My 7 Favorite Social Media Tools (That Are Free)

bizzwise.in
Posted by bizzwise.in February 27, 2023

My 7 Favorite Social Media Tools (That Are Free)

I. Hootsuite

II. Canva

III. Buffer

IV. Google Analytics

V. TweetDeck

VI. Bitly

VII. Social Mention

As social media becomes increasingly important for businesses, it’s important to have the right tools to help you manage and optimize your social media presence. In this blog post, I will share my 7 favorite social media tools that are free and offer great features for small businesses.

1.Hootsuite:

Hootsuite is a popular social media management tool that allows you to manage multiple social media accounts from one platform. With Hootsuite, you can schedule and publish posts, track your social media analytics, and engage with your followers all in one place. Hootsuite also offers a free plan that allows you to manage up to three social media profiles.

  • Social media scheduling: Hootsuite allows users to schedule social media posts in advance, so they can be published at the optimal time for their audience.
  • Content curation: Users can easily discover and share relevant content from across the web, including articles, images, and videos, directly from their Hootsuite dashboard.
  • Analytics: Hootsuite provides users with detailed analytics on their social media performance, including engagement rates, follower growth, and post reach.
  • Team collaboration: Hootsuite makes it easy for teams to work together on social media campaigns, with features like message assignments and approval workflows.
  • Customizable dashboard: Users can customize their Hootsuite dashboard to suit their specific needs, with drag-and-drop widgets and a variety of layout options.
  • Mobile app: Hootsuite offers a mobile app that allows users to manage their social media accounts on-the-go, from anywhere in the world.
  • Integrations: Hootsuite integrates with a wide range of other tools and platforms, including popular social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as third-party apps like Google Analytics and Canva.

2.Canva:

Canva is a graphic design platform that allows you to create beautiful social media posts, graphics, and images without any design experience. With Canva, you can choose from thousands of templates, images, and design elements to create professional-looking social media content. Canva also offers a free plan with limited features.

  • Design templates: Canva offers a wide range of pre-designed templates for various types of content, making it easy for users to create professional-looking designs without any prior design experience.
  • Drag-and-drop interface: Users can easily drag and drop elements like images, text, and icons onto their designs, making the design process quick and intuitive.
  • Image library: Canva has a library of millions of images and illustrations that users can use in their designs, as well as the ability to upload their own images.
  • Customizable designs: Canva allows users to customize their designs with a wide range of fonts, colors, and other design elements, giving them full creative control over their content.
  • Collaboration tools: Canva makes it easy for teams to collaborate on designs, with features like real-time commenting and the ability to share designs with specific team members or groups.
  • Branding tools: Canva allows users to create and save brand kits, which include their brand’s colors, fonts, and logos, making it easy to maintain consistent branding across all of their designs.

3.Buffer:

Buffer is another popular social media management tool that allows you to schedule and publish posts, track your social media analytics, and engage with your followers. Buffer offers a free plan that allows you to manage up to three social media profiles and schedule up to 10 posts per profile.

  • Scheduling: Buffer enables users to schedule social media posts in advance for multiple platforms, saving time and ensuring consistency in content posting.
  • Content creation: Users can create new posts or edit previously published posts directly in Buffer, using an intuitive and user-friendly interface.
  • Analytics: Buffer provides detailed analytics on social media performance, including engagement rates, follower growth, and post reach, to help users understand how their content is performing and make data-driven decisions.
  • Collaboration: Buffer allows teams to collaborate on social media campaigns, with features like message assignments, approval workflows, and team collaboration tools.
  • RSS Feed Integration: Users can integrate RSS feeds into Buffer and set up automatic posting of content from RSS feeds to their social media platforms.
  • Customizable scheduling: Users can choose the specific time and date for each post, or use Buffer’s recommended times to automatically schedule their posts at optimal times.
  • Integrations: Buffer integrates with a range of other tools and platforms, including social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as third-party apps like Canva and Google Analytics.

4.Google Analytics:

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that allows you to track your website traffic and analyze your website’s performance. You can use Google Analytics to see how much traffic your social media accounts are driving to your website and which social media channels are performing the best.

  • Real-time data: Google Analytics provides real-time data on website traffic, allowing users to monitor visitor activity as it happens.
  • Audience insights: Users can gain insights into their website visitors, including demographics, interests, and geographic location, to better understand their audience.
  • Behavior tracking: Google Analytics tracks user behavior on websites, including which pages they visit, how long they stay on each page, and which actions they take, such as filling out a form or making a purchase.
  • Conversion tracking: Users can set up conversion tracking to measure how many users take a desired action on their website, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
  • Customizable dashboards: Google Analytics allows users to create custom dashboards to track specific metrics and KPIs, making it easy to stay on top of website performance.
  • E-commerce tracking: Google Analytics offers e-commerce tracking for online stores, enabling users to track sales, revenue, and other key metrics related to their online business.
  • Integration with other Google tools: Google Analytics can be integrated with other Google tools, such as Google Ads and Google Tag Manager, to provide a comprehensive view of website and marketing performance.

5.TweetDeck:

TweetDeck is a social media dashboard that allows you to manage your Twitter account. With TweetDeck, you can schedule and publish tweets, track mentions and hashtags, and engage with your followers. TweetDeck is free and offers a customizable dashboard that allows you to see all your Twitter activity in one place.

