One of the biggest challenges of social media marketing is that engaging in a conversation and participating in a social network, let alone multiple social networks, can take time. The process of identifying opportunities within social media, and then creating content that fits the rules and appeals to the proper audience, can be daunting.
In addition, it’s essential to measure the effect of social media marketing, which also can be a bit tricky. Since you’re engaging with audiences on a closed platform, you’re often limited to their analytics and reports provided by that social media network. Therefore, you have to be prepared to use outside tools and services to develop a method to measure the impact of each channel on your bottom line.
| Name | Website | About |
|---|---|---|
| HootSuite | https://hootsuite.com/ | HootSuite is the most popular social media management tool for a reason. Besides being able to execute campaigns across multiple social networks from one web-based dashboard, you can also manage social media, track conversations, and measure campaign results. HootSuite also offers a custom built-in analytics system and the capability to schedule posts on all platforms. |
| SocialOomph | https://www.socialoomph.com/ | SocialOomph has the ability to schedule tweets for the entire day and auto-follow your new followers, so you can something other than schedule tweets and follow people. You can also use the dashboard to combine Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plurk, and your blog into one spot to schedule posts or monitor social media activity. |
| Tweepi | http://tweepi.com/ | Of all the social media platforms, Twitter can be the most daunting. If thats the case for you, Tweepi is just what you have been looking for. Theres a quick management tool which will allow to flush unfollowers, cleanup inactives, reciprocate by following, and follow new interesting tweets. A simple, and sometimes brutal, way to keep your Twitter account tidy. |
| Spredfast | http://www.spredfast.com/ | Spredfast is an outstanding tool if youre looking to measure data gathered from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr, such as being able to see how many people youve reached and whether or not your target audience is engaging with you. The data is clearly presented in formatted graphs. Besides the advanced analytics tools, theres other useful features, like a calendar that informs when the optimal tweeting times occur. |
| Buffer | http://bufferapp.com/ | Buffer is one of the most popular social media message scheduling and sharing applicationsavailable. With one easy click youll be able to share content and schedule posts via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+. Basically, it allows you to stagger content throughout the day so that social media feeds have consistent updates. And, theres analytics about engagement and reach of your posts. |
| Sprout Social | https://sproutsocial.com/ | Sprout Social is another nifty tool that can manage, post, monitor, and analyze multiple social media accounts from one location. For example, you could search for content within its Feedly integration, schedule posts, and reply to messages on Facebook and Twitter. You can also monitor messages across Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn personal profiles all through on streaming inbox. But, thats not all. Sprout Social also offers analytics so that you can visualize important metrics. |
| Everypost | http://everypost.com/ | Everypost is a handy app that basically allows you to post all of your updates onto the major social networks from one place at one time. Simply write your message, add photos or videos, and hashtags then send off to Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, or via e-mail (even all at the same time, if you want). Another cool features is the Twitter text shortener. This will automatically shorten tweets so that they are under 140 characters. While there may be some glitches to correct, this is a useful, and free, app. |
| Bitly | https://bitly.com/ | Bitly does a lot more than just shortening links that are posted to your social media accounts, which keeps them neat and clean. It also features real time-analytics, bookmarking your favorite sites and pages and having the ability to track clicks. Bitly works across multiple platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, and is free. |
| SocialFlow | http://www.socialflow.com/ | By utilizing its own unique optimization algorithm that taps into your Twitter and Facebook data, SocialFlow takes into consideration three factors: relevant message (which of your messages is most likely to connect), right audience (whos online now), and right time (whens the perfect moment to publish this content). In short, SocialFlow makes sure your message is sent out during the most optimum time. |
| Crowdbooster | http://crowdbooster.com/ | Crowdbooster focuses on gathering data from your Facebook and Twitter feeds. While it will not compile different social media accounts into one convenient location, it will give you some vital information regarding your social media strategy, such as when people are most likely to view your latest images or video uploads. Other features include being able to analyze impressions, total reach, and engagement. This will allow you to modify and improve your strategy by knowing what it working and what is not. Another cool feature is receiving alerts on new Twitter members who may be interested in you or your brand. |
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the information above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”