10 Great Tools for Integrating Your Small Business with Social Media

10 Great Tools for Integrating Your Small Business with Social MediaOne of the easiest ways to encourage customer loyalty is social media activity. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are far and away the best mediums for conveying updates, implementing new marketing strategies, and receiving valuable customer feedback—just to name a few possibilities. However, introducing your business to the social media world can be can be an admittedly daunting task. These 10 tools will make the transition effortless—saving you valuable time while streamlining and optimizing your online presence.1. BufferThis tool primarily functions as a post scheduler. Create a week’s worth of content in one sitting and Buffer will make the posts for you at the time of your choosing. Compatible with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest. Great for those with busy schedules who still want to maintain a consistent online presence.2. HootsuiteThis tool is one of the most comprehensive social media management services in the virtual world. With connectivity options for 35+ social media networks, HootSuite simplifies usage by allowing you to monitor all of your accounts from a single dashboard. Also provides analytics, post-scheduling, and much more.3. SharedCountA basic service that provides you with the number of times your URL is shared on social networks. Available for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and StumbleUpon. Ideal for monitoring the success of new online marketing campaigns.4. KloutThis service analyzes your social media accounts and assigns you a “Klout Score” that correlates with your level of influence. By conceptualizing online popularity, Klout provides an easy way to objectively evaluate the effects of your social media activity and consequent changes over time. Assesses Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, and Wikipedia.5. LikeAlyzerLikaAlyzer is a Facebook-specific analytics tool that not only provides you with data, but delivers an uncomplicated review of theresults along with advice on improving your Facebook usage. Users can also monitor competitors’ Page statistics in addition to their own, which makes LikeAlyzer a great comparison tool.6. MentionThis great little service monitors “millions of sources” spanning 42 languages to alert you every time you are mentioned on social media—and beyond. Use Mention to track customer feedback in a whole new way.7. Rival IQFor those specifically interested in monitoring competition, Rival IQ provides comprehensive analytics to show you how you stack up against everyone else. Tracks Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube.8. SocialBroHailed as “the #1 marketing platform for Twitter,”SocialBro provides users with an in-depth analysis of their accounts. Curious about the best time to tweet? Need to know who is the most influential of your followers? Want to start a personalized direct message campaign? SocialBro can help you out.9. SocialRankThis tool is ideal for those who want to learnmore about their Twitter and Instagram followers. Instantly identify important contacts through categories like Most Valuable and Most Engaged. SocialRank also has a detailed filtering system thatallows users to sort through followers on thebasis of location, interests, and more.10. SpredfastSpredfast is for those particularly interested in data analysis. Track your company’s social media progress, see who you’re reaching and figure out what you need to improve. Analyzes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, blogs, and more. Good for setting social media outreach goals and monitoring reactions to marketing campaigns.