How would you like to optimize your online presence, while simultaneously saving time on social media marketing?
It sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? The reality is, though, that you can accomplish this – as long as you have the right tools.
Social media marketing tools are available in abundance, which can be a good thing. Or, it can be something that’s completely overwhelming.
With so many tools, how do you know which ones are the best?
Social Media Marketing Tools That Will Change Your Life
Are you ready to save time and energy on social media marketing? These eight tools will help you do just that. Utilizing them in your business will keep you organized and on-task. Your social media marketing plan will have a better direction. And that improves your odds of business growth and success.
1. Buffer
Buffer is one of the most well-known social media marketing tools available. The Buffer social media marketing tool allows you to manage multiple platforms simultaneously. You can easily share the same content over several platforms all at once, which will save you a ton of time.
This tool has automation features so you can write your posts and set them to a delivery timer. You get to accomplish so much in one sitting, instead of having to stay on social media all day long.
Buffer’s features are so beneficial that Finances Online has named it one of the top 50 tools on its social media tools list. Add to that a user satisfaction rate of 97% and this is a must-try tool.
2. MeetEdgar
Do you ever struggle to come up with content ideas for your social media posts? Do you feel like the way you share your blog posts is becoming repetitive?
MeetEdgar can help. This is a tool that analyzes an article you want to share. The article could be your company’s latest blog. Or, it could be an article that you find interesting or consider helpful to your audience.
This social media content marketing tool will analyze the article and come up with post ideas. It’s called auto-variation. You put one article link into MeetEdgar and end up with multiple ways to promote that article. And that’s all without having to write a single word.
The variations provided can be used across various social media platforms. Or, you can use one now and use another when you promote your blog again a week or a month later.
3. SocialOomph
This is yet another Social Media Marketing tool that can save you and your marketing team time. This tool allows you to:
- Schedule your posts
- Save drafts and work on them later
- Track your keywords
- Integrate, publish, and promote blog posts
- Set recurring social media updates
- Drip-feed your social accounts.
This tool also works across multiple platforms, including:
- Plurk
- RSS feeds
SocialOomph is also one of the free social media tools available to professionals. However, if you want to experience all that this tool has to offer, you’ll want to pay for the professional package.
4. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is another social media marketing tool that’s been around for a while. It’s staying power is due, in part, to the all-in-one interface. With this dashboard, you get to see which tweets you posted, which were re-tweeted, and which had the best engagement.
You can also arrange the dashboard to show you what’s been posted on various social media sites, including:
- LinkedIn.
Hootsuite also allows you to keep track of your personal posts, as well as those of your business. As a result, you can keep track of your posts and stay organized.
- Schedule up to 30 social media posts in advance
- Analytics
- Host social contests with the aim of generating leads.
5. BuzzSumo
Wouldn’t it be amazing if one (or more) of your social posts went viral?
This is the goal of nearly every marketing team. When something goes viral, your brand is in front of a huge audience. In some cases, millions of people.
For example, as of January 2019, the most viral tweet of all time is one that was tweeted by a Japanese businessman. He posted a competition to give away 100 million yen (over $900,000) to 100 random people. His post garnered a conversation amongst five million people and was re-tweeted over four million times.
Now, you probably don’t have that kind of money to give away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go viral. You just have to figure out what people are talking about, what’s important to them. BuzzSumo allows you to do that.
It keeps track of trending topics for 12 months. You can find topics that fit your niche and write about them in your blogs or on social media.
6. Oktopost
B2B companies need tools to help with their social media content, too. Oktopost is a great fit. It works in three ways.
First, it allows you to:
- Publish content
- Engage with your target audience
- Track and analyze your posts and their success/engagement.
Second, it allows your employees to share in your social media marketing campaigns. They can publish content or talk about your company via their personal social media accounts.
Finally, it helps you generate leads with social promotions. And it’s all automated.
7. Sprout Social
To be successful in business, the needs of your customers need to be a priority. That’s why the Sprout social media marketing tool is so great. It’s actually a customer-oriented system.
This tool helps you obtain feedback from your target customers. That, in turn, will help you grow your business in a way that appeals to your customers. When you get authentic feedback, you can tweak ideas, products, services, and social media posts to appeal to potential customers.
Also, Sprout Social is considered a “reliable social CRM tool.” This means that it helps you establish and maintain long-lasting relationships with your customers.
8. Honorable Mentions: Free Social Media Tools to Try
Quite a few items on this social media tools list have free options, which can be a lifesaver. Hootsuite, Buffer, and SocialOomph all have free plans. Check them out – the free versions just might work for you.
For some businesses, especially larger ones, the options are a bit limited. In these cases, the paid plans are better.
Besides those already mentioned, here are just a few more free social media tools to try.
- Friends+Me: Automate your posts. Plus, discover when to schedule your posts, so they reach the majority of your audience.
- Followerwonk: Twitter analytics tool. It helps you discover trends, as well as identify customers via location or who they follow.
- Zoho Social: A great tracking tool. It helps you figure out the ideal publishing time. This puts you in front of the right audience at just the right time.
- Social Bee: Automated posting, evergreen content tracking, and customer tracking.
- Google Analytics: Better understand your customers, take action, and improve your social media content.
- TweetDeck: Dashboard that helps you manage and easily toggle between multiple Twitter accounts. It allows you to schedule future posts and customize your streams. That means you can follow keywords, clients, or the competition – whatever’s relevant to your company.
How Do You Know Which Social Media Marketing Tools Are Best for Your Business?
When considering which social media management tools to use for your business, you want to keep three things in mind:
- Cost
- Efficiency
- Results
Your bottom line is important no matter the size of your business. Every entrepreneur needs to monitor costs. Thankfully, you’ll find some affordable – and even free – tools on this social media tools list.
The tools you choose should make your job easier, not harder. If you try a tool and you end up spending an inordinate amount of time utilizing that tool or learning how to use it – it’s not worth it. Of course, it can be easy to make things harder on yourself by using the tool incorrectly.
However, used properly, social media management tools should be time savers, not time suckers.
Finally, you want to consider the results you get from using the marketing tool. This will require some time and analysis, but it’s absolutely worth it.
Evaluate your likes, follows, and social media shares regularly, even weekly. Don’t forget to use an analytics tool to see whether traffic has increased from social media platforms to your website.
Then, make adjustments to your tools accordingly. If something isn’t working for you – dump it and move on to something else.
It can be easy to get caught up in the idea of what’s popular or what’s worked for other businesses. But this is your business, and you need to find what works best for it.
Tools that have worked for others might not fit the dynamic or needs of your business. That’s ok. Take the time to find out what works for your company’s needs, and then, run with it.
Get Started Right Away – Social Media Marketing Tools Can Make Your Life So Much Easier
There’s a mistake a lot of business owners make when it comes to social media management tools. They get so bogged down in research that they don’t take action.
There are multiple reasons for this. They could be avoiding action because of some deep-seated fear. Or, they end up so overwhelmed by their research that they simply don’t know which path to take.
The important thing to remember in this situation is that action is key. Taking action is one of the greatest learning experiences. Through it, you’ll come to understand what actually works and what doesn’t.
And by taking action, you can ensure at least some sort of progress.
Remember, too, that social media marketing tools are designed to make your life easier – not complicate it. Try one at a time. See what works. Don’t over-complicate things or get stuck in fear or research. Take action now, and you’ll reap the rewards soon!
Which social media marketing tools do you plan to try?
Share your ideas in the comments below.
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