Let's go through 10 apps and services that not only improve your social media posts, but improve your whole social media campaign, from content creation, to implementation to tracking.
1. IFTTT (If This Then That)
If This Then That is an app that does exactly what it says on the tin. You tell the app what to do if something happens, for example 'If it is scheduled for rain tomorrow, email me to tell me to take my umbrella to work' or 'When I get into my meeting at 3pm, turn my phone to silent mode', or even 'If a technology article becomes popular on Digg, email it to me'.
This app is a great way of linking between your social media platforms, and also all other apps that you may be using throughout the day.
It can be great for content ideas and can also help when it comes to uploading items to social media, having an email account full of articles that have been pulled to meet your criteria can drastically save you time trawling the internet to find them yourself.
There are many IFTTT statement's that have been pre-made for you to use, alternatively, you can create your own, personalising your use specifically for what you need.
2. Flipboard
Flipboard acts as your very own personal magazine.
It can connect to different social media platforms to find out what is mentioned or talked about and to see what is trending or is popular across all social media platforms.
It allows you to stay in the loop extremely easily without having to be actively looking through your social media platforms all day.
It is also the perfect way to highlight conversations that you should be taking part in and discussions that can really increase your business' engagement.
3. Evernote
With a tag line of 'Remember Everything' Evernote is definitely the perfect app for any social media user or blogger.
It is a dashboard that can be used to take notes, stay organised, plan your social media posts, or make notes on something that you have just witnessed to write a blog on at a later date.
The best thing about Evernote is that you can use it in anyway that you feel most comfortable. It is simply a great way of keeping everything in one place so that you can methodically work through your social media content scheduling or the latest blog posts you have coming up.
Ever written a note of something that you thought would make a good social media post but forgotten that you wrote it down? Or left a meeting with the intention of connecting with your associates then completely forgotten? With Evernote, that won't happen again as you can set reminders for each note created.
4. Instaquote
Using Instagram is a great way to create engagement with your audience and to add some personality to your business. But are you ever concerned images are difficult to source due to your industry location? With Instaquote you can make your own images based on your latest blog post!
You can easily create a new image based on the title of your latest blog and share this across your other social media platforms. Alternatively, if your latest blog is a listicle, you could create an image for each list mentioned in the blog.
The choice really is yours and this app is a great way of ensuring you are staying creative and varying the type of content you are posting.
5. Plume
Plume is a great app for android users who want to be able to effectively manage Twitter accounts and take part in important industry conversations without missing out.
This app is perfect for on the go management, especially if you are looking after several Twitter accounts at once.
6. SocialOomph
SocialOomph is an app that can be used in conjunction with several of your social media accounts and even can be used to update your blog. As with many of these social media apps, different apps have very different functionality and design. Therefore, it is often a personal decision which apps people use over others. This app is not all singing and all dancing, however, it is a great way of scheduling posts, managing accounts, reviewing analytic data and even tracking keyword use across different social media platforms.
7. Tweriod
Worried that your tweets just aren't targeting your audience well enough? Have you used data to analyse when your audience are most likely to visit your website and be online?
Tweriod can provide you with accurate information as to when your users are most active. You can find the best time to tweet to audiences of different age categories, or based on your campaign goals.
8. Social Mention
'Real-time social media search and analysis'. This is the slogan for social mention.
An excellent service that collates different streams into one manageable timeline for you to access. They can track what is said online about your business and by whom, allowing you to put in place necessary precautions or take necessary actions.
Social Mention can provide you with specific social media alerts and can be used in conjunction with Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Digg, and Google.
9. Highlight
Highlight is a networking app that can also be used for social media gain.
When you are out and about during the working day and have a few spare hours of time that you want to use productively, Highlight can be the perfect app for you. It doesn't allow you to track other user's location, but it does provide you with profile information of the people who are around you.
If you see someone who you feel may form a good business relationship with you or noticed that an old colleague is in town who may be helpful to your next business venture then you can message them and arrange a meeting.
You can also log in using your Facebook or LinkedIn account, ensuring it is much easier to create a lasting social media relationship.
10. Crowdbooster
Want to engage with your most loyal followers? Perhaps you want to download and edit your monthly social media reports? Or do you want to easily find your most effective social media posts?
All of this, and more, can effortlessly be achieved with Crowdbooster.