per month (when billed annually). 

4. Instagram Insights - Instagram analytics tool 

Instagram Insights is Instagram’s own Insights tool that allows you to track your statistics and progress on the platform. However, it’s only available in your mobile app and with the business or creator account.

The tool can show you a crazy amount of helpful data that can help you understand your audience and make informed decisions on how best to market yourself and get more likes.

You’ll be able to see your top posts for a selected time frame, the total number of likes, engagement rate by posting time, overall impressions, number of unique users reached, engagement rate, and much more. ‍

Instagram’s analytics tool also gives you insights into: 

1. Engagements with specific posts, reels, stories, live videos
2. Your paid ads (if applicable)
3. Followers and audience demographics to help you understand your target audience better 
4. Metrics like profile visits, website clicks, follower change, and more 
5. Most active times (average times your followers are on Instagram)

All this information will help you do everything from increasing your post reach to getting more targeted traffic and keeping in touch with your subscribers. 

Pricing: Free. Built-in with Instagram. 

5. HashtagsforLikes - trending hashtags research tool 

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HashtagsforLikes is a leading hashtag research tool to help businesses, organizations, and individuals find trending hashtags for any topic based on their likes and industry.

And it’s not merely a hashtag research tool. You can also use HashtagsforLikes to analyze your performance and even track competitors and fellow digital creators in your niche. This allows you to incorporate hashtags in your campaign that actually give results.

In addition, the hashtag research tool lets you curate and save hashtag sets to use later on. 

Pricing: Starts at $19/week or $59/month. You also get a 14-day money-back guarantee.