App for journalists: Unfold, for creating personalised social media stories

Image by App Store

What is it? A toolkit for social media storytellers, which allows you to create minimalistic social media stories on-the-go

Price: Free, with in-app purchases for extra templates

Devices: iOS & Android

How is it of use to journalists?

As an increasing number of media organisations look to build their presence using the stories function on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, journalists are needing to become more and more creative to engage audiences that are overwhelmed by content.

That is where Unfold comes in, an app that can help reporters breathe more life into their storytelling, with set templates that present their work in a different way. Users are able to create multiple projects within the app, which can then be saved to their photos for later, or uploaded straight onto Instagram.

So, how do you get started?

Once you have downloaded the app and given it permission to access your camera, simply tap the ‘+’ button on the home screen to start a story. Give it a name, tap ‘+’ again and select a layout design that would best present your work.

Add your visual content by clicking on the grey box within the template, which will let you upload from your camera roll or take fresh material.

Click the pentagon in the bottom-right hand corner to add text, change the colour scheme or delete the page.

Inside Unfold - upload and edit

You can add more pages by tapping the ‘+’ icon. If you are working on more than one page for your story, re-order the pages with the mid-screen arrow button if you need.

When you feel ready to publish, hit the eye icon either to bring up a preview, or hit the download button in the top-right corner to save the files to your camera roll.

Here, the app will give you the option to upload to Instagram manually or directly from the app. Once you have uploaded the stories, you can add any other emojis or features within Instagram.

Inside Unfold - save and upload

As you upgrade to the paid tiers ranging from £0.99 - £1.99, you will gain a greater amount of customisation with videos, borders, backgrounds and designs – these can all be previewed before you buy.

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