Top 5 Social Media Automation Tools

by SocialEyes | Mar 16, 2018 | Uncategorized

Manage your social media accounts without spending every waking moment staring at your phone or computer. Social media automation tools are your ticket to quick and easy social media management. Plan your social content ahead of time and schedule posts tailored for each social media platform using only one tool.

For 2018 thus far, here are our picks for the best social media automation tools.

Hootsuite – In terms of popularity, Hootsuite remains the top pick for most content marketers and small businesses. With Hootsuite, you can schedule your social media posts across all platforms ahead of time, interact with followers, and network with prominent social media influencers. Recently, the Hootsuite team has enabled direct posting to Instagram as well, which means no more push notifications and users no longer need to input posts manually into Instagram to post.

Best Features:

• Handle all social media housekeeping for all accounts with one login.
• Account monitoring that allows you to determine which type of posts do well and the times in the day when your posts receive the most attention.
• Comment, reply, review mentions and send direct messages all in one place.

Crowdfire – Keep tabs on your competition and compare your progress to other brands with this automation tool. Crowdfire is particularly effective for Twitter and Instagram. Its content curation feature and follower analysis capabilities sets it apart from the all other automation tools currently available.

Best Features:

• Identify and unfollow inactive Twitter users.
• Monitor the follower lists of other social media users.
• Curate and cross-post content at optimal posting times.

Buffer – Schedule posts across all of your social media accounts and use Buffer’s comprehensive analytics tools to grow your social media campaign. This tool has been around for over five years, so they have had a little more time to iron out the kinks much like Hootsuite.

Best Features:

• User-friendly design that is easy to navigate for beginners and experts alike.
• Frequent updates that ensure Buffer’s functions keep up with the changes to each social media platform.
• Analytic tools with built-in flexibility giving users more control over the data they choose to monitor.

Agora Pulse – This is the ultimate all-in-one social media automation tool. It offers all of the basics like post scheduling, follower interaction, compatibility with all of the most popular social media platforms and data collection.

Best Features:

• Team collaboration and editing.
• Scheduling for Google and YouTube is also included.
• Automate re-posts of content on a recurring schedule.

IFTTT – If you are confident in your tech skills and you want an automation tool for more unique or specific jobs, check out If This Then That. Everything you need to know about this tool is in the name. Create your very own recipes or “applets” to automate everything from social media activity to emails to home appliances.

Best Features:

• Automate virtually every aspect of your online life (and even some of your offline life).
• Unrivaled compatibility to a huge array of platforms and software.
• Flexibility to tailor applets to meet your very specific needs.

Need some help with social media automation and management? Contact us! We have a talented team of experts who are ready to make sure your online branding strategy succeeds.

The Power of Contests and Giveaways

by SocialEyes | Mar 16, 2018 | Uncategorized

Have you ever seen a brand run a contest or a giveaway on social media? By 2018 you should be pretty familiar with the concept, but what you may not have considered yet is how this tactic could help you drum up business in a BIG way.

How It Works

At first glance, it might seem like an expensive gamble that will have you seeing red in no time. However, research has shown that consumers are more likely (about 20 %) to talk about a product if they received it for free than if they had to pay for it.

We are seeing the best effects of two strategies at work with giveaways and contests:

• Consumers love free stuff. It feels like receiving a gift, so they associate positive emotions with the experience. When these recipients share their experiences with others, your business benefits from word of mouth advertising.
• Another way those positive emotions are being put to good use is through cultivating brand loyalty. We give gifts to show our appreciation. It is no different with giveaways and they are often described in that way by businesses. Customers are far more likely to shop where they feel welcome and appreciated.

Creative Ideas for Freebies

A giveaway can be anything of real value. A time honoured strategy is to give out pens, tote bags and clothing accessories featuring a brand name or slogan. If you want to compete with all of the other businesses online, you will have come up with something that offers a much higher value.

• New businesses often find success offering their own products or services for free. This approach is a good way to show confidence in your product, while also giving customers the chance to experience your product.
• Offer a free service with the basics, then offer premium services with extra features. Should your customers enjoy the free product, they are more likely to upgrade to the premium versions. Premium features often include one-on-one staff support, less restrictive access to already existing features (like colour palettes, templates, etc.) and access to new features that allow customers to derive more value from your products.
• Free trials are another way to expose your target customers to your product. Trials should last as long as it should take for users to feel comfortable using your product. Life with the product should be noticeably better than life without it. The Amazon Prime 1-month trial is a great example of this.

Running a social media contest or giveaway is simple to do and cost effective for you. If you would like to know how your business can benefit from this online marketing strategy, connect with us! If you would rather an expert take care of your social media accounts for you, we can do that too! Call us or fill out our contact form to get in touch.