Social Media Resources We Can’t Live Without
There are a lot of resources out there for managing, creating, tracking, and sourcing content for social media. It can be overwhelming to figure out what you need and what is the best solution for your business, especially if you are on a budget or need a little hand holding through the process. These are our go-to resources that we have vetted and feel are the best for any small to medium sized business.
Shortstack App ($0-$63/month)- We spent a lot of time researching the best option for managing Facebook application tabs and this was by far the most cost effective and versatile option. You can use their templates or create something of your own. With a little bit of CSS you can really customize the applications and their support videos are fantastic. We have managed many giveaways, social stream, fan-gated coupons and more through ShortStack and we love using it. There is a bit of a learning curve with some of the forms and customization but a little practice and it is easy to use.
Sprout Social ($39-$99/user/month)- We started out our social media careers using Hootsuite and we were perfectly happy with it until someone showed us the amazing reporting and easy to use interface that Sprout Social offers. We haven’t been back on Hootsuite in awhile so we are not sure if they have improved or exceeded Sprout Social’s offering. The reports from Sprout Social are fantastic and really show our clients what we have been doing for them. We also can schedule, monitor, and collaborate as a team.
Shutterstock ($249/month Subscribe & Save)- It only took us paying for two images years ago for us to realize we had to find a cost effective way to use stock images that we licensed. This plan is the best option we found and allows for 25 downloads a day. We definitely don’t exceed that so it has worked out really well and we are able to do a lot of custom designed social media posts that are original for our clients.
PicMonkey (free-$4.99/month)- We use Adobe products for most of our design work, but we often work with consultants that do not have Photoshop or aren’t familiar with how to use it. PicMonkey is a great alternative and very simple to use. You can resize images, add text and other design elements and create a picture that is just right for your social post. This is definitely a must have for anyone that wants to post cool images on social media!
Piktochart ($29/month)- We really love Piktochart for creating visually awesome infographics that are great to share on social media. These are especially great to post to Pinterest where you can display the whole image length and they are likely to be pinned and re-pinned if they contain useful or interesting information. You MUST brand these infographics with your company logo and URL so that they can drive people back to your site. We recommend using infographics to help build your SEO and to include them in influencer campaigns as part of the blog post. This is a very affordable tool that is simple to use and doesn’t require design experience.
Recite This (free)- Don’t you love those inspirational quotes on top of the perfect image- you can’t help but like them as they go by in your newsfeed or share them with friends when they are “so true!” Recite This might be one of the easiest sites to use- you can find a quote or bring your own, pop it in Can I Quote You field, choose a background, and hit create. You can then download your creation or share it right from the site. It will be branded with the Recite This logo which is fine, but we like to add our client’s logo to the image also which can be accomplished on Pic Monkey.
Someecards (free)- Who doesn’t get a good laugh out of a Someecard?! They crack people up and they can get a lot of engagement on social media. Don’t reuse someone else’s, you can create your own. Choose your image, background color, and text.
Holiday Insights (free)- It is important to know what holidays are coming up and we don’t just mean the big ones. Sometimes the more offbeat holidays make for the best social media posts (National Peanut Butter Day, Dr. Suess’ birthday, etc.). It is also important to know what holidays are being celebrated in other countries in case your client in international. There are some pretty funny ones on this site.
Brainy Quote (free)- We like to take interesting quotes that relate to the client’s product or service and generate our own images. These are great on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram and get a lot of engagement. Be sure to brand them with the client’s logo and/or URL.
Constant Contact ($15/month and up) (or Mail Chimp)- Many of our clients rely on us to do their marketing emails and we prefer Constant Contact but have also used Mail Chimp for many clients. Constant Contact has a quick start option and will customize an email template with your branding, colors, etc. for only $99. This takes away a lot of the pain when you get started. You can connect either service with your blog so that subscribers can get email notifications when you post on the blog. Don’t take email marketing for granted, it should still be a part of the marketing mix.