Is your business in the 81-percent that is actively using social media to promote your product or service?
Do you want to manage social media more efficiently? Do you have the right tools? To streamline your approach, and make it more effective, you'll need resources that work well with your business.
Efe Cakinberk, Director at the SmartDNSProxy, says "Most small businesses juggle several social media accounts at once, and with great difficulty. That goes for media tools as well. That's why it's important in our business to focus on just a few of them for the main marketing thrust - otherwise it all becomes too scattered and ineffective."
Here are ten media tools that can be of significant help:
1. Social Bro
If you're committed to using Twitter to help your business grow, you should check out SocialBro. SocialBro maps community engagement on a simple graph. This is a tool made for businesses with the goal of monetizing their followings. A 15-day free trail is offered.
2. NeedTagger
One of the most underrated social-media tools for businesses, NeedTagger pinpoints Twitter users that are hunting for a product or service. The tool runs keyword searches and delivers real-time results.
3. LikeAlyzer
If you want Facebook as one of your main social media venues, try LikeAlyzer. As the name suggests, LikeAlyzer analyzes Facebook pages, generating reports highlighting areas for improvement. This tool is an invaluable resource for businesses new to social media. The page-rank section allows business to see how they stack up against similar brands and by industry standards.
4. PageModo
PageModo overhauls the aesthetic of Facebook pages by providing custom cover photos, additional tabs and unique landing pages. PageModo offers a basic free package and upgrades start at $6.25 per month.
5. Curalate
There are over 300 million accounts on Instagram now. More and more businesses want to get on this visual bandwagon. So try Curalate: Useful on Instagram and Pinterest, Curalate monitors conversations about brands, products, and services, providing vital information to businesses. Curalate identifies potential brand advocates and influential followers.
6. Collecto
Collecto is particularly useful to small businesses that are concerned with building up their followings. The location-based app categorizes followers into the brands they are talking about and hashtags they use.
7. PinAlerts
The PEW Research Center has some interesting statistics on social media use, which may influence which venues you want to go with. As expected, Facebook and Twitter come in as the biggest social media platforms, but some 28 percent of online adults now use Pinterest as well. PinAlerts sends an email notification to an account holder when a user pins something directly from their site (Pinterest only emails in the event of a repin). This tool is imperative to build an online business community.
8. ShareAsImage
Formerly Pin A Quote, ShareAsImage generates eye-catching memes and quotes for $8 per month. This kind of visual content is extremely powerful and has the potential to go viral across Pinterest.
9. Buffer
With Buffer's free plan, you get all the major engagement stats for every update you post on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. A favorite feature is the Top Tweet/Top Post badge that pops up when an update goes above and beyond the average performance.
10. SumAll
The analytics at SumAll come from a huge number of assorted, connected apps. You can wire up your major social media accounts - Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and more - and SumAll will send out a daily or weekly email with insights on how things have changed day-to-day and week-to-week. All the info is saved to a web dashboard, too, for easy viewing any time.
This is just a sampling of the social media tools available to help you maximize your social media usage. There are more tools available almost every day, so make sure that you, or someone in your office, is keeping up with this essential branch of knowledge!
Photo Credit: Social Media Tools/shutterstock