Social media can be a great tool to help your business grow. It can also be daunting to keep up with it. In the time that you have been reading this a new platform has probably been introduced and a different one been bought up or is no more. For every Facebook or Twitter there are ten Friendsters and ConnectUs. With so many different platforms it can be hard to remember sometimes if you updated one and not the other. So what if there were some tools that you could use so that you could streamline the process?
Oh yeah, and what if they were free too?
They are out there and we’ll look at some of the more popular ones. Programs like these could be just what you are looking for to help save some time and to make your social media marketing more efficient.
Offers a free tier of service
What better way to introduce a customer to their service then to offer it to be used for free. As their program becomes more valuable that user will stick with it and upgrade to a paid level of service. Below are some of the services that offer a free tier of service with their program that can be upgraded as necessary for expanded services. It is a great way to get your feet wet in social media marketing or at the very least to save some time and make yourself more efficient.
Hootsuite
Most of these suites have a free version and a pay version and Hootsuite is no different. The free version allows for three social media platforms to be brought in to manage in one place. Up to 30 posts can be scheduled so that you can have everything ready to go and not have to worry. 2 RSS feeds can also be integrated so that content can be shared. Free and paid apps can be integrated in and if all of this is too much for you they offer courses in social media management so that you can learn how to utilize everything that they have to offer.
Hootsuite can incorporate Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest. Paid versions increase the amount of platforms that can be incorporated in as well as the tools available and start at $29 per month. All paid versions offer a 30 day free trial.
Buffer
Buffer offers many of the same controls as Hootsuite like managing six different social media platforms in one space and allowing for posts to be scheduled in advance. The free version allows for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and LinkedIn. It also allows for posts to be scheduled using Google Chrome extensions while you surf the web. The free version includes very basic analytics. Pay versions start at $15 and also incorporate Pinterest in as well as more advanced analytics and an RSS feed. A 14 day free trial is offered for all pay versions.
Later
Like many of the other programs Later allows users to schedule posts ahead of time. It bills itself as working best with Instagram but it also incorporates Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. The free version allows for 30 posts to be scheduled ahead of time and 50 for Twitter but in photos only. Basic analytics are provided for the free version. A plus version is available for $9 per month which allows for more posts, video content, tags and increased analytics. There is also three business plans as well.
SocialOomph
The free version of SocialOomph focuses around Twitter. It allows users to schedule and reuse Tweets for up to five different accounts. It also allows for analytics like keyword tracking and mentions. Pro versions also incorporate Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Plunk as well as more powerful Twitter tools. An unlimited Twitter version is offered for $6.97 per month and the pro version is offered for $17.97 per month. A 7 day free trial is offered.
Friends+Me
Like so many more before Friends+Me allows for content to be scheduled to be shared across multiple platforms. It incorporates Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest (paid version only). In the free version a limited number of posts can be scheduled but an additional person can be brought on to manage the account as well. On-demand options can be added for a small fee so if more resources are temporarily needed they can be added. Additional options are available for pay versions starting at $9 per month.
CrowdFire
They bill it as the only social media manager that you will ever need. The free version of CrowdFire incorporates Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram (Pinterest included in paid versions). 10 posts can be scheduled and a Google Chrome extension allows for posts to be scheduled while surfing the Internet. Content can also be curated from your own blogs or YouTube videos. Analytics for one day are provided so you can get an idea of how your posts are doing. Paid plans start at $7.48 and include more powerful tools.
Single Platform
TweetDeck
Twitter can be quite addictive as any active user has found out. It is very easy to forget just why you logged in or opened the platform to begin with. When you get lost in all of the clutter that is your feed it can be hard to get out and that is where TweetDeck comes in. It helps to remove the clutter so that you can use Twitter more effectively. It allows you to create a custom interface and monitor specific users and hashtags, your own channel or to search for specific terms.
Users can also do their favorite activities through TweetDeck like reply to tweets, retweet posts or send direct messages. It also allows for user control by allowing for accounts to be blocked or muted. Multiple accounts can be managed and posts scheduled through TweetDeck. The service is free and it is owned by Twitter.
Not quite free but still affordable
Some platforms are extremely expensive and well out of the league of any small business owner. We won’t detail them. There are some platforms that while they are not free are still easily affordable for an individual or small business.
SocialBee
SocialBee terms itself as social media on autopilot with all-in-one tools and services for posting content, recycling content, growing followers, generating engagement and more. It allows for content to be categorized and when paired with the calendar it lets you know how many times something for that category has been shared which can be great to promote upcoming events or live broadcasts or to keep the content different. It incorporates Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Instagram.
This is not a free service but it does offer a 14 day free trial and plans start at $29 per month. They advertise that they can save 8 hours worth of social media work per week if used so at $29 per month it is well worth it.
Social Pilot
Stop us if you have heard this before but this is a program that allows you to schedule social media posts across different platforms. Like SocialBee this is not a free program but does offer a 14 day free trial. It allows for at least 50 different social media accounts and for bulk scheduling. It can utilize RSS feeds and provides analytics for the user. Plans start at $30 per month.
Content creation
Scoop.It
You know what can make for good posts to social media? Blog posts on your website. The content is all there and it can be shared across multiple social media platforms. But how do you find the time to create good content (besides of course hiring Nicely Done Sites to do it). Scoop.It can help. High quality content can be published to your website and across social media in minutes. You can choose the topic and keep track of your favorite sources for content so that you can get more. The free version allows for 50 posts and they can be shared to social media. Pro versions start at $14.99 and allows for more posts as well as far more powerful tools like WordPress integration and advanced scheduling. Paid versions come with a 7 day free trial.
Typito
We are sure that you have wanted to make your advertising graphics look much more professional but you don’t either have the skill or want to hire a graphic designer. Typito can help. It allows you to create professionally designed overlays for social media marketing. Files are uploaded, edited through an easy to use interface and then shared to social media. The free version allows for the creation of 4 videos with an upload to Facebook and YouTube. The Typito logo will be included with the free version but can be removed for a small fee. Paid services start at $25 and allow for more videos and better tools.