If you keep up with your digital marketing presence, you certainly know the value that social media can add to your business. And if you haven’t jumped on board the social media train yet, not to fear! By utilizing one of the many affordable (sometimes free!) services available to schedule your posts in advance, you can save valuable time and energy in the long run and take advantage of all the untapped markets that social media has to offer.
With social media becoming an ever-growing toolbox, the options are unlimited -- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. Consistency is key, and with marketing moving more and more into the digital realm, staying current on social media platforms means staying relevant to the widest consumer base possible.
But you have a business to run, and social media moves fast! Posting all of your content at once is ineffective, as folks tend to check their phone multiple times per day. If you post a ton of good content at say, 7 am, you’ll be missing out on traffic by noon, when folks are pulling out their phone to check social media over their lunch break. You can also alienate or annoy certain clientele by clogging their feed with too many posts at once.
By utilizing one of these free tools to schedule your posts, you can queue things up in advance whenever you have the time. Having your posts queued up and ready to be sent out at peak traffic times will also increase your visibility to customers that follow your business. Interaction between your clientele and your brand, as well as ample use of relevant hashtags can put your business in front of new clientele that may not have otherwise discovered you!
A simple google search of “social media optimization tools” leads to tons of search results with entire lists of tools. “23 Best Social Media Marketing Tools”, “5 Tools for Smart Optimization”, and the list goes on. The sheer number of tools out there can be exhausting, but it is entirely possible to keep it simple, and even save a bit of money in the process.
Many of the tools come with limitless options to add multiple users, numerous social profiles, and custom analytics. While these extra features can be incredibly helpful to a large marketing or advertising team, they aren’t necessarily a requirement for marketing a smaller establishment such as a local bar or video gaming establishment.
Tools such as Buffer and Hootsuite offer some of the lowest cost, streamlined options. There are also freebies!
Buffer
Buffer has an entirely free option, which could certainly work for a small business. It allows you to have up to 3 social accounts. We would recommend using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as those are the most well used social media sites in the business to consumer market, and are a great tool for promoting your video gaming establishment.
On Buffer’s free option, you can queue up to 10 posts. If you find yourself falling in love with filling the queue (it can be addicting!), you can always upgrade to the affordable paid plan! The next tier up is $10 per month, and allows you to queue up to 100 posts, as well as add additional social profiles (up to 10). You are also granted additional tools, such as a social media calendar to visually keep track of your accounts’ activity.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite gives a free 30 day trial of any of their services, with the lowest cost monthly option being the “Professional” service which is $19 per month. With access to 10 social profiles, real time analytics, auto-scheduling, social sweepstakes, and unlimited RSS integration, it’s safe to say that Hootsuite is a robust set of tools, which would provide additional metrics of user interaction that you wouldn’t necessarily get with a free service.
If you’re interested in diving in head first, or have a vested interest in tracking your analytics, Hootsuite’s professional membership could definitely be a wise investment. If you’re just getting started and would like to test the waters, perhaps Buffer’s free option could be the right choice. Simply take a look and compare their plans at hootsuite.com or buffer.com/pricing.
With a free 30 day trial of either there’s no need to worry about financial commitment right away. A good web presence is starting to be a must-have in the ever growing video gaming market. Get started today on optimizing your business’ social media presence and watch your traffic grow!
Read more: What to Post to Promote Your Bar or Restaurant on Social Media.
Are you currently using a scheduling tool for your social media that we didn't cover? Let us know!
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