We all know the struggle of keeping up with our social media profiles. Between posting content, managing followers, responding to messages, and staying on top of new trends in your industry, it can feel like you’re never getting anything done — let alone actually promoting your business.
But as much as we may begrudgingly accept that this is just the life of a modern marketer (and if you’re reading this right now, I’m guessing you are one), all the stress doesn’t mean that we have to go through it all without some help.
In fact, rather than beating ourselves up with the knowledge that we need to do a better job at promoting our brands, we should embrace social media as a tool that can allow us to streamline our marketing strategy and get a lot more free exposure.
You’re a savvy social media marketer, but that doesn’t mean you’re not struggling with day-to-day tasks. You’re constantly on the go, trying to manage multiple platforms and run your business in this rapidly changing digital world. Here are five tools designed to make your life easier. These online tools can save you time and work more efficiently with less effort.
There is no right answer to what social media marketing tools you should use. As the saying goes, “Do what works for you.” One thing is certain: You can’t ignore how useful social media marketing tools can be. In many cases, they allow you to reach audiences that would have been out of reach just a few years ago. With the explosion of different social networks, finding the best tools that work for you can be difficult. Here are five essential tools that will make your life easier and put more money in your wallet:
- Buffer
Buffer is a streamlined tool for scheduling social media posts and measuring your success with analytics. This tool allows for precise scheduling of posts in advance to plan and publish on all your social sites simultaneously — or post different responses to different conversations across several platforms at different times if you have time to do so. Buffer is free for a limited number of posts.
If you have more than 10 posts per day, a paid option is available. It’s challenging to figure out, though, so this is not an option I’d recommend for just starting. You can schedule your posts on a calendar or use the drop-down menu that includes the time of day you want to publish. The key here is to have all your posts set ahead of time. It’s critical for planning so you don’t miss anything important.
- Hootsuite
Hootsuite is another great tool for scheduling, and its analytics allow you to track engagement for each post. It also provides analytical tools that are very useful for social media managers because it gives you insight into how your brand is doing, who your best followers are, and what kind of content is most popular — among other useful metrics. The basic version is free, but it also offers paid services that are pricier.
Hootsuite is a social media management tool that can be used and is the one many people recommend as a good starting place for those just getting started with social media marketing. It helps you manage multiple social platforms from one dashboard. The Hootsuite app offers access to more than 35 social networks and allows users to schedule messages, review analytics, and create reports.
As if that weren’t enough, Hootsuite also integrates with Google Analytics. This means it’s easy to see how your social media efforts affect your website traffic and conversions (if applicable). Another one from Hootsuite is The Site Sentinel. This tool provides a link for each social media account that shows all your updates — so you can see at a glance which ones are doing well and which ones aren’t. It also allows you to see which posts on each site are bringing traffic to your website and how many sales they’re producing.
- InVideo
With more than 300 million views per month on its network and a growing following of video creators and brands, InVideo is one of the latest video marketing tools. It allows users to create leads, show off their products, or even give some behind-the-scenes access to customers — InVideo makes it easy to embed videos into your Facebook posts. You can also embed that video elsewhere — in a blog post, on a website, etc.
Like many social media marketing tools, there are multiple pricing levels. For example, if you want access to analytics or high-quality editing, you’ll need to sign up for one of the pricier plans. But if you just need a tool to help you create videos that get views and get customers to your website, InVideo has a plan for that. For example, the “Basic” plan is $99 per month and allows five posts per month. If you want more visibility, the “Premium” version is $299 per month and allows 10 posts — or none if you choose.
- SocialOomph
SocialOomph is an easy-to-use, free social media tool that helps you schedule posts and checks your analytics. One feature that makes SocialOomph stand out from the crowd is its extensive list of options.
Its Twitter integration allows you to search for specific sites or users, and then schedule messages at a specified time on the appropriate platform. It also allows you to pause scheduled posts if you need to push them back for any reason. You can edit messages as well as attach multiple photos and even upload videos. SocialOomph does have a price tag associated with it, but it’s well worth the cost if it becomes a must-have tool for your business.
5 . Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a social media management tool that helps users streamline managing different profiles across multiple social networks. Sprout Social helps with scheduling and publishing, as well as measuring how your content is doing and seeing which posts are performing best. It also has an alert module that monitors your brand mentions on social media, so you can respond quickly when necessary. This tool combines analytics from Hootsuite and Tweetdeck, making it a complete platform for monitoring, interacting with fans and customers, publishing content, analysing performance, and sharing insights with others in the organisation. Its free version allows up to three profiles and offers premium features to paying clients at $99 monthly or $999 annually.
Final Words
Social Media Marketing is the new way to promote your product and services. If you have a business, you need to understand the process of Social Media Marketing or Hire a professional. So, you can use above mentioned tools and try them for yourself. After getting success with these tools, you may decide to hire a Professional Social Media Marketer.
Whatever the size of your business, it’s important to keep your social media presence active. By budgeting for tools like the ones mentioned above, you’ll save money on hiring an in-house social media expert who can stay on top of trends and uses for the appropriate platforms.
Each tool works slightly differently, so it’s important to experiment with them to find the right one for your business.
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