Social media has become a colossal presence in modern American life. The time before we shared everything online is distant and hard to remember. Because of its pervasiveness, social media is an incredible tool for building your business.
Drum up buzz about your company by posting relevant content and engaging with your followers. Plan out a content strategy to get more people interacting with your business, expanding your reach. Here are 10 powerful tools you can use to help boost your social media presence:
- Content Calendar
- Facebook Business Manager
- Post Planner
- KnowEm
- Buffer
- Tailwind
- Crowdfire
- HootSuite
- IFTTT
- Later
1. Content Calendar
Creating a calendar for content is a great way to organize and plan your social media strategy. It’s simple, it’s free, and you should already be doing it.
Taking the time to layout and prioritize your social media content helps you develop ideas for audience engagement. Use your calendar to plan weekly posts and brainstorm new content ideas to get people talking.
Take note of what works and what doesn’t. Use that information to plan further posts.
2. Facebook Business Manager
Facebook has a few different tools to manage Facebook pages, posts, and ads. The Facebook Business Manager is a free social media management tool for managing multiple pages and ads.
If you oversee a variety of businesses targeting different markets (fashion, spirit wear, and sportswear, etc.), the Facebook Business Manager is perfect for you.
The Business Manager allows you to manage permissions for different users that post for the page.
Say you have an employee you want to update a business page, but you don’t want them to post ads. You can set permissions in the app, allowing them to make updates but gating them from other changes.
3. Post Planner
Need help generating new ideas for posts? Want to boost up your content calendar?
Post Planner is a social media scheduling tool. With Post Planner, you can link your social media accounts together, search for=content, and plan content posts across your accounts.
Post Planner is one of the most affordable services on this list. And it’s not lacking in features. Finding niche-specific content is made easy by Post Planner. Use it to collaborate on content scheduling and build your presence faster.
4. KnowEm
KnowEm is a simple, free search tool for searching your brand or company name across the internet.
While there are paid services to secure your brand on hundreds of sites, the ease of searching a name to see where it is taken or available is incredibly useful. Use it to find new chances to use your brand on different networks.
KnowEm is helpful in researching where your brand name is being misused. If you have an established name you want to protect, KnowEm is the first step in protecting your brand.
5. Buffer
Buffer has the features of Post Planner as well as an in-depth dashboard for Facebook and Instagram analytics. See what stories perform, know your audience’s demographics, and track engagement – all from one platform.
Buffer also makes responding and interacting on social media easier. All comments come to the same, shared inbox, so anyone on your team can respond to Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook comments from one place.
6. Tailwind
If you post a lot on Pinterest and Instagram, Tailwind is a great social media tool for you. Tailwind contains many of the same features as other social media managers – post planning, working with your team, a centralized dashboard.
Where Tailwind sets itself apart is its direct API integration with Pinterest. It helps you share pins and adhere to Pinterest’s best practices, improving your social media presence.
Tailwind also specializes in finding high-quality content by using social networking called Tailwind Tribes. Tailwind Tribes lets you share content with other like-minded Tailwind users. With them sharing your content, and you sharing theirs, both of your profiles are bolstered by each other.
7. Crowdfire
Crowdfire is another one-stop-shop for social media management. It links with all of the big names – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn (and Pinterest in paid versions). And Crowdfire allows you to curate content from other sites you may have, like your Etsy account or YouTube page.
What’s nice about Crowdfire is that there is a free version. Get your feet wet with this free social media management tool. See how Crowdfire affects your presence over time and how each feature works for your business. From there, decide whether it’s the service you want to pay for.
8. HootSuite
Hootsuite is one of the biggest names in the social media management market. It connects with 20+ social networks. Go a step further by integrating your favorite apps into the dashboard. Hootsuite’s list of features is long and comprehensive.
A standout feature from Hootsuite is its in-depth social media analytics. See your post history, post performance, and engagement in easy-to-understand graphs and figures. Measure your performance by seeing how long it takes to respond to customers and resolve their issues. These fresh insights can help you tailor your social media strategy and boost your presence.
9. IFTTT
If This, Then That is a simple program that automates actions based on other actions. While it can be used with nearly any smart device or account, IFTTT’s recipe format makes it perfect for easily cross-posting across different social media platforms.
Sync your new Instagrams to a Pinterest board or Tweet. Track hashtag mentions in a Google spreadsheet. Log your calendar entries into a spreadsheet. Save all your Facebook photos to Dropbox automatically.
There’s a recipe out there for any account connection. Plus, IFTTT has a free version, encouraging you to experiment with using it.
10. Later
If Instagram is your go-to, Later is the social media tool for you. While it works across multiple platforms, Later excels with Instagram. Later’s focus on Instagram gives you tools to build your sales on one of the largest social media networks.
With its direct Instagram API integration, your account is secure. Its easy-to-use content scheduler makes post planning quick and painless. The data it gathers helps you gain followers in no-time. Later also features ways to make your Instagram more shoppable and track sales.
Whether you’re looking for a precise tool or an all-inclusive app, there are plenty of helpful social media services out there. Those that cost money often offer limited free versions or trial periods. Shop around to find the product that works for you.
Maybe just implementing a content calendar is all your business needs. Or maybe you’re ready to take a big step towards a full-blown, powerful social media management program. Whatever you decide, taking the time to improve your social media game will show in more notoriety and increased sales.
Get started harnessing the power of social media. Download our Ultimate Guide to Social Media for Your T-Shirt Business.