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Useful Tools to Save you Time

As a social media professional, I am always seeking ways to make more efficient use of my time.  I belong to a couple of forums and groups that often discuss free tools or low-cost options.  I would like to share a compiled list here with you:

  • Hootsuite – still one of my faves – but they have changed things up. Now for free you get 2 social account. I am now paying $75 a month for what I used to have in the legacy edition for $5.99 per month.  This was a big shift and what they promised me isn’t working out. I still have enough slots for all my customer accounts but… (updated 7-2021)
  • Trello – this is a Kaizen board tool to help you track projects!!! Love this tool. (updated 7-2021)
  • Miro – this is a flow chart tool. It is just cool. Play with it. I used it for an on-line baby shower and everyone got to play at one time. (updated 7-2021)
  • Slack or Teams – communication tool to help you stay in touch without having to send emails. (updated 7-2021)
  • Zoom – virtual meeting tool (updated 7-2021)
  • Thryv – CRM tool – I wish they had the ability to use one log-in for multiple accounts. Right now, I have to have a separate email for each account I manage for customers. (updated 7-2021)
  • If This Then That – will help you do just that with about 11 social platforms – ex. if [Twitter mention] then [thank them] – will work with Facebook pages.
  • Buffer – share your posts at a later time on any Twitter account or Facebook personal pages
  • Dreamstime – free photos for use in your materials – they also have photos for purchase.
  • DIIGO – similar to Dropbox for websites you want to save for later – lets you bookmark in a cloud favorites by keyword.  You can even highlight things, place sticky notes on pages and share it with connections.
  • FanTools – the free side lets you set up one Twitter and one Facebook page, upgrades available for planning, coupons and deals.
  • YouSendIt – sending large files through email is no longer a problem, use YouSendIt.  You upload, the receiver downloads.  You must stay under a size limit for it to remain free.
  • Morgue File – more free photos. Has a connection with Dreamstime.
  • CutePDF – makes pdf files for any of your printable documents for programs that don’t already convert them.
  • Join.me – screen sharing
  • Skype – video calling and screen sharing, have a group video conversation for a monthly fee.
  • MailChimp – e-newsletter system free up to 2000 emails
  • FreshBooks – on-line accounting, up to 3 clients for free, up to 25 clients $19.95 mos.
  • BeFunky – photo effects editor
  • Zoho – CRM on-line tool.
  • Gimp – photo editing software – you download it.  You don’t need Photoshop with this one.
  • Inkscape – modify vector art similar to Illustrator.
  • ClipArt – open clip art library
  • AVG – anti virus
  • Adobe Browser Lab for website testing
  • WeTransfer – for sending files
  • PrimoPDF is also free PDF converter
  • Hamster – another Free video converter
  • MyPictr – Avatar creator – for profile pictures on social networks – not sure if its up to date but you can manually change the px size
  • DaFont – Free Fonts
  • OpenOffice – The Free and Open Productivity Suite
  • LastPass – Online Password storage.
  • Malwarebytes – Don’t run windows without it – not free
  • Nitro PDF Reader – recently added thanks to SME club thread
  • Toggl – Time tracking, great when you are billing by project
  • Avast! – Anti-virus, some free, but all the bells and whistles cost
  • Audacity – Sound recording and editing
  • TeamViewer – Screen sharing and more.
  • SNAG-IT – screen capture. pro version for a small upgrade is no longer available.  Will have to switch to Snag-it or Camtasia.
  • FileZilla – FTP management
  • CCleaner – keep your hard drive clean and optimized
  • Synergy – use one mouse and keyboard to connect multiple computers (from Zoho)
  • Any Video Converter – convert any video, aptly named
  • Dropbox – store and share files online
  • Google Docs, Calendar, mail, keyword tools, alerts, analytics, insights for search – access docs that you share, share with others, check your calendar, multiple email accounts from you desktop, phone, or laptop, find what keywords you need to use, set up alerts for anything you want to track from the web and blogs, add analytics to your website and track traffic to your site, .
  • Evernote -remember everything, anywhere
  • Readitlater – don’t have time to read that article now, save it to readitlater.
  • SimpleNote – similar to Evernote, jot yourself a note anytime, anywhere
  • KeePass – another password compiler
  • Free Conference Call – teleconferencing line available 24/7. Each call accommodates 96 callers on an unlimited number of 6 hour free conference calls.
  • SuveyMonkey – free survey tool
  • Evite – free party planning tool
  • Producteev – task management app, helping to organize office days. It’s cross-platform, desktop and mobile.
  • AnyMeeting – web conference meetings
  • Bit.ly – link shortener and tracking
  • Box.net – add files to this on-line application and link it to your LinkedIn profile
  • Scribd – post your pdf files and documents to share on your social networks if you don’t want to post them on your website.
  • Visual.ly – create your own infographic
  • Get Listed – enter your business name and zip code.  The tool finds the location sites on which you are or aren’t listed.
  • Timeline Image Tool – helps you build custom tab images without needing design software.

What have I missed?  What do you like best?  What wouldn’t you use?

 

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Newer LinkedIn Features

Have you seen these newer features?

