5 Free Social Media Tools To Add To Your Arsenal

When it comes to social media, there’s a myriad of moving parts. Stay focused, get strategic, and save yourself hours of time by adding these 5 free social media tools to your arsenal.

Buffer – There are many scheduling tools out there. Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Sprout Social all have free and paid options, as Buffer does. However, Buffer sets itself apart by its ease of use and awesome customer service. New to scheduling tools? Use Buffer. Hootsuite is a great tool but it’s an all encompassing channel management tool. Buffer sticks to one thing: publishing — and they do a killer job. From the automatic link shortening, to thumbnails and descriptions, you won’t be disappointed with Buffer. It also has incredible (and simple to use) scheduling capabilities.
Pablo by Buffer – You’ve seen the social graphics with inspirational quotes laid on top of a beautiful background picture. Pablo (created by Buffer) lets you design these in about 10 seconds. Not sure how big or small your Twitter graphic needs to be? Pablo crops your photo to the correct size for the channel you’re posting on. Customize images, font, logos, and more. Pablo even allows you to post directly to the channel right from their website.
Buzzsumo – In order to provide buzzworthy content, you need to know what your audience wants. Buzzsumo is a powerful tool that lets you discover what topics related to your industry are trending right now. Looking for influencers? Buzzsumo helps you identify them. It’s a great tool to use for competitor research as well.
Google Analytics – Google Analytics is as highly regarded as they come when it comes to tools to analyze your digital presence. Spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with all its capabilities and you’ll be well on your way to understanding what your audience responds to, engages with, and where they’re coming from.
Facebook Insights – If your business, like most, considers Facebook to be an integral part of your social strategy, you can thank Facebook for its free Insights section. Unlike Twitter’s platform (which is okay, but not the best), Facebook Insights offers in-depth analysis of every post. They offer downloadable exports of post reach, engagement, community growth, impressions, and many other analytics options that your company may find useful. You can also see when your audience is online and schedule posts during peak times.