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APPS – These Are Our 5 Favs!

It goes without saying that apps are a Social Media Manager’s BFF!  They help us plan, analyze, stay creative, efficient, productive, curate content and SO MUCH MORE!  One thing is for sure, we couldn’t survive without them!

When challenged to share our favorite 5, it was tough to choose!  There are so many quality apps available today and new ones are emerging every day!  Below are 5 of our favorite go-to apps that you will want to get your hands on right away!  To grab these apps, head over to your devices app store to snag them.

Get Creative with These Apps

As a Social Media Manager or anyone who manages a brand’s social content, you need to be creative.  One of the goals of the content you post is to “Stop The Scroll”.  This requires interesting and engaging posts.

  1.  Adobe Spark Post!

Why We Love It:  

This app is great for creating anything from a social media post graphic to posters, and custom sizes.  Not only does this app have loads of size options available, its library of free stock photos is HUGE!  Not only does Adobe Spark Post make amazing images, it also animates images.  Fun Alert!  Once you start with Spark, you may not be able to stop!

  1.  Animoto

Do you have a bunch of pictures that tell a story about your brand, service or product?  Let’s face it, sometimes static images just won’t do the job.  Our solution…Animoto!  Animoto is a great resource for turning images into animated video.  Not only does it create a great video but it also has amazing stock music to help you hit the right vibe.

  1. Typorama

A good Social Media Manager knows that you can’t just have one resource for creating social media graphics.  If you only use one tool, your posts become predictable, and, well…boring.  To create a wide variety of post types, you need to have a wide variety of apps.  We love Typorama because it has a large selection of font styles you can use for your graphic posts.  

Pro Tip:  Check you Typorama’s sister app, Videorama.  This is a super cool app that has a large selection of stock video for you to use.  Get creative with Videorama by adding text overlays, music, and filters to your videos.

 

Get efficient and save time with these apps.

4 & 5.  Yes, we said “these”.  

There are two time-saving apps we adore which wouldn’t allow us to choose just one.  Here’s why…Social Media Managers are a busy lot!  We are always creating content, posting and tracking the engagement of our posts.  In order to be effective at all of those things simultaneously, we need a tool to help us.  

So, numbers 4 & 5 on our list are Buffer and Hootsuite.  Both of these apps have web-based and mobile device platforms which are designed to help you schedule the posts you create.  

We love Buffer for its ease of use when it comes to scheduling posts on multiple accounts.  Hootsuite rocks when it comes to monitoring the social conversation surrounding your posts.  Both have similar functions.  We encourage you to dive into each to decide which is the best fit for you or maybe it is a combination of the two!

Honorable Mentions

Yup!  It was hard to pick just 5 favorites.  We couldn’t leave these out because they help to keep your posts and feeds uber interesting!  Make sure you check out:

  • Boomerang for repetitive, looped animation.  Try it once and you’ll be hooked!
  • Ripl – Great for animated video
  • Hyperlapse – Speed up a long video using this time-lapsed video app. Great for instructional type videos
  • Vont – Edit and trim videos right on your smartphone with this easy to use video editor

Pro Tip:  One of the best things you can do for your social media accounts is to keep them fresh and exciting.  Take the time to get to know new and different apps to help you achieve this.

Have fun and stay social!

 

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Twitter Tactics

How can you get the most out of Twitter for your business?  We get that question A LOT!  Twitter can be confusing and some may be stumped on how to use Twitter.  When getting started with Twitter, it’s best to take baby steps and then grow from there.  Once you get your feet wet and splash around a little you can’t help but take a swim in the deep end.

Starting Out…

When first with Twitter, use it for two things:

  1. Gather information
  2. Share information

Gathering Information:

Twitter can be extremely valuable for gathering information on a number of topics.  To do this effectively you will want to follow these steps:

