New Social Media Tools For More Efficient Posting

If there's one thing that we all know, it's that the more social media platforms you're on, the more time it will take to check and post to them. That's why the latest social automation tools can be so valuable, as they save time and make engaging your audience so much more efficient. Take a look (many thanks to Smallbiztrends).

DrumUp allows you to curate content to multiple accounts so you always have something new to post even when you don't have any new original content. It finds content based on your keywords, then provides content recommendations, feeds, scheduling and re-posting. It also supplies a suggested list of hashtags when you post. And it's free.

IFTTT stands for "If This Then That" and is a social media automation tool that lets you create “recipes” that make apps work together. For instance, if you post to Facebook, you can create a recipe that also posts to over 292 other services, including music services like SoundCloud, Deezer and Spotify. Very cool.

RiteTag works across 14 major websites but is most useful as a Twitter tool in that it allows you to add images, hashtags, GIFs, emojis and customized CTAs on all your shared links. That said, one of its best features is the ability to recommend hashtags, including the most used, trending, and least popular. There's also a free version to get you started.

Managefilter is a tool that lets you keep track of your Twitter followers, your reach, and provides some advanced analytics. Perhaps its best feature is to show you the best time to post for maximum reach, but the group Unfollow and Follow feature can be valuable, as well as the search feature to find influencers. A free starter plan is also available.

These tools are only valuable if you use them, so I recommend that you try them one at a time, spend some time with each, and see if they fit your needs. Chances are at least one of them will make your social life easier.

(Photo: Per Erik Strandberg via Wikipedia)

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Social Media Listening Tools

Simon Tam wrote a great piece on Music Think Tank about the social media that every artist should be doing. One of the best aspects of the article was a section called "Free Listening Tools" that listed a number of tools that could be used to monitor your mentions on social media. It's worth repeating, so here it is:

"First, let’s talk about some of the free tools available to you. Here are some that I use everyday:

• Google Alerts: Google Alerts is a basic way to discover when a website is posting about you. However, it doesn’t capture everything and it certainly doesn’t cover social media or most blog sites. Still, it’s a good, automated, entry-level way to get some feedback about any kind of search query emailed to you. Sign up at www.google.com/alerts.

• Hootsuite/TweetDeck: Both Hootsuite and TweetDeck offer some tools to consolidate and manage your social media accounts. You can also add search columns that are scanning Twitter in real time. Not everyone who tweets about you will be using your hashtag or tagging you so this is a convenient way to spot what is being discussed and reply immediately.

• Icerocket: Icerocket specializes in blog searches. Their “big buzz” option also captures activity on Facebook, Twitter, and image sites such as Flickr too. It’s free, easy to use, and does not require registration of an account.

• Social Mention: Social Mention collects aggregated data across multiple platforms. You’ll see results from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, photobucket, etc. and there are some basic analytics that help you determine if the sentiment is positive or negative, how many different sources are active, etc. It’s also free and doesn’t require registration.

• Topsy: Topsy is similar to Icerocket and Social Mention; the main focus is around social media, especially multimedia and blogs. You don’t have to register, but you do have the option of creating an email alert (it ties into your Twitter or Facebook).

None of the tools are all-inclusive. They catch bits and pieces of what is out there but don’t always get it all. If you run a search every day, it will only takes a few minutes to scan through anything new. Make a habit of searching and listening. In addition to the above, I also run searches on Google, Bing, and Duck Duck Go twice per day."

I've talked about most of these in individual posts in the past, but this is a good list of them all in one place. For more good tips from Simon, go to his article.

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5 Indispensable Twitter Tools

There was a good article the other day in the Social Media Examiner regarding the 5 most indispensable Twitter tools. I don't know how indispensable they are, but it's a good idea to know about them.

Here they are:

1. Blast Follow - indispensable for finding people in your niche (and beyond) and mass-following them with a single click. Good for research.

2. Tweepi - allows you to unfollow those who do not reciprocate. If you use this, you're using Twitter wrong.

3. twAitter - allows you to schedule your tweets in advance. Good app if you're using Twitter to broadcast blog postings. Not so good if used mostly for personal tweets.

4. Tweetdeck - allows you to organize your followers and keep an eye on the really interesting ones in separate groups. It also allows you to post to Facebook and Linkedin at the same time, and to schedule your posts as well. I use this one all the time.

5. Tweetchat - allows you to isolate the conversation based on the hashtag. If you don't know what a hashtag is, take a look at this past blog post.

For more information on each of these tools, see the original article.

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Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

8 Of The Best Social Media Tools

Here are 8 of the best social media tools available for musicians. Actually these are from a post on Mashable specifically designed for entrepreneurs, but if musical artists aren't entrepreneurs than no one is (especially in the Music 3.0 era). The original post contained 10 apps, but 2 of them didn't apply to the needs of an artist.

8. Monitter is a service that monitors Twitter mentions in real-time in a multi-column interface reminiscent of TweetDeck. Measurement is an important part of M30, so any tool that provides some idea of how well a social media post connects is invaluable.

7. YouTube - it seems pretty obvious, but YouTube can be used for so much more than music videos like interviews, online press kits and virtual after-show parties, among many other things.

6. UserVoice can help track and manage the feedback of your users and customers.

5. MailChimp is an online email service that offers list management, tracking and analysis, and custom HTML templates for up to 500 subscribers and 3000 emails a month for free.

4. Get Satisfaction provides a forum where your fans can get answers to questions, solutions to problems, and submit feature and new product requests.

3. Twitter - it's more important than ever and this post on Mashable will give you links to best practices and tips for using Twitter.

2. Facebook - another one that everyone knows but not everyone takes best advantage of. Read the post on Mashable for helpful hints.

1. Basecamp is a great and cost-effective web-based tool for project management and collaboration that features to-do lists, milestones for important due-dates, file sharing, blog-style messaging, wiki-style writeboards, and time tracking. It's the perfect app for a busy band that has to juggle recording, rehearsals, tour dates, and social media management.