Monday, September 17, 2012

4 Must-Have Tools for Social Media Marketers | Business 2 ...

The world of Internet and social media marketing is cut-throat and you need to have the right tools, platforms and skills to be noticed and stand out from the crowd.4 Must have tools for social media marketers

Today especially, so many entrepreneurs and small business owners are seeing the benefits of marketing online. Many people are adding Internet and social media marketing to their repertoire of skills or leaving their day job to work from the comfort of their home.

Knowing the best tools out there for Internet marketing is key to staying on top of trends, scheduling your days well in advance and even being able to pencil in a bit of time for yourself, too.

Here are four tools that are worth considering for helping you publish, manage, save time and monitor your social networks.

1. WordPress

WordPress is a publishing platform that allows marketers the freedom to start publishing online without having to know any computer programming.

When the social media revolution started it was thought that maybe blogs would die. Popular press was promoting the thought that social networks such as Facebook and Twitter would see the demise of blogs. In fact the reverse is happening and we are seeing the rise of blogging both personally and by companies as the hub for the creation and marketing of content that can be promoted and also published on your social media networks.

It appears that social media hass in fact energised bloggers globally.

Wordpress your social media marketing hub

The latest figures reveal that over 100,000 WordPress blogs are created every day and there are over 55 million WordPress sites around the world.

There are 2 ways to start blogging with WordPress:

  1. You can use the free versions which don?t cost anything and are hosted for free. These can be found at WordPress.com
  2. You can pay a small fee for to download a WordPress template, customise it as little or as much as you want and have it self hosted with your own personal domain name. This gives you full control for very little cost.Typical costs vary from $$50-$200 plus the cost of hosting which can be $4-$5 a month to get started.

WordPress.com accounts are free, as long as you?re happy with basic features. Don?t let the word ?basic? fool you, though. Even WordPress? baseline options are pretty great in comparison to other free blogging platforms. The best part is that WordPress? layouts are so business-like that it?s possible to use the platform to create a full blown website. So if you know HTML or are willing to pay a price to upgrade, your options are even greater.

2. HootSuite

Hootsuite is a social media management tool that allows you to manage multiple social profiles such as Twitter, Facebook,LinkedIn and Google+ effectively. It is used by some of the top brands (79 of the Fortune Top 100 companies) as well as social media marketers and bloggers.

Hootsuite Social Network Mangement

Some key features:

  • It enables you to track your social media analytics and it even integrates with Google Analytics
  • Provides auto scheduling of tweets (up to 50)
  • Create search streams that allow you to will pull up all tweets for a word or even a #tag
  • It has mobile apps for almost any device and can be used on your iPhone or iPad to keep on top of your social accounts while out and about

It is a dream come true for Internet marketers who secretly hate being chained to their laptop. You can add up to five profiles with a free account and you receive countless profiles with a cheap $5.99 per month account.

HootSuite lets you schedule posts to be sent out for whatever date and time you want. This is often the best ? and only ? way that an Internet marketer can actually take some time off. Plus, you can add any and all streams you want from your social networks to keep on top of your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn friends (and more) all from the same site.

3. Mail Chimp

Despite the attraction of the shiny new objects of social media networks, taking full control of your direct messaging online requires an email marketing platform that integrates with your blog and social media platforms. The value of building a email subscriber list cannot be overstated. It allows you to contact your followers whenever you need to, without the filter of a Facebook?s Edge Rank algorithm or getting lost in the Twitter torrent.

Mail Chimp email marketing

For as much information as Mail Chimp holds, you?d be shocked to know it doesn?t cost a penny to get started. You can add, customize and control your mailing lists easily. There are tons of options, too, so whether you have a bunch of people opting into your newsletter or you want to target your personal mailing list for the first time, Mail Chimp lets you do it. There are also tons of options for adding Mail Chimp widgets to your website or blog. The best part is that Mail Chimp is super clever, right down to its adorable messages you get when you sign in.

4. Evernote

Evernote may not be a direct way to publish online, but it is the easiest and most convenient option for Internet marketers on-the-go. Sometimes, the hardest part of the job is organizing everything you need or remembering random thoughts throughout the day. It is a tool that allows you to keep organised no matter where you are.

Its key features:

  • It not only allows you to capture notes but audio web clips, webpages, files and images that are accessible to all your devices and computers you use.
  • It keeps it all in one place so you can access it at anytime
  • Share your notes with colleagues and friends and collaborate on projects

Click here to view the embedded video.

So Evernote can be installed on both your computer and your cell phone, and your account can be linked and synced over a WiFi Internet connection or the office internet. Save everything from notes and pictures to video and sound recordings.

Want to get more organised then Evernote will help you achieve that.

What About You?

What tools do you use to manage your day as a blogger and social media marketer? Do you use any of these tools?

What tools would you recommend?

Image by Big Stock Photos

Source: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/4-must-have-tools-for-social-media-marketers-0276068

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