Don't get left behind looking to the old paradigms: 5 Must-Haves For Your Social Media Tool Box

There are well over 60 social media platforms today and counting, meaning the tools and apps to manage and market these platforms is even greater. So which tools do successful marketers and brands use on a daily basis? Here’s a real look inside our Account Manager’s tool box to see what we use and why:
1. HootSuite
Hootsuite is our content scheduler of choice because it’s extremely user-friendly. While there is still much debate about what’s more effective, live posts versus scheduled posts, the fact of the matter is as a small business owner you can’t always dedicate your time to social media 24/7. Enter HootSuite. This is why we love it:
Universal access – All of your settings and searches are saved no matter what computer you’re using
Aesthetically pleasing – The dashboard is visually appealing and you can easily see the action on the pages you manage
Team Management-friendly – You can assign roles and delegate authority to others, so it works well for a distributed team
Scheduled posts are easy to create
Media sharing-friendly – Attaching video and photo content is a breeze
Price – It’s pretty cheap, and even has a free version
It manages your character count so that you don’t go over 140 characters on Twitter posts
2. Bud.URL
“Shrink it, Spread it, Watch it grow” is their short and sweet slogan, and that’s exactly why we love it. This URL shortener will quickly become your tweeting wing man. Perks about the tool:
Trackable links – BudURL offers a detailed analysis for each link you create
Organized links – You can categorize links by client/project/employee
Description feature – You can quickly create a description of your shortened link
Quick QR creation – Want a QR code immediately? Bud.URL Automatically creates a downloadable QR code for the link
Easy-to-use button for your browser – The tool icon sits nicely in your browser making it truly as simple as the “touch of a button” to shorten the link to the page that you are on
Customizable URL – Instead of using a default URL, like bud.url/dsjlghsad, you can give followers an idea where a link will go with: bud.url/Tweet.
3. Google Alerts
Google Alerts is the ideal way to keep your ears close to what’s current and relevant in your industry. Get all your information delivered to you once a day, or stay constantly connected to industry news with the “as-it-happens” setting. Features we love most:
Easy access – Ability to get all desired industry news delivered as they happen in real-time
Time saver – Less time searching means more time devoted to creating spectacular content
Wealth of content – Bigger pool of information means better content
Go to Google Alerts now for improved content and relevancy.
4. SocialBro
Timing is key when it comes to Twitter, and the constant real-time conversations going on every second of the day. But that wealth of constant communication can make it difficult to get your tweets to reach the right audience at the right time. SocialBro does the work for you by analyzing your community and delivering weekly graphs of best times to tweet. The site also offers additional analytic research that you can customize to display exactly what you want to know.
What we love most:
Visuals – Easy to read graphs that will actually highlight ideal time to tweet
Accuracy – On-the-dot suggested tweet time
Options – SocialBro allows you to filter and measure posts in a variety of ways. Learn more here.
5. SocialMention
SocialMention is a real-time social media search and analysis tool that is completely free. You don’t need to do any annoying free trial, enter any information or log-in. Simply put in the Twitter handle, Facebook Profile Name, or any other social platform you have and it will give you a full breakdown of what you look like on social media. You can use the tool to discover how people are talking about you, when they’ve talked about you, what their tone was when talking about you, and which keywords were used most often.
What we love most:
Ease – Free, simple, zero hassle log-in
Detailed breakdowns – SocialMention will actually tell you the percentage of positive to negative posts about your brand and more, (we don’t know how it responds to sarcasm though!)
Bonus features – There’s an option to receive daily email alerts of your brand, company, CEO, marketing campaign, or on a developing news story, a competitor, or even the latest on a celebrity.
The floor’s all yours: Which social media tools are you utilizing to better manage and market your brand? Visit /excelamktg for further customized social media marketing ideas, innovative campaigns, current social media trends, and insider tips for small business success.
Join us! Every Friday at 1 p.m. Pacific Time we will be hosting a live Tweet Chat, where Account Manager, Elena Zanone, will be answering all your social media marketing questions. Use hashtag “#SMoaB” to jump into the conversation!

Author: /excelamktg – Social Media /excelamktg – Social Media on the Web /excelamktg – Social Media on Facebook /excelamktg – Social Media on Twitter /excelamktg – Social Media RSS Feed
/excelamktg (www.excelamkg.com) is a social media marketing firm based out of Los Angeles. The firm is the creator of ‘Social Media on a Budget’, a web series focused on teaching small businesses how to maximize their social media presence. /excelamktg offers various services such as online marketing, social media campaigns,… View full profile