A myriad of tools are emerging to help small businesses navigate the world of social media and better manage their accounts. From automatic scheduling to content creation, these social media marketing tools help sellers engage with customers. Here are some of the most common types of social media marketing tools. We'll also explain how those tools can help you improve your outreach on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other popular channels.
Social media scheduling
Posting regularly and consistently is a social media best practice, but it can take time to create and share posts throughout the week. Social media scheduling tools automate this task. These tools use analytics to find the ideal time to share your content depending on your audience. You can also create queues of content and schedule posts to be shared without your involvement.
There are several tools you can use to automate your social media posts, including:
- Futsuite: The platform is integrated with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. In addition to covering all the bases from a social network perspective, there are also additional features such as social monitoring and engagement analysis. Hootsuite plans start at $99 per month.
- buffer: Buffer is similar to Hootsuite in that it offers the same social network integration. It also provides analytics, social monitoring, and post-scheduling features. Buffer is a great service for small businesses and is inexpensive compared to its peers. You can try the platform for free or get more channels for just $6 a month.
- sprout social: Feature-rich, Sprout Social is the most expensive platform on this list, starting at $249 per month. However, in addition to social media scheduling, users get content suggestions, an asset library where they can share the content they post, URL tracking, keyword suggestions, and more.
Few business owners have the time to check social media to see how customers are reacting to new posts.
video creation tools
Visual content is essential in marketing, and statistics show that consumers are more likely to engage with video content on social media. For small business owners, getting started creating your own video content can be difficult.
Fortunately, there are tools that allow you to quickly and easily create high-quality videos to share on social media. Here are some options:
- Animoto: Whether you're creating promotional videos, social media videos, or company descriptions, Animoto is a versatile tool for almost all your business video needs. It also has a drag-and-drop interface, making it an easy-to-use tool. Animoto has a free plan as well as an $8/month plan, but businesses may want to choose a more robust plan.
- beyond: Formerly known as GoAnimate, this platform allows business owners to create animated videos for their business. Sometimes a simple animated video is all you need to tell your business' story while capturing your audience's attention. You can also create training videos for your staff. Although a little more expensive than some of its competitors, Vyond has three different annual plans that are perfect for your business.
- Adobe's Creative Cloud Express: Formerly known as Adobe Spark, this tool offers the same powerful features as other Adobe products, but without the complex controls and dashboards. Provides specialized editing features for TikTok, Instagram Stories, and YouTube. Try it out with a free trial.
[Read more: Easy-to-Use Video Editing Software for Small Businesses]
social monitoring tools
Few business owners have the time to check social media to see how customers are reacting to new posts. Fortunately, there are several social monitoring tools that can give you insight into the conversations your users are having, both about your business and the larger industry.
Here are some monitoring tools that can provide you with insights about your audience, identify trends, and keep you up to date on conversations related to your brand.
- Buzz Sumo: This tool lets you know when people are posting about your company on social media. It has extensive analysis capabilities and also provides content planning tools. Buzzsumo plans start at $95 per month.
- Hash Atit: HashAtIt is an easy (and free) way to check in mentions and hashtags related to your business. This is one of the few tools on this list as it can generate countless ideas for leveraging relevant hashtags, giving you instant and transparent results.
- melt water: Similar to Buzzsumo, Meltwater offers listening tools that can inform your sales, social media, marketing, and PR strategies. The company has packages designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses, allowing them to take advantage of Meltwater's powerful platform at an affordable price.
The right tools can help you run your social media accounts, but it's important to have a comprehensive social media marketing strategy first. Check out our guide to social media marketing to get ideas for developing a strategy for your business.
This article was updated by Emily Heaslip.
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