Marketing

282 Top Social Media Strategy Tools and Resources by Category.

Social Media Strategy book quesenberry
~ K. Quesenberry ~ Leave a comment

Social Media Strategy can be overwhelming. Here is a list of top 282 social media tools & resources in 10 categories to help make it easier. Search below for options in (1) Social Media Monitoring & Metrics, (2) Online Data Collection & Analytics, (3) Social Media Content Creation & Data Visualization, (4) Social Content Scheduling & Automation, (5) Social Media & Digital Media Research, (6) Trade Associations, Awards & Conferences, (7) Social Media News & Insights, (8) Social Media Podcasts, (9) Social Media Training & Certification, and (10) Social Media Channels.

Click here for an updated list of free tools & resources.

Social Media Monitoring & Metrics

  1. Agora Pulse: www.agorapulse.com
  2. Agora Pulse Free (Facebook Barometer, Twitter Report Card): agorapulse.com/free-social-media-marketing-tools
  3. Addict-o-matic: addictomatic.com
  4. Audiense: audiense.com/twitter-analytics
  5. Brandwatch: brandwatch.com
  6. Brand24: brand24.com
  7. Buzzsumo: buzzsumo.com
  8. Cision: www.cision.com/us/social-software
  9. Clarabridge: www.clarabridge.com
  10. Crimson Hexagon: crimsonhexagon.com
  11. Critical Mention: www.criticalmention.com
  12. Ditto: http://ditto.us.com
  13. Geofeedia: geofeedia.com
  14. Hootsuite: hootsuite.com
  15. How Socialble: howsociable.com
  16. Iconosquare: iconosquare.com
  17. Klear: klear.com
  18. Likealyzer: likealyzer.com
  19. Lithium: lithium.com
  20. Meltwater Ice Rocket: www.icerocket.com
  21. Netbase: netbase.com
  22. Nielson Social: www.nielsensocial.com
  23. NUVI: www.nuvi.com
  24. Oracle Social Cloud: www.oracle.com/us/solutions/social
  25. Radian6 (Salesforce): exacttarget.com/products/social-media-marketing/radian6
  26. RankSpeed: rankspeed.com
  27. ReviewTrackers: reviewtrackers.com
  28. Rival IQ: rivaliq.com
  29. Simply Measured: simplymeasured.com
  30. Social Mention: socialmention.com
  31. Social Bakers: socialbakers.com
  32. Socially Devoted Meter: socialbakers.com/resources/socially-devoted
  33. Social Blade: socialblade.com
  34. Spredfast: spredfast.com
  35. Sprinklr: www.sprinklr.com
  36. SumoRank: sumorank.com
  37. Sysomos: www.sysomos.com
  38. Trackur: www.trackur.com
  39. TrueSocialMetrics: truesocialmetrics.com
  40. Twitonomy: twitonomy.com
  41. Viralwoot: viralwoot.com
  42. Visible Measures: visiblemeasures.com
  43. Unruly: unruly.co
  44. Yext Free Location Scan: yext.com/blog/2016/05/grow-business-free-location-scan-app
  45. Zoho Social: zoho.com/social