  • Follow credible sources who deliver valuable content about the topic you are interested in.  Topics can range anywhere from sports scores, business trends, world news, marketing tactics, etc.
  • As you identify the sources you want to follow, add them to lists in order to sort the feeds by category or topic.  Using lists will help you keep all of the topics you want to follow organized
  • To create a list, follow these steps:
    • Visit your “Lists” section of Twitter by clicking the gear icon drop-down menu or by clicking Lists on your profile page.
    • Click Create List.
    • Name the List & create a description.
    • Mark the List as Public or Private.
    • Save the List.
  • Now that you have your list created, you can easily add sources to the list by:
    • Click on a Twitter user’s profile
    • Click on the person icon drop-down menu on the profile.
    • Choose add or remove from Lists.
    • Choose the List you would like to add the person to or uncheck the List the person was already a member of.
  • Add as many people to your various lists as you would like
  • Check your lists often to get the latest news from your trusted sources

Sharing Information:

Twitter is a great way for you to position yourself as an authority on a certain topic, field or industry.  The trick is to share “tweet-able” information, share it often and on a consistent basis.  A good rule of thumb is to share 21-70 Tweets a week.  That is a minimum of 3 Tweets a day or a maximum of 10 Tweets.  It seems like a lot, but there are a couple of things to remember:  

  1. You are Tweeting sound bites of information that link back to a bigger story (your website, blog, landing page, or another social platform that has more detailed info).
  2. There is only room to Tweet up to 280 characters which is not a very large amount of content.
  3. If you do not maintain a constant flow of information, a single message will get lost in the Twitter-sphere minimizing your opportunity to be found by others.

So What’s “Tweetable?”

We are glad you asked!  Below is a list of some generic ideas to get you started:

  • Industry trends
  • Tips
  • Events
  • Statistics
  • Recommendations
  • Best tools for your industry
  • Links to your blog post
  • Pose questions (this is a great way to encourage engagement)
  • Attention-grabbing graphics
  • Video
  • Quote
  • Poll
  • Follow appreciation post
  • Short and sweet “how-to”
  • Data
  • Something funny

Now that you get the idea of what types of things you should post, it’s time to put a plan into action.  An efficient way of releasing multiple Tweets a day is to use a bulk scheduler like Hootsuite or Buffer.  Visit this blog post to get more information about bulk schedulers.

Happy Tweeting!

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APPS Are the Answer!

Have you ever seen a business or someone who seems to be able to churn out social media content effortlessly?  You know the the type!  They’re the ones who seem to have a newsworthy tweet on Twitter, an amazing image with the perfect caption on Instagram, a super-cool infographic on Pinterest and an ultra-engaging post on Facebook…on the daily!  How can they possibly do it all AND do their job?

Let’s face it, writing, creating, organizing, graphic design, and scheduling social media posts can be a DAUNTING task.  The good news is, it doesn’t have to be!  As a matter of fact, we know the secret to becoming super-human when it comes to social media.

What’s the secret to effective social media marketing?  A good plan and a collection of APPS to help you get the job done!

3 Apps We Can’t Live Without!

To stay on top of our social media to-do list, we rely on certain apps that we access daily.  After you take them for a spin, we think you will understand why we believe they are the best for helping to create and manage social media efforts efficiently and effectively:

  • Create amazing graphics with Typorama
  • Bulk schedule your social media posts with Hootsuite
  • Stay on top of Facebook engagement with Facebook Pages Manager

Enjoy!

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All About APPS!

In the social media world, one of your biggest allies are mobile applications or “Apps” for short.  They can help you manage your social channels and accounts on the go so you are not chained to your desk and chair all day, every day.  Not only do “mobile” apps help you stay mobile, but, they also help you to create systems, be creative, manage workflow and, they help you to easily adjust and pivot when your business demands it.  Once you begin using apps, you may, well, become addicted!  The power of conducting business from your smartphone or mobile device is truly liberating!

In this blog post, we will explore 3 types of apps you will need to be successful on Social Media:

  1. Creative Graphics Apps – Create professional apps that help to capture attention
  2. Scheduling Apps – Schedule social media posts ahead of time so you aren’t spending valuable time posting to social media when you should be working on your business.
  3. Never miss a Facebook Notification Again

BONUS TIP/APP:  Facebook Response Assistant.  Learn how to automatically respond to people who message your Facebook Business Page.

Intrigued how you can accomplish all of this and start saving a ton of time?  Read on!

Creative Graphics Apps:

These, by far, are a favorite of the Social Speak Team!  A good graphics app can make you look like a rockstar on social media.  Many of the apps we use have FREE versions which are very robust.  In most cases, for just a few extra dollars you can open up premium features to further your rockstar status.

