Social media is 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.
Tweetdeck
Although it's relatively simple, Twitter can still be a bit of a handful if you have a lot going on there. 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 realise 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 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 just a social media tool, 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 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.
Over by GoDaddy
Struggling to create eye-catching images for your social media feeds? Over by GoDaddy is the tool for you.
Over lets anyone create professional-standard social media imagery. You start with a wide selection of curated templates and then customize things so every image you create fits your brand.
And Over isn’t just for social media – you can use the images you create in emails, on your website or anywhere else you need them.
If you’re using GoDaddy Websites + Marketing, then Over is included in your package.
You can also read this post on how to create a social media marketing strategy for your business.
