Scheduling
Buffer – Buffer is a free service that schedules messages on various social networks. It can distribute posts throughout the day or week to help maintain a consistent social media presence. Buffer also shortens links and provides statistics about web traffic for each link (analytics).
HootSuite – HootSuite is used to manage online brands and to submit messages to a variety of social media services, including Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn. An industry best practice, HootSuite provides a browser-based dashboard that allows users to keep updated on linked accounts and collaborate among a team of users to manage social media accounts. There are both full and lite versions of the service. HootSuite uses URL shortener ow.ly to shorten web addresses submitted to its service.
Pages Manager – The Pages Manager app lets admins check their facebook page activity, view insights and respond to their audience from their smartphone or tablet. Pages Manager is a great tool for managing multiple facebook pages from the mobile web.
Post Planner – Post Planner’s benefits include consistent focus, shareable content, laser targeting and optimum scheduling. It makes it easy to post consistently and avoid embarrassing pauses between posts. Post Planner shows you the freshest trending content in your niche so that fans will share it. The service also helps you target fans in specific locations and demographics.
Analytics
Google Analytics – Analytics is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about a website’s traffic and traffic sources and measures conversions and sales. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew. It is the most widely used website statistics service. The basic service is free of charge and a premium version is available for a fee. Google Analytics can track visitors from all referrers, including:
- Search engines
- Social networks
- Direct visits and referring sites
- Advertising
- Pay-per-click networks
- E-mail marketing
- Digital collateral (such as links within PDF documents)
News & Information
HootSource – This resource from HootSuite covers the world of social media culture and includes news, events and a blog with entries from various contributors.
Mashable – Mashable is a leading source for news, information & resources for the connected generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable’s social media channel is the perfect place to find new articles and research coming trends.
Social Media Today – Learn more about increasingly important social media tools and trends at SocialMediaToday.com.
Social Media (Books)
Berger, Jonah, Contagious: Why Things Catch On (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013).
Heath, Chip, and Dan Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (New York: Random House, 2007).
Qualman, Erik, Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, 2nd ed. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2013).
Qualman, Erik, What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube: The New Rules for Business, Personal and Family Reputation (Cambridge, MA: Equalman Studios, 2013).
Temporal, Paul, Advanced Brand Management: Managing Brands in a Changing World, 2nd ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2010).
Social Networks
Facebook – Facebook is the top social network on the web with fast growing Google+ in second place. It has gone through many changes over the years but has generally remained one step ahead of other social networking sites.
Twitter – Like Facebook, Twitter continues to expand in popularity with a focus on microblogging and a 140-character text limit. Twitter has become the social network of choice for mobile users who own smartphones and tablets.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a social network where professionals can connect. Individuals can promote themselves and their businesses, make connections with other professionals, interact in group discussions, post job ads or apply for jobs.
Pinterest – Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can re-pin images to their own pinboards, or like photos.
Instagram – Instagram has grown to be one of the most popular mobile web social networks for photo sharing. Limited at first to the iOS platform, Instagram has now expanded to Android devices and the mobile web.
Foursquare – Foursquare is location-based social networking that allows you to check in to venues that you visit. People can compete for points and badges and save places that incorporate Foursquare deals into their business.
Tumblr – Tumblr is another form of microblogging, but unlike Twitter, it is heavily influenced by image sharing. You can follow other users and be followed back. “Reblogging” and “liking” is a popular way to interact.
Video Sharing
YouTube – YouTube is the most popular video sharing social network. Owned by Google, YouTube revolves entirely around video production, vlogging, movie-making and music sharing.
Vimeo – Vimeo is a video sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos. It serves as a direct competitor to the much larger Youtube, but has a stronger focus on longer videos such as shorts or movies.