In today’s fast-paced world, social media marketing is an important piece of any business’s content marketing strategy. But creating content and posting to multiple social media accounts, several times a week is time consuming. That’s why social media managers and business owners turn to social media management tools to help in scheduling posts and content, social listening, automated publishing, managing comments and engagement, plus analytics and reporting.
Whether you are looking to hire out for your social media management or looking for some helpful tools to get you started, if you want to take your social media efforts to the next level, then this blog is for you. There are many social media tools for business out there, so we have compiled our top social media tools in each of the four main categories.
Types of Social media management tools
There are four main types of social media management tools: content curation tools, social media scheduling, content creation tools, and social media analytics tools. While there are several that do it all, there are others that offer one service, so you don’t pay for what you don’t need, or maybe not ready for.
Content curation tools
Mixing up your content is key to any social media strategy. But with so much out there, it can be hard to cut out the noise. Don’t waste hours searching through countless websites and blogs in search of interesting content to share. Instead, use a tool that does it for you so you can get back to what matters most in your business.
Social media scheduling
Save time by scheduling your social media calendar. While certain social platforms allow you to schedule within the app, like Facebook, that can take a lot of time to go into each individual app and schedule. That’s why having a social media management tool that schedules content all in one platform can be a game changer.
Content creation tools
Creating new and relevant content is key to successful social media strategies. Using a content creation tool can help not only with the actual creation of content but keeping your branding consistent across all your website, social media posts, and blogs. These tools range from a stock photography website to a graphic design tool.
Social media analytics tools
How will you know if all your hard work is paying off if you don’t analyze the results? That’s where social media analytics tools come in handy. Using these tools will help you gain social media insights and determine which social media platforms you should focus on and the ones you should ditch. Discover other important data including engagement, how much website traffic is generated from your social media, and what content performs the best.
The best social media tools
We’ve gathered a list of the best social media tools within each of the categories listed above. While some offer additional services other than what they are best known for, choosing what is right for you is all based on your social media goals, budgets, and business needs.
Sprout Social
Best for social media analytics and reporting
While there are many social media management tools that offer analytics, Sprout Social is the best for this specific social media tool. All social media platforms offer data insight for all business accounts, platforms like Sprout Social let you analyze the data all at once. Plus, competitive analysis to see how others perform.
Their analytics tools also provide insights into trending hashtags and keywords, discover business-critical insights inside every conversation, plus track campaign performance.
Other features include:
- 30-day free trial with their standard plan starting at $249 (includes five social media accounts).
- Social listening – monitor key terms and phrases across other’s posts to see where your business expertise might be useful.
- Social media scheduling across multiple platforms.
Hootsuite
Best for managing multiple social media platforms
Hootsuite is one of the top-rated social media tools for managing all your social accounts. The tool enables you schedule and publish content to all your social profiles at once and easily hit the gas pedal on your top-performing content. Supported platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more.
Other features include:
- 30-day free trial with an initial single user plan starting at $49/month (includes 10 social accounts).
- Manage engagement – manage incoming messages from multiple social channels.
- Reporting and analysis – analyze social media marketing efforts and campaigns.
Canva
Best for creating graphics
Use Canva to create social media posts and blog content. The platform features easy-to-use templates, stock photos, and graphics to help you easily create appealing visuals, even if you aren’t a graphic designer.
Canva even offers a content calendar to plan out your content you create within the application. Plus, create your own brand kit to look consistent across all your social media channels. They offer a free version to get started with options to upgrade to the Pro and team plans.
Feedly
Best for content curation
Feedly is a news aggregator application that offers an easy way to find and save articles and blogs to share on social media. It is a great source for user generated content and sparking new ideas in creating content. You can build parameters around what is relevant content for your business and Feedly will flag what is important to you.
The best part? They offer a free plan to get you started with up to 100 feeds. If you are a larger business with a social media team, Feedly offers a tiered pricing program that starts at just $6/month.
Other popular social media tools include:
- Buffer
- Zoho Social
- Social Pilot
- MavSocial
- eClincher
So, how do you choose the right social media tools for your business? Ultimately, you must make a decision that is best for your business’s needs. Consider your budget. Do you have a large social media budget or are you just starting out? Consider management resources. Will you have to hire a social media manager, or do you have a social media team? Each tool and plan offer something for everyone.
Of course, if you don’t have a social media manager or team, outsourcing your social media efforts are a great way to put these management tools into good use.
