Utilizing social media to boost sales of your product or services, be it personal or for your company, is a necessary skill today. To gain traction on any social media app, you must produce content to break through the algorithm and ensure your target audience sees it. Unfortunately, the vast and still growing social media ecosystem is only possible with help. Your target audience exists in different corners of social media, which may consist of Instagram Reels, Facebook Walls, YouTube Shorts, or Twitter Home Pages, to name a few. To ensure the most eyes see your content, third-party tools offer a wide range of services to help your content get the recognition it deserves, and you can also make use of DIY SEO software to improve its reach further.
Canva:
Making sure your content is visually appealing is very important. The audience needs to be captivated by the first frame they see. In this case, Canva comes to the rescue. Canva is a graphic design tool for Android, iOS, and Windows. It is perfect for creating social media content since it has curated templates, images, and design elements such as stickers and pop-ups to elevate your content. The best part about the app is that it is free, but Canvas Pro can be bought for $9.99 per month and unlocks several Pro templates.
Buffer:
Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that supports Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. The app can schedule posts and lessen your workload by posting at designated times on pre-approved platforms. Buffer provides a detailed report on when to upload your content and even where to post it to ensure further that your post gets the traction it needs. If you are a company, this app can keep your team in the loop by setting permission levels and approval flows. The basic app is free. However, there are 3 plans, with the Professional solo plan priced at $6 per month and the 2 team-based plans set at $12 per month for one team and $120 per month for agencies with 10 or more channels.
Later:
If you are exclusively posting to Instagram and don’t need to utilize the wide app range of Buffer, then Later might be the app for you. Later allows you to schedule posts, but its most helpful and unique feature is its Media Library. You can upload your content to the Media Library and preview how it will look on your social media page to decide if it fits the aesthetic. Their Visual Instagram Planner also helps you create posts that will create interest. Later also boosts your Linkin. bio to help magnify your third-party website, shop, etc. The only vice is the app is paid, with their Starter plan starting at $18/month and going up to $80/month for the Advanced plan.
Hootsuite:
Being the most popular social media management tool, Hootsuite offers a buffet of services for you. While offering the luxury of scheduling posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok, it also allows you to tweak the post for each platform to your liking. You can also set up streams on the Hootsuite dashboard to track the activity of each post and discover trends. With the apps starting at a reasonable price of $23/month, you will surely get the bang for your buck you need.
Meet Edgar:
Meet Edgar allows you always to have content and ensure your social media is evergreen by recycling your old content. Unlike the other scheduling apps in the list, which delete the content after posting it, Meet Edgar keeps it stored in an infinite library. Should you run out of content to post, the app can quickly draw up older content and repurpose it so you can always have ideas. Meet Edgar also organically grows your audience alongside providing detailed analytics. It has two paid options for individuals and entrepreneurs priced at $24.91/month and $41.58/month, respectively, while offering a free trial.
Sprout Social:
Sprout Social is a highly comprehensive social media management tool mainly focused on use by larger businesses with multiple social media accounts. Providing cohesiveness across all platforms, Sprout Social unifies the inboxes of all the apps, providing an easy platform to interact with and grow your audience. It also provides a great dashboard to oversee all the analytics on one screen, simplifying the process. The Standard plan starts at $99/month for 5 profiles going up to $249/month for the Advanced plan providing 10 social profiles and several other features.
Fanhouse:
Fanhouse is a great tool to monetize your content by creating exclusive content for subscribers and engaging with your audience in a much more intimate and organic way. Fanhouse provides Housechats, where you can chat with your community and reward fans with integrations with apps like Spotify, Twitch, and Discord. The best part about the service is that it works on a 90/10 split, only keeping 10% of the subscription cost while you walk away with the 90%.
While using these apps may initially feel overwhelming, being knowledgeable and efficient with them is key to success on social media. Starting with free or cheap alternatives is the smart move, and once your audience is large enough, you can climb up the ladder and start using the more extensive tools.