  • Customizable columns: TweetDeck allows users to create and customize columns for specific topics, users, or hashtags, making it easy to stay on top of important conversations and trends.
  • Multiple account management: Users can manage multiple Twitter accounts from a single dashboard, making it easy to switch between accounts and manage social media activity for multiple brands or businesses.
  • Scheduling: TweetDeck enables users to schedule tweets in advance, allowing them to plan and execute a social media strategy more effectively.
  • Tweeting in bulk: Users can compose and send multiple tweets at once, saving time and streamlining the tweeting process.
  • Real-time monitoring: TweetDeck provides real-time monitoring of Twitter activity, allowing users to stay up-to-date on breaking news, trending topics, and brand mentions.
  • Filter options: TweetDeck offers a range of filter options to help users manage their Twitter feeds more effectively, including filtering by keywords, users, and media types.
  • Team collaboration: TweetDeck allows teams to collaborate on social media management, with features like team accounts, shared columns, and message assignments.

6.Bitly:

Bitly is a URL shortener that allows you to shorten your links and track clicks. Bitly is great for sharing links on social media platforms like Twitter, where character count is limited. Bitly also offers analytics that allow you to see how many clicks your links are receiving.

  • Link shortening: Bitly enables users to shorten long URLs into short, shareable links that are easier to manage and share on social media, email, and other platforms.
  • Custom branded links: Users can create custom branded short links that incorporate their own domain name, helping to build brand awareness and trust with audiences.
  • Link tracking: Bitly provides detailed analytics on link clicks, including geographic location, referral source, and device type, to help users understand how their links are performing and optimize their marketing campaigns.
  • Link retargeting: Bitly enables users to add retargeting pixels to their links, allowing them to track and target audiences who have clicked on their links in the past.
  • Team collaboration: Bitly allows teams to collaborate on link management, with features like team accounts, link folders, and user permissions.
  • Integration with other tools: Bitly integrates with a range of other marketing tools and platforms, including social media networks like Twitter and LinkedIn, and email marketing tools like Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor.

7. Social Mention:

Social Mention is a real-time social media search engine that allows you to search for mentions of your brand, product, or service on social media. Social Mention searches over 100 social media platforms and offers analytics that allow you to see the sentiment and reach of your social media mentions.

  • Real-time monitoring: Social Mention provides real-time monitoring of brand mentions, allowing users to stay on top of what people are saying about their brand or industry on social media.
  • Sentiment analysis: Social Mention uses sentiment analysis to identify whether brand mentions are positive, negative, or neutral, helping users understand the overall sentiment around their brand or industry.
  • Top keywords and hashtags: Social Mention identifies the top keywords and hashtags associated with brand mentions, allowing users to identify key themes and trends in social media conversations.
  • Reach and influence metrics: Social Mention provides reach and influence metrics for brand mentions, helping users understand the potential impact of each mention on their brand.
  • Competitive analysis: Social Mention allows users to compare their brand’s social media activity to that of their competitors, providing insights into how they stack up in terms of reach, sentiment, and engagement.
  • Customizable alerts: Social Mention enables users to set up customizable alerts for brand mentions, ensuring that they never miss an important conversation or opportunity to engage with their audience.
  • Integration with other tools: Social Mention can be integrated with other social media monitoring and management tools, such as Hootsuite and Buffer, to provide a more comprehensive view of social media activity.

Conclusion:-

these seven social media tools offer a wide range of features and benefits that can help small businesses manage and optimize their social media presence. By using these tools, businesses can save time, improve engagement, and make more informed decisions about their social media strategy.

Summary:

•Hootsuite:

manage multiple social media accounts, schedule and publish posts, track analytics, engage with followers

• Canva:

create professional-looking social media content with templates and design elements

• Buffer:

schedule and publish posts, track analytics, engage with followers for up to 3 social media profiles

• Google Analytics:

track website traffic and analyze performance, see how social media is driving traffic to website

• TweetDeck:

manage Twitter account, schedule and publish tweets, track mentions and hashtags, customizable dashboard

• Bitly:

shorten links and track clicks, useful for sharing on limited character platforms like Twitter

• Social Mention:

real-time social media search engine, search for mentions of brand/product/service, see sentiment and reach of mentions

F&Qs:-

Q: What is social media management?

A: Social media management involves managing and optimizing a brand’s social media presence across various platforms, including creating and scheduling content, monitoring engagement, and analyzing social media metrics.

Q: What are the benefits of using social media tools?

A: Social media management is important for businesses because it allows them to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and drive website traffic. It also provides valuable insights into audience behavior and preferences, allowing businesses to make more informed decisions about their marketing strategy.

Q: Why is social media management important for businesses?

A: Social media tools can help businesses save time, improve engagement, and make more informed decisions about their social media strategy. They can also help businesses manage multiple social media accounts from one platform, create professional-looking social media content, and track social media analytics.

Q: Are there any free social media tools available for small businesses?

A: Yes, there are several free social media tools available for small businesses, including Hootsuite, Canva, Buffer, Google Analytics, TweetDeck, Bitly, and Social Mention.

Q: How do I choose the right social media tools for my business?

A: To choose the right social media tools for your business, consider your specific needs and goals. Look for tools that offer the features and functionality you need, and consider factors such as ease of use, pricing, and customer support. It’s also a good idea to read reviews and ask for recommendations from other business owners in your industry.