It’s a fantastic place to be, but social platforms can suck in your time pretty quickly unless you get the right tools to manage them and improve your efficiency. Here are some of our favourite tools.
1. Scheduling Assistant
According to Instagram, around 50% of all users follow one business and around 75% are happy to visit a website after they see an ad post. While that’s great news, it’s important to note that your Instagram presence is truly effective when you get the right messages to your customers at the right time.
Here’s when a scheduling assistant comes in. Top options here are Buffer, Later, SchedulGram, Sprout Social, Hootsuite and If This Then That (IFTTT). We love Hootsuite for not just its queuing tools but also monitoring competition and helping grow your engagement.
With Instagram now allows auto-posting from third party tools, using a scheduling assistant has become even simpler.
2. Hashtags Monitoring & Analytics Tool
Missing out on a trending topic or brand mention is not a good look on social. Hashtag analytics tools help you monitor and track hashtags associated with your brands. They are critical for creating and curating user generated content. Top tools include RiteTag, Keyhole, Hashtagify, Pixlee and TweetReach. Hashtagify is a great way to know where and when your chosen hashtags are being used, as well as being prompted to use common variations.
Hashtags for Likes app is a great tool if you’re simply researching hashtags to use.
3. Video & Image Editing Tools
It’s a visual platform, so without stunning visuals or moving pictures, you’d not get far on Instagram. VSCO is a top-notch tool to take and edit photos and videos. We also love Canva. Editing tools are a personal choice – have a play around before signing up with one that you’re most comfortable with. The Boomerang app is also a fun tool to create videos for Instagram.
