You’re writing regular posts on your blog because you know you need to in order to make sure your site is indexed by search (and people can find you in search), and provide value for those on your newsletter list and who subscribe to your content–(good job, by the way!). Now to find the time to share it on your social media accounts–ugh! If it’s not one thing it’s another–but I come with some good news. Today’s post is a side-by-side comparison of three easy to use social media management tools that make your life about 1000 percent easier because you can schedule your social media posts out for a week, month, or as long as you want–and then forget about it! Write your posts, schedule them to go out on all your social media channels after the post publishes–BOOM! You’re done. Nice, right?
Buffer
I like Buffer for it’s simplicity. It’s the most user-friendly, straightforward social media management tool out there in my opinion. I started out using Buffer’s free version which allowed me to schedule my content on four social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn) accounts four full days out (posting 3-4 times per day)–it worked fine, but after a while I upgraded to a paid version (only $10/mo) which allows me 10 social media accounts and up to 100 posts out into the future. There are more robust plans (enterprise solutions) available as well. Buffer also includes analytics, which allows you to monitor your post engagement, so you can see what’s working and not over time.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is the most popular social media management tool, but not as simple to use as Buffer. Just like with Buffer, you can schedule your posts across all of your social networks, but you can also track conversations from the Hootsuite dashboard because it allows you to stream your social media content right there. A free version is available which allows you to schedule your content on three social media accounts and provides analytics so you can track the performance of your posts. You’ll need to upgrade to a paid version (also $10/mo) if you want more than three (it actually jumps to 50+ if you need them) social media accounts. And like Buffer, Hootsuite also offers more robust solutions for larger companies.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a premium social media management tool. It makes the list because of it’s fantastic features, but it’s not for everyone because the most basic plan is $59/mo which makes it not for everyone. You get a free 30-day trail, though, so it may be worth it to you to see if the features and roi will outweigh the monthly investment. It only allows you to schedule and monitor your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (the big 3) accounts, but also lets you:
- see all of your social media account feeds in one stream (plus the ability to interact from the dashboard)
- see who follows you back (and who doesn’t) so you can manage your follows accordingly
- monitor (and set web alerts for) your brand keywords
- monitor messages across your personal profiles via your streaming inbox
in addition to the scheduling and analytics functionality available with Buffer and Hootsuite.
The biggest benefit to this option is the efficiency of it’s dashboard which allows you to take care of all your social media activity in one place if you only use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Regardless of which tool you choose, the good news is you will save yourself so much time and headache having to worry about your social media from day-to-day. If you spend a couple hours at the top of the week or month getting it scheduled in advance, you’ll find your ability to focus improves (because you’re not trying to “fit it in” among other things you have to do), so you’ll get it done in half the time.
Also, you’ll be done with it for whatever period of time you scheduled in advance, so you’ll find your focus improves in your work because you’re not distracted by social media marketing your content. If you check your dashboard or social media accounts once at the end of the day, you can respond and interact with anyone who has shared or commented on your content in ten minutes or less.
Good luck and let me know how it goes! If you’ve had success with one of these tools or prefer another, please feel free to share with me in the comments below. I would love to know!
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By the Way… If you like what you read today, you’ll love this post: Incredibly Helpful Resources for Crazy Busy Creative Entrepreneurs!
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