Online Data Collection & Analytics

  1. Alexa: alexa.com
  2. Bottlenose: bottlenose.com
  3. Google Tools: www.thinkwithgoogle.com/tools/
  4. Compete (Millard Brown Digital): compete.com
  5. Comscore: comscore.com
  6. Conversion Fly: conversionfly.com
  7. Cyfe: www.cyfe.com
  8. Delmondo: delmondo.co/snapchat-analytics-software/
  9. Display Benchmarks: richmediagallery.com/tools/benchmarks
  10. Facebook Insights: facebook.com/help/search/?q=insights
  11. Facbook Page Cost Calculator: shiftcomm.com/facebook-page-cost-calculator
  12. Foursquare Analytics: business.foursquare.com/claim
  13. Google Analytics: www.google.com/analytics
  14. Google Analytics UTM Tracking URL Builder: chrome.google.com/webstore/
  15. Google Tools: www.thinkwithgoogle.com/tools/
  16. Google Trends: www.google.com/trends
  17. IBM Watson Analytics: ibm.com/analytics/watson-analytics
  18. Instagram Insights: blog.business.instagram.com/post/145212269021/new-business-tools
  19. iSpionage: ispionage.com
  20. Keyhole: keyhole.co
  21. Keyword Tool: keywordtool.io
  22. Kiss Metrics: www.kissmetrics.com
  23. Klout: klout.com
  24. Knowem: knowem.com
  25. Kred: kred.com
  26. LinkedIn Analytics: linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/26032
  27. ManageFlitter: manageflitter.com
  28. Mention: en.mention.com
  29. Moz Open Site Explorer: moz.com/researchtools/ose
  30. New Share Counts (Twitter): newsharecounts.com/
  31. Nexalogy: nexalogy.com
  32. Omgili: omgili.com
  33. Pinterest Analytics: analytics.pinterest.com
  34. Quantcast: quantcast.com
  35. RiteTag: ritetag.com/hashtag-search
  36. Ruzzit: ruzzit.com
  37. SEMrush: www.semrush.com
  38. SharedCount: www.sharedcount.com
  39. Shopping Insights: shopping.thinkwithgoogle.com
  40. SimilarWeb: similarweb.com
  41. Snaplytics: snaplytics.io/
  42. Social Searcher: social-searcher.com
  43. Soovle: soovle.com
  44. Talkwalker Alerts: www.talkwalker.com
  45. Trendspottr: trendspottr.com
  46. Tweetreach: tweetreach.com
  47. Twitter Advanced Search: twitter.com/search-advanced
  48. Twitter Analytics: analytics.twitter.com
  49. UVRX: uvrx.com/social.html
  50. WordStream: wordstream.com/keywords
  51. YouGovProfiles: yougov.co.uk/profiler#
  52. YouTube Analytics: www.youtube.com/analytics
  53. YouTube Trending: www.youtube.com/feed/trending
  54. Visio Spark Social Media Counts Checker: visiospark.com/shared-counter

Social Media Content Creation & Data Visualization

  1. Accelerated Mobile Pages Project: www.ampproject.org
  2. Adobe Kuler: color.adobe.com/create.color–wheel
  3. Canva: www.canva.com
  4. Chartbuilder: quartz.github.io/Chartbuilder
  5. Compressor (Pitchengine): c.tiny.pr
  6. ContenIdeator: contentforest.com/ideator
  7. Curalate: curalate.com
  8. Datawrapper: datawrapper.de
  9. DesignFeed: designfeed.io
  10. Design Seeds: design–seeds.com
  11. DrumUo: https://drumup.io
  12. Easelly: www.easel.ly
  13. Emotional Marketing Analyzer (Advanced Marketing Institute): aminstitute.com/headline
  14. Enhance (Hootsuite): hootsuite.com/products/mobile-apps
  15. Flipboard: flipboard.com/
  16. Good Data: gooddata.com
  17. Google Data Studio: datastudio.google.com
  18. Google Fonts: www.google.com/fonts
  19. Google Image: images.google.com
  20. Google Tag Manager: www.google.com/analytics/tag-manager
  21. Grammarly: grammarly.com
  22. Headline Analyzer (CoSchedule): coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
  23. Hemingway Editor: hemingwayapp.com
  24. Huzza: huzza.io
  25. Infogr.am: infogr.am
  26. KnowEm: knowem.com
  27. LibreStock (Search Free Stock Sites): librestock.com
  28. Namechk: namechk.com
  29. NodeXL: nodexl.codeplex.com
  30. Nuzzle: nuzzel.com
  31. Opal: workwithopal.com
  32. Over: madewithover.com
  33. Phonto: phon.to/
  34. PicPlayPost: www.mixcord.co/partners/picplaypost.html
  35. Pictaculous: pictaculous.com
  36. PicMonkey: picmonkey.com
  37. Piktochart: piktochart.com
  38. Pixlr: pixlr.com
  39. Portant Content Idea Generator: portent.com/tools/title-maker
  40. Power BI: powerbi.microsoft.com
  41. Recite: recite.com
  42. Relay: relaythat.com
  43. Ripl: ripl.com
  44. Screncast-O-Matic: screencast-o-matic.com
  45. Smartmockups: smartmockups.com
  46. Spark: spark.adobe.com
  47. Storify: storify.com
  48. Studio: madewithstudio.com
  49. Tint: tintup.com
  50. Tiny PNG: tinypng.com
  51. TwistedWave: twistedwave.com
  52. Tweetroot: rubbledev.com/app/tweetroot-for-twitter
  53. Typorama: apperto.com/typorama
  54. 20 Free Stock Photo Sites for your Social Media Images:  blog.Hootsuite.com
  55. Ubersuggest: ubersuggest.io
  56. Unsplash: unsplash.com
  57. Videolicious: videolicious.com
  58. Word Swag: wordswag.co
  59. Yost: yoast.com

