Discussion: What are some easy-to-use social media tools when running a small business?

[TraceyLeeDavis]

In this current technological age, using an automation tool to schedule your social media posts can be a lifesaver. Think about how much time automation can save you by batching your social media posting for the month all in one day! Once you get the graphics created and posts written, it’s quite a simple process to get them loaded and dated to publish at the exact right time that your audience will be online. This means that instead of having to think about what to post every day, you can log in and simply respond to any questions or comments that have come through each day. Make sure to add your own personal spin to each conversation!

Constant Contact Social Posting Tool
If you have a Constant Contact account, you already have a social media management tool!

Features of the social posting tool include scheduling content, reading and responding to conversations on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, resharing content, and EASILY sharing your email marketing campaigns to social media. You can even view your social post reporting to see how your posts are performing.

Facebook
Facebook allows you to schedule posts to Facebook pages and business Instagram accounts.

Features: Post directly, save drafts, or schedule out your posts right within your Facebook account.

A benefit of using Facebook to manage your posting is that you can also schedule your content in Facebook groups. Keep in mind you must be an administrator or moderator of the group. You can’t schedule posts in other people’s Facebook groups, for example.

What social media management tools have you used for your small business?

[Chris-S]

Thanks for the great advice @TraceyLeeDavis!

When I worked at a nonprofit many years ago, I tried to find as many free tools to manage our various social media accounts as possible. Two I used at the time were Hootsuite and Buffer. Both allowed me to schedule posts across various social media platforms, which helped with time management. One of the main drawbacks I had with both of these, however, was that they did not offer any analytics or reporting on their basic plans, you had to upgrade to access.

Ultimately, I had to use Google Analytics, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter's native reporting to gauge success. It was time-intensive but with no budget it was what we had to work with.

[DavidFischerSolutionsForGrowth]

Social media is a powerful tool for businesses to reach targeted audiences. We have outlined steps to developing and implementing a social media marketing campaign in this article: https://solutionsforgrowthllc.com/blog/first-step-involved-in-developing-and-implementing-a-social-m...

If anyone has any questions, please reach out to me. I’m always happy to help.

[user763998]

I won't go into long answers. I like keeping things short and direct.

Even if you are a small business, I suggest you go with a full-fledged Social media management tool. The tool that can help you access ideation, scheduling and publishing, analytics, automation, and audience management—all these features in one tool.

Here is the list of the latest ones: Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Statusbrew, Agora, and Sendible.

Go on a demo with all these, narrow it down to 2, and try them for 10-15 days.

Based on ease of use, features, and pricing, hire the relevant one.