5 Tools for Social Media We Can't Live Without
Here at Insight Social, we manage multiple client accounts daily, which means we need an arsenal of social media tools and resources to ensure we deliver the best quality content possible. Without these tools, we would be manually publishing on 6+ different iPhones every day and working 7 days a week. Can you imagine?
Today we’re sharing our 5 favorite tools for managing your brand on social media. These tools will not only save you time but will also help aid in account growth through awareness, engagement, and influencer partnerships.
Scheduling + Content Planning
If you follow us on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen us mention Later a time or two. It’s the platform we use to schedule Instagram and Facebook posts for all of our clients. This platform allows us to not only set posts to auto-publish (hello, time-saver), but it also has helpful engagement features like Conversations to reply to comments and Hashtag Suggestions for when you need to refresh your brand’s hashtags. When using Later you’ll also have access to analytics that will help you create a solid social strategy moving forward. Their paid plans start at $15/month (billed monthly), but they do offer a Free plan to get started.
Another content planning tool we use is Unum. While this platform has some of the same features as Later, such as setting content to publish ahead of time and analytics, Unum was made by creators for creators. It has additional features like photo editing and social templates built in to help you tell your brand’s story. Pricing for Unum starts at $4.99/month (billed yearly) but they also offer a Free plan to get started.
DSLR Camera OR iPhone Camera
While your iPhone camera is great for taking on-the-fly photos, stories or Reels, our content creators use professional cameras for our client’s quarterly photoshoots. Insight Social owner, Ethan, currently shoots with a Canon 5D Mark IV or a Canon M50. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post on how to take great iPhone photos for social media.
Editing Apps For Photos + Video
There are a ton of editing apps available to help you create a vibe or aesthetic for your brand. Whether your business is brand new OR you’re looking to give your brand a refresh, consider the following questions:
1) What Instagram accounts are you currently drawn to, and why?
2) Do you want your grid to feel light + airy, dark + moody or somewhere in between?
3) What aesthetic fits your product or service? (keep in mind this may be different from your personal vibe)
Once you’ve answered those questions, you can begin the search to find the perfect preset to help you nail your aesethic every single time when posting a photo. Here’s a list of our favorite:
Photo: Tezza, VSCO, Dazz Cam + Lightroom Mobile
Video: Filmr
Hashtag Research
One of the best ways to grow on Instagram is to implement an effective hashtag strategy that fits your brand and the community you’re trying to reach. In every post you should be using hashtags that 1) describe your product/service and 2) describe your target audience. But how do you know what those hashtags are? Manually searching on Instagram could take hours, but thankfully there’s a service we like to use called Flick that allows you to find, manage and analyze hashtags. Their pricing starts at $9.99/month and they also offer a 7-day free trial to get started.
PeopleMap
Anytime we work with a client who’s interested in partnering with influencers to promote their product, we use PeopleMap to find partnerships within their niche and track campaigns. What’s great about PeopleMap is that whether you’re a brand looking for an influencer or vice versa, this platform can help you get there. Influencers use it to create case studies so they can pitch more brands, and brands use it to find influencers and track the campaign ROI. Pricing starts at $20/month.
That’s it! Those are the 5 Tools for Social Media We Can’t Live Without. If you’re interested in working with Insight Social, please contact us HERE to set up a free discovery call.