It’s a constant process to keep your social media channels in check. Keeping them in check requires constant reflection on how to make each one better. There are plenty of tools out there to help you do this, however because social media tools are plentiful, it’s easy to get carried away. And getting carried away with slick social media tools inevitably leads to automation, which in excess is not ideal. Nevertheless tools are out there, and if you use the right ones, and use them correctly, they can boost your social media efforts to the next level. Here’s a look at 4 that you can benefit from.
Mention
Mention is a great tool to help you keep tabs on who is “mentioning” you on social media. One of social media’s most valuable characteristics is that it allows companies to respond in real time. Mention will tell you when someone references you and where, which gives you the opportunity to respond accordingly. You can set filters for keywords of your choosing, and then systematically see who is using those keywords on different sites. Therefore you’re not limited to just the name of your company.
IFTTT
IFTTT is an acronym that stands for “If This Then That.” The name in essence, explains the theory behind its usage. The tool is an automation resource that allows you automate certain parts of your social media strategy. Although automation is not usually the ideal way to engage in social media, there are certain things you can automate to help save time.
IFTTT lets you create a “recipe” so that when a trigger happens, a configurable action takes place. For example, if you write a blog you can subsequently post it to Twitter. By using IFTTT you can designate that when a blog is posted, a tweet is then posted with the following structure: “<Blog title>. <blog url>” There are many other uses, but this one is most common.
Pingraphy
Pinterest is one of the most widely used social media sites and Pingraphy is a tool that allows you to manage your account with a little sophistication. Pinterest is different from other social media sites in respect to automation. You can get away with it here. Pingraphy allows you to upload your pins in bulk, schedule these items and then view statistics related to how they progress.
Agorapulse
What good is it to have loyal fans, but know nothing about them? Agorapulse is a tool that helps your business understand the value of each fan. Social media is all about engagement, but to take that one step further, it’s really about converting that engagement into customers. The tool has numerous features that help you manage your fans; however one of its most unique features is how it profiles your fans. As fans interact, Agorapulse records data on how they interact. For example, with Facebook you would see the number of comments, shares, likes etc that a fan has on your page. For that reason alone, this tool is useful.
Tools help make your job easier. No matter what you are trying to do, there’s most likely a tool to help you do it. With that being said the trick is to not get carried away. Using too many tools in social media can take away from the value you as a person adds. However, some tools seem to work better than others. These four will allow you to fine tune and polish your social media channels.
