When it comes to generating traffic to your blog, it’s wise to diversify your traffic sources and not to rely completely on search engines.
That’s where having a social media strategy comes into play but there’s so much to think about and so many places to be seen it can seem like a minefield.
Where do you start? Well, when it comes to social media, I use a variety of different tools.
Some of the tools I use are free and some aren’t but many of those have an option for you to try them out before you buy.
At the moment, my primary focus is on Twitter because it works really well for me in generating traffic.
I also enjoy using it more than Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest or any other network because I find it much more social than the others.
That’s not to say I won’t increase my involvement in other networks as I work to diversify my social media strategy too.
The beauty of many of these tools though means that I can easily introduce more networks into my strategy over time.
Here’s a rundown of 11 tools which I use to keep on top of things.
COSCHEDULE
CoSchedule is a premium WordPress plugin which can help you not only keep on top of your editorial calendar but also be the mainstay of your social media strategy.
It’s drag and drop calendar design makes it easy to plan your blog posts and social media messages.
You can add your profiles for Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Pinterest, as well as being able to make use of your Buffer account.
Write your blog posts, schedule them to be published and at the same time set up how and when you want to share them on social media all in one place.
With CoSchedule, you can schedule text posts, image posts or link posts on social media, allowing you to use a variety of different message style
MESHFIRE
I used to think I’d never be able to tame Twitter. I’ve tried so many solutions to keep on top of my account including TweetDeck, HootSuite, Sprout Social and Gremln to name but a few.
However, it was only when I discovered Meshfire that things started to slot into place.
I hate the column layout of HootSuite, TweetDeck and Gremln. It just doesn’t seem logical or efficient to me.
Meshfire on the other hand can help you find all of the important stuff going on in your Twitter feed.
You get your own virtual personal assistant called Ember who makes social media on Twitter fun and engaging!
She creates tasks for you to complete such as reply to mentions and shares, follower suggestions, engagement opportunities and who you should block.
It’s like having Siri for social media.
TWEETADDER (NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
TweetAdder is the software I use to help grow my Twitter followers and to discover new and interesting people to follow.
You can search for like-minded people using an array of different search filters to really hone in on what you’re looking for.
It’s also a great way to keep on top of your Twitter account and discover people who you might want to unfollow.
It saves so much time searching for people and means I can concentrate on engaging with others on social media much more.
BUFFER
Perfect for Content Marketing, Buffer is my tool of choice to share all of my favourite stuff from around the blogosphere.
You can schedule social media posts to go out throughout the day so that you’re not bombarding your followers with posts every five minutes.
There’s also a handy suggestion tool if you get stuck for things to share or you’re pushed for time.
I’m sure you’re heard of Buffer before but if you’ve not used it recently, go and check out some of the new features they’ve added just recently.
ULTIMATE SOCIAL DEUX
When it comes to social media buttons, many of the plugins available as well as the code provided by social media networks can slow your site down.
I use Ultimate Social Deux because it loads the buttons as fast as lightning, uses WordPress best practice and has brilliant support.
The latest version also includes fan counters for 17 networks so you can show social proof on your site too.
You can also read my review for further information – Ultimate Social Deux: The Ultimate Social Media Plugin?
TRIBERR
I use Triberr as another way to generate traffic to my blog, in particular from Twitter.
There’s a thriving community of people using Triberr, all helping each other by sharing blog posts that they found useful.
By pooling your social sharing resources with other tribemates, you can generate a huge social reach into the millions.
If anyone’s new to Triberr, I’ve just set up a tribe which you’re more than welcome to join called Bloggers Tribe.
There’s only 30 spaces available so if you want to join, please make your request on Triberr and I’ll add you.
CANVA
If you’re looking for something to help you design blog and social media graphics then Canva is exactly what you’re looking for.
You can drag and drop layouts, text or backgrounds into your design many of which are free or alternatively you can use your own images.
There are also hundreds of stock photos you can incorporate into your design for $1.00 per image.
If you’re frustrated with the complexity of Photoshop or GIMP then you’ll love how easy it is to make great looking images with Canva.
FEEDLY
I’ve tried a number of different RSS readers in my time, including a self-hosted one, however I always end up coming back to Feedly.
It makes keeping up with all the blogs I love a breeze. You can add an RSS feed very easily to Feedly just by adding the URL address of the blog in question.
I love that it integrates with Buffer too which allows me to share all the good stuff I find around the blogosphere.
There are a number of other integrations including HootSuite which you can use if you upgrade to the Pro version.
SWAYY
Swayy is a great addition to any social media strategy.
It helps you find great content to share with your followers on social media based on their interests and engagement.
It means you can find highly relevant and targeted information to share and you can schedule everything so you have full control over your social media schedule.
Swayy allows you to connect your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, making it easy to share things you feel your followers would be interested in on different social media accounts.
COMPFIGHT
It can sometimes be a struggle to find a decent image to use in your blog posts.
There are a number of free sites which you can get images from but my favourite at the moment is Compfight.
Compfight allows you to search Flickr with ease, particularly for images that are licensed under Creative Commons or that can be used for commercial purposes.
A nice feature that I find useful is that it also provides the correct attribution wording for any images you use too and in HTML form.
CLOZE
I use Cloze to ensure I’m keeping on top of online social media relationships.
It helps me to keep track of the most important people in my social media strategy and the posts I need to be aware of.
What I find particularly useful is that Cloze will identify any of your social media relationships where you’re losing touch.
That way, you can do something about it and start engaging again.
WHAT TOOLS DO YOU USE IN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY?
Do you use any of the tools I’ve mentioned in my post already? Are you making good use of them when it comes to your social media strategy?
Are there any other tools you use for social media that you’d like to mention in the comments section?
It’s always good to hear what other people are doing to see if we can all make improvements in what we’re doing, don’t you think?
So, here’s what to do next, please:
tell me more about your social media strategy in the comments section below as it may help others;
share this post on social media networks as some of your followers might not have heard of the tools I’ve mentioned and could benefit from knowing about them.