Social Content Scheduling & Automation

  1. Adobe Experience Manager: adobe.com/marketing-cloud/enterprise-content-management.html
  2. AdStage: www.adstage.io
  3. Alltop: alltop.com
  4. Buddy Media: www.exacttarget.com/products/social-media-marketing/buddy-media
  5. Buffer: bufferapp.com
  6. Chartbeat: chartbeat.com
  7. Chhirp: cordproject.co/chhirp
  8. Contentgems: contentgems.com
  9. CoSchedule: coschedule.com
  10. Crowdbooster: crowdbooster.com
  11. dlvr.it: dlvr.it
  12. Edgar: meetedgar.com
  13. Google Programmatic: thinkwithgoogle.com/programmatic-guide/
  14. Google Photos: google.com/photos/
  15. HubSpot: hubspot.com
  16. IFTTT: ifttt.com
  17. Leadpages: eadpages.net
  18. Later: later.com
  19. Later Bro: laterbro.com
  20. List-O-Matic: accessify.com/tools-and-wizards/developer-tools/list-o-matic
  21. Livefyre (Adobe): web.livefyre.com
  22. MissingLett_r: missinglettr.com
  23. Oktopost: oktopost.com
  24. OptinMonster: optinmonster.com
  25. Outbrain: outbrain.com
  26. Post Planner: www.postplanner.com
  27. Scoop It Content Director: scoop.it
  28. Short Stack: www.shortstack.com
  29. Slack: slack.com
  30. SocialOomph: www.socialoomph.com
  31. Sprout Social: sproutsocial.com
  32. Social Warefare: warfareplugins.com
  33. Suggestions (Hootsuite): hootsuite.com/products/mobile-apps
  34. Tailwind: tailwindapp.com
  35. Thunderclap: thunderclap.it
  36. TweetBot: tapbots.com/tweetbot
  37. TweetDeck: about.twitter.com/products/tweetdeck
  38. Uberflip: uberflip.com
  39. Woodbox: woobox.com
  40. Zapier: zapier.com
  41. Zendesk: www.zendesk.com

Social Media & Digital Media Research

  1. Adobe Digital Index: cmo.com/adobe-digital-index.html
  2. Affinio: www.affin.io/
  3. Forrester: www.forrester.com/Social-Media
  4. Gallap: www.gallap.com
  5. Global Web Index: www.globalwebindex.net
  6. Grama Hashtag Generator for Instagram: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grama-hashtag-generator-for
  7. GRYTICS: grytics.com
  8. IBM Watson Analyitics for Social Media: ibm.com/marketplace/cloud/social-media-data-analysis/us/en-us
  9. Interbrand Best Brands: interbrand.com
  10. Kantar Media SRDS: srds.com
  11. Millard Brown BrandZ Reports: millwardbrown.com/brandz
  12. Nielsen Social Media Reports: www.nielsensocial.com
  13. Pew Research Center: www.pewinternet.org
  14. Roper Center: www.ropercenter.uconn.edu
  15. Simmons: simmonsssurvey.com
  16. Social Explorer: www.socialexplorer.com
  17. Social Media Collective: socialmediacollective.org
  18. Statista: www.statista.com
  19. YouGov BrandIndex: brandindex.com

Trade Associations, Awards & Conferences

  1. Brand Innovators: brand-innovators.com/events
  2. Content Marketing World: www.contentmarketingworld.com
  3. INBOUND: www.inbound.com
  4. INTEGRATE: imc.wvu.edu/integrate
  5. Online Media Marketing Awards: www.mediapost.com/ommaawards
  6. Social Media Marketing World: www.socialmediaexaminer.com/smmworld
  7. Social Media Strategies Summit: socialmediastrategiessummit.com
  8. Social Media Week: socialmediaweek.org
  9. Summit: summit.adobe.com/na
  10. SXSW: sxsw.com
  11. SXSWedu: http://www.sxswedu.com
  12. The Webby Awards: www.webbyawards.com
  13. The Shorty Awards: shortyawards.com
  14. The Mashies: mashable.com/mashies
  15. Word of Mouth Marketing Association: womma.org

