You don’t need to even consider using any social media tools if you’re happy with your social efforts being a waste of your time and money. If, however, you want to make something of your multiple Twitter profiles or your other social media accounts then listen up, because using the right tool can make your life easier.
Twitter probably has the most tools available, you can find out where your followers are from, how many times your post has been seen and even who is following you back. There are tools for so many features. For example, when you receive a new follower, do you send them a direct message saying thank you? Well there is a tool that will do that for you. An auto direct messaging tool can come in handy when you want to acknowledge your new found audience.
Tools that handle direct messages and give you more information about your followers are extremely useful, as they allow you to target your audience and really understand them. However they are just the tip of the iceberg. There are a countless amount of social media management suites out there, however, they can all be put into one of two categories, either and online browser suite, or an offline desktop suite.
There are a lot of different reasons as to why there are two types, but the main reason for online management suites is that they are easier for the developers to update, whereas desktop users would need to download the update and install it, however the desktop suites do not need a browser open, as they are an independent programme, were as browser suites have to stay within the browser, and this can be limiting.
Online management systems come in a huge amount, one of the most popular would be Hootsuite, this suite has a lot of different features available and to really have an opinion on it, you need to try it out for yourself. I will say that it does provide all the features you could need, as it allows you to schedule updates for times when you may be away from your computer, it also creates analytic reports so you can monitor your progress. However I have found that the scheduled updates is very specific and time consuming, also it provides no form of notifications, so you have to constantly check your news feed.
Desktop managements also are supplied in a large amount, I favor this type of management system, in fact, I favor Tweetdeck, I have actually written an in depth review of Tweetdeck. Briefly, because the suite is an independent programme, it provides notifications that pop up no matter which screen you are on. This saves the constant hassle of having to check back and forth between windows and programs. I have found also that the scheduling is much straighter forward and that it is easier to monitor as a column shows up, increasing the ease of management.
Whether you choose to use an offline suite or online, it really does not matter, it is just a preference and whichever you find easiest to use, you should use. However if you are not using any form of management system, then you are missing out on making the most of your profiles, once you begin to use a management suite, you will understand that you have been making a mistake for the whole of your social media marketing life.
Author Bio: This post was written by Lewis, the Social Media Marketer from SEO Positive, follow his Blog or Twitter.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
The important thing to remember it’s important to be in the social realm. Many are failing to recognize the importance of social media but this is where you have to be.
My preference is offline tools and have used many including tweetdeck for twitter.
Very True, I still use Tweetdeck and its one of my favorite tools!
Social media is a best way to increase traffic t your blog . A blogger is usually make his first step to the social media websites to make his blog well known .
Exactly ! by using platforms like Twitter, you can use the blog to gain more followers and the network to get more traffic
The issue is, we are all locked into social media these days.
It depends on your perspective of social media, some regard being “locked in” as a good thing, i actually wrote an article for a contest about that very subject that you may enjoy sem-group.net/search-engine-optimization-blog/social-media-suffocation-why-i’ve-had-enough-of-networking-online/
It really depends on your perspective, some regard being “locked in” as a good thing, i actually wrote an in depth article on the very subject sem-group.net/search-engine-optimization-blog/social-media-suffocation-why-i’ve-had-enough-of-networking-online/
It really depends on your perspective, some regard being “locked in” as a good thing, I have written an article about the very subject, if you message me on Twitter (@laustinseo) id be happy to send you it =)
You forgot about sites like Twiends, You Like Hits, Splitweet, Tweepi, and dozens of others.
Hi Rowan, thanks for mentioning these sites here. They are really great places to get free followers. Talk soon.
Actually i did not forget about those sites, i know people can, and do buy followers and Facebook likes etc. but this is something i highly disagree with, also the purchasing of followers was not on the topic of tools for social media as it is more of a purchase. Thank you
Hi,
Won’t use it anymore as i did till now