We recently put together a list of our favourite tools for PR that help us with our research and keeping up to date with the latest media trends. This time, we’ve decided to put together a social media tools glossary to help you create and distribute high quality content for your customers, as well as keep on top of your social feeds.
Social media management tools
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a great social media management tool which we use for all the social media accounts that we manage. Hootsuite lets you keep track of multiple channels, allowing you to view your feed, see and reply to your comments or mentions, post updates, and more. You can choose from a free or paid account and can link up different platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Youtube, and LinkedIn.
Tweetdeck
Like Hootsuite, TweetDeck is a social media management tool. The only difference is that it’s owned by, and dedicated to, Twitter. Tweetdeck is easy to use and lets you keep track of lists, searches, activity and more on one interface.
Buffer
Buffer is a simple tool that allows you to post updates across your social media channels. What’s handy about Buffer is that you don’t have to schedule each post – you preselect the times you want to post at and Buffer will automatically create a schedule when you add something to your queue.
Edgar
Edgar is the social media management tool with a twist. Like the others, you can post and schedule updates from one dashboard, but Edgar’s special feature is that it lets you create a library of content which you can then sort into categories. You can create a schedule, select what kind of content you want to post, and Edgar fills in your schedule intuitively from your library of content. Edgar will also refill your queue once you’ve posted everything, making it great for re-sharing old content. However, while Hootsuite is free, plans for Edgar start at $49 a month.
There are many platforms out there to help you manage your social media – we could write a whole blog explaining the differences between each one. These are just a few that we think are easy to use and and show you the range of different capabilities you might want to consider when looking for a social media management tool.
URL shorteners
URL shorteners are a lifesaver when you’re tweeting, as links often take up a lot (or more and then some!) of your precious 140 character limit. Here’s a couple that we swear by.
Every Tweeter’s nightmare
Bitly
Social media management tools like Hootsuite will shorten URLs for you, but if all you’re looking for is a stand-alone URL tool, then Bitly is a good place to start. You can also use it to measure individual link analytics.
Goo.gl
Goo.gl is Google’s answer to URL shortening. Like Bitly, you can shorten URLs and track your traffic, and it’s an equally good URL tool.
Social listening tools
Brand24
Brand 24 collects real-time on what people are saying about your brand on social media info in a ‘mentions feed’. This helps you to keep track of your business’s reputation and engage with your customers. It also offers a range of other analytical tools such as alerts, a ‘discussion volume chart’, which shows increases or decreases in people talking about your brand, and sentiment analysis, which rates whether your brand is being viewed positively, negatively, or neutrally. Prices start at $49 a month, or roughly £39.
SocialMention
SocialMention is a free and easy tool to montitor real-time brand or trend mentions. You can see how often a brand or trend is being discussed, how often people repeatedly mention them, the reach of mentions, and the sentiment.
Learning resources
Social Media Examiner
Social Media Examiner is an excellent website dedicated to all things social that we regularly check to keep up to date with the latest trends and to learn new tips.
Hootsuite Blog
The Hootsuite blog is another excellent tool for learning new things, from social media hacks, excellent advice, and a healthy dose of brilliant gifs. We definitely recommend!
And a little extra…
GIPHY
Sometimes you can only express something in gif form – and we all know how much the internet loves gifs. Find pretty much any gif you need or create your own using GIPHY. It’s also integrated into Twitter and Facebook so you can search and add gifs in-app.
This has to be most internet thing that has ever happened
Dashlane
If, like us, you’re running a lot of different social media accounts, Dashlane is the best and most secure way to keep track of your passwords.
Canva
If you need to create some simple visuals but don’t have the time to get a Graphic Designer involved, Canva offers a range of templates to create simple imagery that are the right dimensions for different social media platforms.
Paper.li
Paper.li is a free and simple tool that allows you to curate online content into newsletters. These can then be shared on social media to keep all your customers and followers up to date with the latest news in your industry.
These are just a few of the social media tools that we either use at Digital Glue or recommend that you check out to find out what suits you. Make sure you check back for any updates to the list!