Social Media News & Insights

  1. Amy Porterfield: amyporterfield.com
  2. Chris Brogan: http://chrisbrogan.com/blog
  3. Christopher S. Penn christopherspenn.com
  4. Jeff Bullas: jeffbullas.com
  5. Content Marketing Institute: contentmarketinginstitute.com/blog
  6. Convince & Convert : www.convinceandconvert.com
  7. FTC Disclosures: www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking
  8. Gartner Digital Marketing: blogs.gartner.com/digital-marketing
  9. Grow: www.businessesgrow.com
  10. Hubspot’s Inbound Hub: blog.hubspot.com
  11. Marketing Profs: www.marketingprofs.com
  12. Mashable Social Media: mashable.com/social-media
  13. RazerSocial: www.razorsocial.com/blog
  14. Scott Monty: scottmonty.com
  15. Social Media Examiner: www.socialmediaexaminer.com
  16. Social Media Explorer: www.socialmediaexplorer.com
  17. Social Media Marketing Magazine: www.smmmagazine.com
  18. Social Media Today: socialmediatoday.com
  19. Social Mouths: socialmouths.com/blog
  20. Social Media Law Bulletin: www.socialmedialawbulletin.com
  21. The Digital Garage: digitalgarage.withgoogle.com
  22. YouTube Video Creators: www.youtube.com/videocreators
  23. WOMMA Code of Ethics: womma.org/ethics
  24. WOMMA Free Resources: womma.org/free-womm-resources

Social Media Podcasts

  1. Amy Porterfield: amyporterfield.com/category/podcast
  2. Content Inc.: contentmarketinginstitute.com/content-inc-podcast
  3. Content Pros: convinceandconvert.com/podcasts/shows/content-pros-podcast
  4. Influence Pros: convinceandconvert.com/podcasts/shows/influence-pros-podcast/
  5. Social Media Examiner: www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/podcast
  6. Social Pros Podcast: convinceandconvert.com/podcasts/shows/social-pros-podcast/
  7. The Art of Paid Traffic Podcast: rickmulready.com/category/aoptpodcast/
  8. The Business of Story: convinceandconvert.com/podcasts/shows/business-of-story-podcast
  9. The Marketing Companion: marketingpodcasts.com/the-marketing-companion
  10. This Old Marketing: contentmarketinginstitute.com/pnr-with-this-old-marketing-podcast

Social Media & Digital Marketing Training & Certification

  1. Bing/Yahoo! Ads (Certification): advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/training
  2. Code Academy: codecademy.com
  3. Constant Contact Social Media 101: blogs.constantcontact.com/social-media-quickstarter
  4. Facebook Blueprint (Certification): facebook.com/blueprint
  5. Google Partners (Adwords Certification): support.google.com/partners
  6. Google Analytics Academy (Certification): analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com
  7. Hootsuite Academy (Certification): hootsuite.com/education
  8. Hubspot Academy (Certification): academy.hubspot.com
  9. Microsoft Dynamics 365 (Certification): microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365
  10. Professional Certified Marketer – Digital Marketing (Certification) ama.org/events-training/Certification/Pages/digital-marketing-certification.aspx
  11. The Trade Desk Trading Academy (Certification): thetradedesk.com/products/thetradingacademy

Social Media Channels

  1. Wikipedia List of Social Networking Sites: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
  2. Overdrive Interactive’s 2016 Social Media Map: ovrdrv.com/social-media-map
  3. My list of Social Media Channels by Category:

For the latest changes in social media strategy consider Asking These Questions To Ensure You Have The Right Social Media Strategy and its a good idea to Perform A Social Media Audit at least once a year.

How Mobile Micro-Moments Could Be Your Social Media Secret Weapon.

Mobile Micro-Moments in Social Media Marketing
~ K. Quesenberry ~ Leave a comment

It is no secret that mobile has changed consumer behavior, but this post reveals how understanding this shift could lead to a social media marketing advantage. Nearly 9 out of 10 Internet users own a smartphone and mobile accounts for 65% of all digital media time as desktop has become a “secondary touch point.” For most people mobile is a 24/7 presence with 87% keeping their smartphone by their side night and day. This mobile first mentality has created unique opportunities for social media marketers.

