Easy tools to use with your social media.
Many of my clients want to creatively maintain parts of their media management or have their staff do so. Sometimes they want to curate the content and/or images to add. I like to flow with the needs of the client. That means I try to assist my clients and help with tools to make it easier for them.
I firmly believe in set times to organize and plan your media postings. However, at the most inopportune time, you may cross paths with the perfect article that applies to your clientele. You do not have to try to remember where you saw it so you can post it later. I have tools that can help you regularly maintain your media and handle those perfect articles that pop up too. Some of these tools will help you capture, schedule or create images that include your visual style. If you have any questions, please let me know. - Chris
Hoot Suite - www.hootsuite.com
This is a scheduling program that allows you a few free "streams" to try it out. I highly recommend the pro version. It helps you to see your social media all in one spot and is constantly upgrading and keeping up with the new platforms.
Canva - www.canva.com
In the very visual world of social media, struggling with photos or images goes away quickly when you have access to Canva. They offer a quick tutorial and some free images as well as upload space. The demo on this really is simple to follow, but most importantly, it can help you stay consistent with your branding and visuals. A really nice touch is the "to size" templates for social media. Get it the right size the first time.
Edgar - www.meetedgar.com
Edgar is another media content scheduler. However, this piece of software will help you re-use your content regularly. Why write this amazing content and only use it once? This is the really nice touch about Edgar. I have demonstrated it for a client and set it up for them. Refresh and Reuse. Really nice.
Pocket - www.getpocket.com
On the go curation, waiting in line, up in the middle of the night and can't sleep, any time of day... if the content that applies to your demographic crosses your path save it to Pocket. It’s an easy way to save ideas for when you sit down and formulate your plan. If you add to it from on the go, your staff can access the Pocket account on a desktop and load what you have saved. It’s a great, slick program and easy to use.
Feedly - www.feedly.com
Do you have a website you frequent often that has information that pertains to your business? Add that website to Feedly and you will quickly see the new articles they have posted and can decide if they are a good fit for you on social media. Feedly is easy to use and easy to organize for your curation.
Pixlr - www.pixlr.com
Pixir is a Photoshop online tool. Really nothing compares to Photoshop; however, Pixlr is a nice online tool that will help you create images to the right size, as well as crop and reduce image sizes. This is not as drag and drop like Canva, but for those folks who want a little more control, Pixlr will help. I know it comes with an Android app as well. Many of my clients use it and have saved themselves some cost of pricey software.
Grammarly - www.grammarly.com
Grammarly is something I recommend to all my clients because nothing is more embarrassing in social media than a misspelled word that implies something else. Grammarly has a browser version that checks every online window you type in and gives you a green G for good to go or a red number showing how many spelling or possible word errors there are. This gives you a chance to fix it before it hits the world wide web. There is also a paid version which will proof documents and other items, but the Chrome free version is worth it without a doubt.
Thank you for taking a moment to read through my tips and thoughts on how to make your media management a little smoother. I am always available to chat and figure out which strategy might be best for your business. All businesses should not have the same plan because all businesses do not have the same demographic. Enjoy! Chris Durnan