Here are 3 of our favs that you should start using today!

  1. WordSwag (available in the App Store & Google Play Store) – Add text overlays to professional grade images from their image library or to your own photo library
  2. Typorama (available in the App Store) – Add text overlays to professional grade images from their image library or to your own photo library
  3. Adobe Spark (available in the App Store and on your desktop) – Add text overlays to professional grade images from their image library or to your own photo library, create collages, posters, animated images and so much more!

Scheduling Apps:

Save yourself time, become more productive and stay on top of what is happening on multiple social media channels with two of our favorite scheduling apps:

Hootsuite:  FREE & Paid versions available

Check out these 4 things you can do with Hootsuite:

  • Schedule Content
  • Content Curation
  • Analytics
  • Social Monitoring

Buffer:  Manage and schedule all of your social media accounts from this one app!  Pick the most popular times to schedule your posts to ensure the best results.

Both of these apps are effective from your mobile device and your desktop computer.  Regain control of your work schedule with these apps.  Elect to use either the free or paid version of both of these apps.

Facebook Notifications:

Don’t you hate it when you miss a Facebook like, comment or share or on your business page?  We do!  We want to consistently stay engaged with our brand followers and fans.  The best way to do this is to know when a post receives engagement or when you get a message to your page and respond immediately.

The good news, there is a way to accomplish this!  Facebook page manager.  This free mobile app will alert you every time someone likes, comments or engages with your business page.  You can also access page analytics and see other types of “back office” functions through this handy little app such as:

  • Messages
  • Reviews
  • Check-ins (if you are a brick and mortar)
  • Shares
  • New Likes
  • Followers
  • Manage scheduled posts
  • Manage page settings
  • AND SO MUCH MORE!

Download the app and tap on all the icons to reveal what’s available.  Do be afraid of “tapping,” you cannot break anything.  

Check out the image below to discover what the various Facebook Pages Manager functionalities/icons are:

BONUS TIP:

One of the most important things you can do when managing social media is to be responsive.  An easy and effective way to check this box is to turn on your

Steps to get there:

  • Click on “Settings” in the upper right corner of your Business page
  • Click on the second option in the left-hand panel called “Messaging”
  • Scroll to “Response Assistant”
  • Turn this option “ON”
  • Customize your outgoing message.  Consider adding your phone number to this message, prompting people to call you.

All of the apps we shared with you today are very helpful to managing your social media accounts successfully.  Let us know how you were able to implement them in your business by leaving us a comment.

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Knowledge is Power

You’ve got questions, and we’ve got answers! “Knowledge is Power,” and every week on Social Speak Network, we’re going to offer powerful resources to keep your brand fresh, on track and help you ramp up your social media marketing so you stand out from your competitors!

Branding

So what the heck is brand identity?  Hmmmmm…..scratching your head?  Well, you are NOT alone. Branding your business is imperative. There are a lot of informative websites, blogs and beyond that are chock full of information. Here is a GREAT resource to take a peek at:

https://99designs.com/blog/tips/brand-identity/

Pinterest

Neil Patel is a New York Times best selling author.  The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web! You’ll want to read his blog post: How to Generate 67% More Customers With These 3 Pinterest Hacks!

https://neilpatel.com/blog/pinterest-customer-acquisition-hacks/

Twitter

Looking to find the BEST Twitter hashtags that will help you increase your social reach and brand awareness?  Check out this link to find out 9 tools that you can use!

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/twitter-hashtags/

Facebook

If you have not been utilizing the power of Facebook Insights, now’s the time to dive in and learn who your audience is!  Insights is an awesome analytical tool that will help you understand your audience and how to steer your marketing efforts in the right direction!  

https://www.facebook.com/business/a/page/page-insights

Video

Gary Vaynerchuk is founder and CEO of VaynerMedia, and one of the world’s leading marketing experts. As Gary says, “The single most important strategy in content marketing today is video. Whether it’s video on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or Youtube, the content you need to be thinking about creating and marketing on social for your business is video. Period.

Learn how to take your video marketing to the next level!

https://animoto.com/blog/business/video-marketing-for-business/

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