Social media, and the social media tools available to manage it, are great - used well it can help generate a loyal following for your business, driving traffic to your website and generating leads as well as sales.
But social media can also be a drain on your time - keeping all your feed fresh and up to date can feel like a chore, especially when you have more pressing tasks to deal with.
In this guide, we'll look at some top social media tools that will help you cut the amount of time you spend on social media, while making sure you still get the results you want.
Social media tools you need to start using:
Tweetdeck
Although it's relatively simple, Twitter can still be a bit of a handful if you have a lot going on there. And when it comes to social media tools, Tweetdeck makes it easier to keep track of things.
At first, Tweetdeck may just look like your standard Twitter homepage expanded so you don't need to flip between tabs, but when you realize you can add extra columns its true power becomes apparent.
Want to keep tabs on your competitors? Why not create a Twitter list and then add it to a column on Tweetdeck? Want to find content to retweet to keep your followers satisfied? Track relevant hashtags via Tweetdeck to keep your finger on the pulse.
FollowerWonk
Sometimes it can feel like you're not attracting the attention of the right people on social media. That's where FollowerWonk one of the great social media tools out there comes in - it allows you to identify Twitter influencers in your niche. You can then make sure you're connecting with the right people, increasing the chances that your social media campaigns will reach your target audience.
Buzzsumo
Buzzsumo isn't one of the mediocre social media tools, but it still fits nicely into this list. As with FollowerWonk, you can use Buzzsumo to identify social media influencers on Twitter. But perhaps the most useful feature Buzzsumo has is its ability to identify widely-shared articles on based on a topic or keyword of your choosing.
That means it's a great way to get inspiration for new pieces of content which you're planning to promote on social media. In fact, Buzzsumo will even show you who shared a piece of content on Twitter, so you can work out who your social media content needs to impress.
Buffer
It's crucial you keep your social media feeds updated regularly, but sometimes other things get in the way.
If you're one of those people who means to update their social feeds several times a day, but never seems to have the time. Or one of those people who logs in to Twitter to share one article and then finds you've spent an hour reading other people's tweets, then Buffer is the tool for you.
Buffer allows you to schedule your social media content in advance, meaning you can set aside half an hour or so each week, get all the content you want to share lined up and then leave Buffer to it.
Of course, this doesn't mean you can forget about social media completely - after all, you'll still need to interact with people, and keep an eye on what's being said about your brand.
So while Buffer is a great way of sharing good content, don't make the mistake of turning into a broadcaster, as you'll find it reduces your chances of building an engaged following.
Sprout Social
While Tweetdeck is great for getting an overview of your Twitter activity, most businesses operate on more than one social network.
So if you want to efficiently manage multiple social media accounts, why not give Sprout Social a try?
Sprout Social offers a range of features, including the ability to monitor your accounts, and track key social metrics.
With pricing starting at $99 (£70) a month, it's highly affordable. It also offers a free trial, so you can see what you're going to be getting for your money before you commit.
Drum Up
Drum Up is another content curation social media tool - one that claims to cut your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn management time by 90%.
One of the most useful features of Drum Up is the ability to link blog feed directly to your social media accounts, meaning that you can automatically add any posts from your blog (or someone else's) to your social media feed.
Canva
Not strictly a social media tool per se, Canva allows you to easily create high quality graphics. And because high quality graphics are a crucial part of getting social media engagement, we've included the tool in this list.
Whether you're looking to create simple graphics to accompany your everyday social media posts, or a way to create graphs that illustrate data-based blog posts, then Canva has you covered. Although nothing can beat the work of a top notch graphic designer, Canva is a great substitute, especially if you're on a tight budget.
If you'd like to explore beyond social media tools, check out The don’ts and don’ts of social media marketing for SMBs and Using social media advertising to generate leads.
