If you’ve been paying attention or done any research yourself, you know that there is a ton of social media software out there. A. Ton. Even though I am a marketer and read and write about marketing all the time, I still find it confusing.
Jay Baer, a social media expert and fantastic blogger, recently published a very helpful blog post in which he categorized social media software and therefore helped to clear up a bit of confusion. (Thank you Jay!)
He neatly breaks out social media software by determining your need, and he even listed those specifically useful for small businesses, so I’ve included only those below.
So here goes, social media software categorized and demystified:
Social Listening
If you want to know what people are saying about your company, competitors, and/or industry on social media, you need a way to easily find all of that chatter.
Small businesses could use ViralHeat or SocialMention.
Social Conversation
If you need to respond to comments and questions on social media; actively engage with people in real-time; and even assign conversations to other people at your business, then you need a tool that can help facilitate conversation.
Small businesses could use Hootsuite, Jugnoo, Postling, or Sprout Social.
Social Marketing
If you want to create custom Facebook apps, launch and manage promotions, better manage “creative assets” on YouTube, and let other people help out in an organized fashion, then you need a tool to help with social marketing.
Small businesses could use Agorapulse or Shortstack.
Social Analytics
If you want to know if your social media efforts are working, then you need to analyze how you’re doing.
Small businesses could use Crowd Booster, Google Analytics, or Swix.
Social Influencer
If you want to find people on social media that are really interested in or influential about a topic and want to better understand them, you want a tool that will help you find those social influencers.
Small businesses could use Appinions, GroupHigh, Klout, Kred, Peek Analytics, Plexus Engine, or Vocus.
Have you successfully used any of the above tools? Are there any others you’ve found particularly useful? Leave a comment below!
Image courtesy of prissydarl.wordpress.com
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