I attended a webinar yesterday about using LinkedIn for business growth and I learned about a couple of newer features that may or may not be available for you. They are something for which you will want to be on the look-out. Who knows, you may already be using them!

Newer Feature #1 – Ring my bell!

How many of you thought of the Anita Ward Song – Ring My Bell? LinkedIn has a relatively new feature that allows you to click on a bell on a company profile or a personal profile and you will get that news in your feed right away. You need to either follow or be connected with the person to see the bell. You can see all posts or tops posts depending upon whether it is marked or solid. You won’t be able to see it on your own profile.

This is not 100% effective. You should see in your notifications the posts from the people / companies you choose to ring their bell. It is recommended by other experts to keep it to 10 bells to avoid too much clutter.

Newer Feature #2 – Schedule Posts in LinkedIn

My team uses a scheduler tool to help us plan our week of posts for our clients. These are allowed by LinkedIn where lead generation tools are disallowed and you may lose your profile. LinkedIn now allows you to schedule a post natively inside of LinkedIn. If you need to schedule from your phone while you are out on the fly, this is available on the top right corner of my Android phone.

Check back for a post on Creator Mode for your business profile.

Share a Company post on personal profile

How do you share a company post on a personal profile?

As a rule I suggest to my clients that they post to the company pages that they have first and then share that post to their personal profile. I also advise that they encourage any employees to share a company post on their personal profiles as well. This is extremely useful if the company is hiring or sponsoring an event.

Here are the steps to do just that for LinkedIn! If you are the page administrator, you will need to switch views. If your employees share and are not managing the page, they will skip to step 2.share company post to a personal LI profile

  • Top right click View as member

 

 

 

  • Look for the posts – click See All Posts

 

  • Sort by Recent – if the post you want to share isn’t at the top

 

  • Select Repost
  • Repost with your thoughts to enter a sentence in addition
    • Repost goes out without anything extra added
  • Verify it is your personal profile NOT your company
  • Add a sentence

 

  •  Post
  • Grab the link to share to Facebook or Twitter company page (it is better to share website link than the LinkedIn item on Facebook).

Watch for another article on how to share a Facebook company post to your personal Facebook profile.

New Year New Plan

It is a new year do you have a new plan?

We rang in 2023 just a couple of days ago. What is your new plan for the new year? Not just a financial plan, or a healthier you plan, but a plan for your marketing.

My plan is to write a new blog article at least twice a month. The last several years, I would write something once a quarter if I was lucky. There is always something I think about or read about and would like to add my two cents worth. What do you have that you need to enhance, change or improve when it comes to your marketing?

How often do you post to your social media?

According to LinkedIn

LinkedIn itself has seen brands that post once a month gain followers six times faster than those who keep a lower profile. That pattern continues with more frequent posting: companies that post weekly see twice the engagement, while brands that post daily gain even more traction.

Do you want to add another social media platform?

Maybe you are just posting to Facebook right now but want to start posting to LinkedIn. Do you want to share the same content? Do you need to change an image size for the other platform? Do you want to schedule in advance? What is your new plan?

Do you want to bring people to your website?

Will you do that with blog articles that you share on social media? Will you be updating workshops or products that you offer? What is your new plan?

How is your searchability?

When people search for your company name or your type of service, what do they find? Do you rank in Google Searches? Is Yelp something you need? Is another platform better suited for your customers to help them find you. What is your new plan?

Do you have the time?

This is a biggie! The best laid plans…. When you are making a plan, you must consider:

  • can you do this yourself
  • do you have the time to do this yourself
  • if you don’t or can’t do you have staff in-house who can do these things
  • if you don’t have staff to do this, who will
  • would you make more money hiring someone like me to do this for you so you can go out and keep doing what you are good at?

Your new plan may include a call with me or someone like me who can discuss your priorities and help you execute/create a new plan!

We at Time2Mrkt are happy to help you as you move forward with your new plan! Contact us.

Content Calendar for 2023

Are you using a content calendar?

I recently read the article linked below about the best content calendars for 2023.

I really like the concept especially for blogs and complex social media campaigns that require a lead up to an event and a follow-up afterward.  The article suggested several options both paid and unpaid. One of the easiest might be to use a Google Sheet or a Microsoft Excel document if you are using Sharepoint. Blogging requires a bit more time than social media posts. There is thought composition, image assignment, and whether or not your article is going to be a series or not. Some people are prolific writers, but are haphazard in their flow. A content calendar can help the organization.

Planning in advance helps you overcome the feeling of stress when you need to post something but don’t have anything prepared. An 8th grade math teacher taught me the 9 P’s “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance at Peak Panic Periods.” Let’s help you not panic!

Mentioned in the article is one that cost money: Loomly,

And others that are free: CoSchedule, Airtable, Hubspot (guide only), Trello (free template)

Our company uses Hootsuite to help create and schedule posts for our clients. One of the things that Hootsuite offers is a Planner with suggested times that you might want to post. This is very useful for social media posts.

 

 

We have also used Google sheets by the month to carry out a campaign.

Let us know if we can assist you with your social media strategy! Connect

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