Mobile Micro-Moments in Social Media Marketing

Marketers know it is important to understand the buyer’s journey. Buyer’s goals and behaviors change based on the stage of the buying cycle. Marketers should tailor social media messages to prepurchase, purchase and postpurchase customers. Yet increased mobile use has created a more fragmented buyer’s journey. Google calls this micro-moments or those hundreds of real-time, goal oriented mobile actions that influence decisions and preferences.

A marketer that creates social content with real-time, micro-moment relevance could influence brand preference over competitors. How much? The Wall Street Journal reports 69% of online customers say the quality, timing, or relevance of a company’s message influence their perception of a brand. These micro-moments occur frequently as we instinctively turn to mobile devices to “act on a need, learn something, do something, discover something, watch something, or buy something.”

Decisions are made and preferences are shaped as people check their phones up to 150 times a day. Google’s research reveals there are four mobile moments marketers should study: “I want to know,” I want to go, ” “I want to do,” and “I want to buy.” One way to leverage micro-moments is through SEO and search advertising, but understanding these moments and consumer intent should also influence brand social media to increase real-time relevance.

Why micro-moments for social? Nearly 80% of social media time is spent on mobile, and more referral traffic can come from social media channels like Facebook than traditional search. Plus social media strategy is not all about followers and shares – social search is increasing. With 2 billion Facebook and 2.1 billion Twitter searches a day how can brands appear in more results? I suggest looking at your Social Media Content Calendar and ensuring that every week you are creating content that addresses each of these micro-moments.

I Want To Know Moments. In these moments consumers are researching and exploring. Be sure you provide educational content that informs and inspires. For example, if you are a company that sells outdoor gear provide tips and guides to enjoy the outdoors, tackle a tough mountain hike or reviews of new equipment. If you are a tax accountant you may want to create content about retirement plans or itemized deductions. Help customers turn to you for insight.

I Want To Go Moments. These moments are all about geo-targeting. Use your social media to target zip codes with unique location based messages. Here the outdoor brand could inform customers of local events such as group Kayak tours or store locations that carry the brand. A tax service might highlight locations, workshops and extended hours as April 15th approaches. Let customers know you are near.

I Want To Do Moments. In these moments someone is trying to figure something out now and are looking for answers. Are you creating valuable how-to content? An outdoor brand could consider a series on climbing knots or methods for purifying water while camping. The tax service could post quick answers to common tax questions such as tax brackets and standard deductions. Make sure you are helping your customers and potential customers not your competitor.

I Want To Buy Moments. Consumers are ready to buy but may not know what or how. In social these moments are about more than promotions and sales messages. Depending on your business this may require real-time marketing, getting customer service involved or even the sales department for B2B. The outdoor brand may sell group tours and have sales reps monitoring social media to provide answers to secure a booking. The tax service may have tax advisors monitoring social providing real time answers and building relationships that lead to a tax prep purchase.

Do micro-moments convert? There is evidence that social media likes, shares and comments contribute to higher search rankings. Also Google Analytics aggregated data reports that mobile’s share of online sessions has increased 20% in the last year with mobile conversion rates increasing 29% while time spent per visit has decreased 18%. People know what they want and are acting quicker. The marketers who understand this and create the content matching their intent could uncover a new competitive advantage.

Who has leveraged micro-moments? The Home Depot has turned “I want to do” moments into 43 million views by expanding their “how-to” collection as more DIYers turn to their YouTube app as they work on home projects. The credit repair company Progrexion discovered that customers in their “I want to know” moment needed education and began directing mobile traffic directly to their salespeople resulting in a 221% increase in mobile sales. FIAT made “I want to go” moments a part of their integrated campaign by focusing mobile content on nearest dealers helping grow unaided recall 127%. Sephora leveraged “I want to buy” moments by providing reviews of products customers were considering increasing confidence for in store purchase.

Have you considered how consumers turning to mobile first and fast can impact your social media strategy? What mobile first micro-moments could you leverage for competitive social media advantage?

For the latest changes in social media strategy consider Asking These Questions To Ensure You Have The Right Social Media Strategy and its a good idea to Perform A Social Media Audit at least once a year.