At Media À La Carte, we’re all about #efficiency…Because we’ve got A LOT of projects on our plates. That’s why it’s crucial for us to leverage social media management tools and platforms to aid our strategic goals and campaigns. And when it comes to these programs, there are a lot to choose from. So we’ve compiled a list of our industry favorites.
Social media management tools help with:
Efficiency and time management: scheduling and automation of content
Consistency and planning: creating a content calendar and batch processing
Analytics and insights: performance tracking and making data-driven decisions
Audience engagement: creating a unified inbox and monitoring mentions
Collaboration and team management: task assignment and workflow integration
Brand consistency: templates/libraries and approval processes
Trend analysis and content optimization: trend identification and hashtag/keyword search
Increased reach and invisibility: cross-platform management and content promotion
Cost efficiency: centralized management and free/paid options
Crisis management and reputation: real-time alerts
For content creators looking to optimize their workflow and maximize their reach, here are some essential social media tools:
1. Content Creation and Design
Canva: A user-friendly design tool for creating social media graphics, presentations, posters, and other visual content. **Canva is our go-to for all our content creation!
Adobe Spark: Another great tool for creating graphics, videos, and web pages with ease.
Piktochart: Ideal for creating infographics, presentations, and reports.
2. Photo and Video Editing
Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom: Industry-standard tools for photo editing and enhancement.
Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro: Professional video editing software.
InShot: A mobile app for quick video editing and enhancements.
Splice: Another mobile app for quick video editing and enhancements.
3. Stock Photos
Pexels: Royalty-free photos and videos shared by creators.
Unsplash: Images and illustrations for personal or commercial use.
Pixababy: Stock videos, images, and music.
4. Scheduling and Posting
Buffer: A social media management tool that allows you to schedule posts across multiple platforms.
Hootsuite: Another comprehensive tool for scheduling posts, tracking social media performance, and managing multiple accounts.
Later: Specializes in visual content planning and scheduling, especially for Instagram.
Planoly: A social media planner that empowers creators to schedule posts, manage multiple accounts, and organize content. *Planoly is our management platform of choice!
5. Analytics and Insights
Google Analytics: Essential for tracking website traffic and user behavior.
Sprout Social: Provides detailed analytics and reporting across various social media platforms.
Social Blade: Tracks statistics and analytics for YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.
*You can also track analytics directly on social media platforms.
6. Engagement and Community Management
Mention: Monitors your brand’s mentions across the web and social media platforms.
Agorapulse: Helps manage and engage with your social media audience more efficiently.
Disqus: Facilitates comment management and audience engagement on websites and blogs.
7. Content Curation
Feedly: Aggregates news and updates from various sources into one feed.
Pocket: Saves articles, videos, and other web content for later reading and reference.
BuzzSumo: Helps find popular content and trends in your niche.
8. SEO and Keyword Research
Ahrefs: Offers tools for keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitor analysis.
SEMrush: Provides comprehensive SEO tools, including keyword research and site audits.
Moz: Another powerful tool for SEO analysis and improvement.
9. Hashtag and Trend Analysis
Hashtagify: Helps you find and analyze the best hashtags for your content.
RiteTag: Suggests hashtags based on your content and its potential reach.
Trendsmap: Displays trending topics and hashtags on a map for localized trend analysis.
10. Collaboration and Project Management
Trello: A visual tool for managing tasks and projects collaboratively.
Asana: Another project management tool ideal for team collaboration.
Slack: A communication tool that facilitates team collaboration and information sharing. *We LOVE collaborating via Slack.
11. Monetization and Affiliate Marketing
Patreon: Allows creators to monetize their content through fan subscriptions.
Amazon Associates: A popular affiliate marketing program for earning commissions on product referrals.
Ko-fi: Enables creators to receive small donations from their audience.
For help navigating the best social media management platforms for your brand, schedule a call with Media À La Carte today!
