Social Media Tools for small businesses
When I first dove into learning about social media for business, like many of you, I just began posting what I thought my followers and fans would like. Boy did I have a lot to learn, and I did.
Like everything else in business and marketing, social media takes thoughtful planning. I understand how busy independent operators get with the day-to-day operations, and you might be thinking, who has time for planning?
No worries, I’ve put together a list of tools that will help you save time and keep you organized while creating a well thought out social media strategy for your business. I’ve also included my own social media calendar template using Excel that you can edit on demand.
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
I’ve been using Buffer for years and one of my favorite things about it is its browser extension. What that means for the business is that when we find a great article online that fits into our brand, our marketing campaign, or helps our audience, we can click the browser icon to schedule it right from the same window.
Buffer offers a free account that allows for three social media channels. If you have more, you might want to use the paid version. The paid version is just $5 a month for a business plan, which includes Planning and Publishing tools, Analytics tools, Engagement tools, and Landing page builder. Its premium offering is geared toward teams for ultimate collaborations. This plan is $10 a month and has the same as the business plan plus Unlimited team members and clients, Draft collaboration tools, Easy, clear reports. The blog offers great tips on different channels such as A Guide to Selling on Instagram as a Small Business.
Small Business tools to rock your social media!
Semrush is an all-in-one marketing tool for freelancers, startups, and small to large businesses. The tool includes all social networks and has a range of prices starting with the Pro Plan for $99.95/month and all the way up to the Business Plan at $399.95/month. The company prides itself on helping businesses grow their online visibility on “all key channels from just one platform.”
The platform is considerably robust with 50 plus tools on SEO, content marketing, competitor research, Pay Per Click (PPC) and social media marketing. A bonus to Semrush is that you have a team of experts behind the tools that will help you uncover national and local keywords, audit your site backlink profile (this helps give your site authority in Google’s eyes.), run SEO audits, and more.
Another full-service digital marketing company is Hubspot that allows the user to use the system that best meets its needs. With a full suite of tools, Hubspot brings the goods including a full Content Management System, Operations Systems, Marketing Software, Sales Software, and Customer Service Software.
The teams at Hubspot are experts in their respective fields and they also have a host of educational material free for users. Hubspot’s Starter Package is $45/month and includes 1K marketing contacts, customizable forms, email marketing, landing pages, and live chats. The next level up is the Professional Level at $800/month that includes 2K contacts, automation and personalization across all channels, multi-language content, all social media channels, video hosting and management, and company scoring. The grand package is the Enterprise Package at $3,400/month and is geared toward larger companies with multiple teams. One of my favorite things about this company is its goal of educating its users with downloads and opportunities to learn.
If you have a business page on Facebook or Instagram, you are familiar with Meta Business Suite. This tool is great if you are only managing those two channels as it makes it easy to schedule posts and stories for your business. The tool is free and offers users analytics, a creator tool, and advises on advertisement creation for posts that are performing well.
This might be all your business needs for digital marketing. Another benefit from Meta Business Suite is you can adjust your audience with affordable ads (starting at $5 a day) to measure what is most effective.
Hootsuite has been around for some time and for good reason. The platform offers a rich scheduling tool that allows for collaboration among teams and approval. The tool also has a built-in planner to create campaigns, identify gaps in publishing, and analyze performance.
Plans start at $49/month with a 30-day free trial and includes one user, ten social media accounts, ability to schedule unlimited posts, and access to all your messages in one inbox. You can also schedule posts in advance. The next level, called Team jumps to $129/month with 20 social accounts, up to three users, team management, and team assignment tools. They offer a business plan at $739/month that allows up to five users, 35 social accounts, core features, the ability to review messages before they publish and 24/7 priority support.
Do you have a favorite tool you use that makes managing your social media easier? Share in the comments. Next week I’ll cover Social Media Planning with some templates and worksheets to guide you in crafting the right messaging for your audience.
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