So, you’ve finally woken up and realized that social media marketing is more than just the fad skeptics thought it was a few years back. However, keeping tabs on numerous posts across multiple social platforms can easily eat up all your time. After all, you’re a small- business owner, not a savvy social media marketing expert who can afford an entire team just to run the company Facebook page. Enter Hootsuite, a robust, web-based social media management application that allows you to wrangle a nearly unlimited number of social accounts in one place, drastically reducing wasted time spent tracking each platform, while providing you with a number of tools to measure customer engagement with your brand. With Hootsuite, you can integrate nearly every possible social network your business utilizes — from Facebook and Twitter to Instagram and beyond — into a single, seamless dashboard. From here, you can create timed streams for every bit of content you post to any social media account you’re managing, synchronizing or duplicating posts across platforms for maximum impact. Hootsuite plans range from a limited free plan, which allows the managing of three social profiles from a single user and includes post scheduling (perfect for a user brand-new to social media marketing), to a $499 per month business plan, which includes exportable analytic data, 50 social profiles, and custom URL branding. After you create your account, Hootsuite will take you through a step-by-step process to add each social media account you need. Following that, you can begin using the dashboard to create social media posts and control which accounts the message will get posted to and at what time(s). You can upload images and add links (which will be automatically and conveniently shortened in the actual post), as well as set privacy settings. You can even set up auto-scheduling, which lets you queue up a bunch of posts that are then automatically posted at the dates and times you specify. These tasks only scratch the surface of Hootsuite’s capabilities, which also include a staggering number of options for monitoring posts and customer engagement. That said, it’s a good idea to shop around before committing to a social media management platform. Hootsuite is the most popular one out there, but it’s far from the be-all, end-all. Check out HubSpot, ideal for tracking every aspect of your social media sales funnel, or TweetDeck, a renowned tool for specifically managing your company’s Twitter.
TEECO’S TIPS Amazon Business does not include many of the Prime perks mentioned above. Ultimately, how you want to run your business will determine which membership is right for you. And hey, if you want to watch the Amazon Prime original series “The Man in the High Castle” during your break, we’re not going to tell anyone. THE RIGHT TOOLS AND TRAINING Training gives employees the chance to do a better job by improving morale and reducing fatigue. It will also help improve employee retention. The same school of thought can be applied to using the right tools — and using tools right (correctly). Use a terry cloth rag for cleaning — it gets into the nooks and crannies better than other rags and takes less effort. Wash on a smooth surface! This keeps your tents from getting torn up in the washing process, requires less scrubbing, and ensures a deeper clean. Smooth concrete works great.
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