how to get hired in the social media marketing services for small businesses industry

Buffer

How would you like to manage 5 social platforms with just one tool? Yes, you heard me right. With Buffer, scheduling posts and sharing content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, and App.net is just child's play.

There is more than one way to use this tool. You can share and post content by adding browser extension, or using Tablet or Smartphone application, or visit their site to schedule the content. This social media management tool also offers a fantastic analytics service where you can monitor the impact and performance of each post.

Buffer offers both free as well as paid membership. The tool imposes few restrictions on free members, but with just $10/month you can upgrade your account to use as much as 12 social media profiles, queue unlimited amount of posts, and add two members to your account.

IFTTT

This simple tool with 'Cause and Effect' relationship is one of the most powerful automation services on the web. IFTTT here stands for 'If This, Then That', and its mode of function is to perform an action if a preset trigger is activated. Case in point: Using IFTTT you can create a recipe or formula that'll send you a mail (Action) each time you have a new follower on Twitter (Trigger).

Using IFTTT you can work with 160 channels, including networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Dorpbox, YouTube, and many more popular platforms. Finally, the best news of all, with IFTTT you can also connect to other social media management tools such as Hootsuite and Buffer.

Hootsuite

For individuals and small businesses, Hootsuite is the best and most popular social media management tool currently available, and there is a reason for it being so popular. Using its simple web based dashboard, you can schedule posts, carry out SM campaigns, manage engagement, track conversations, monitor the competition, and measure the effectiveness of the campaign using analytics and generate reports, across all popular social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, Google+ Page, LinkedIn, and Foursquare.

How popular is this social media management tool? Hootsuite is used by the world's top brands such as Sony Music, EuroStar, Seagate, NHL, Virgin, WWF, and many more. It also boasts of having over 10 million users, and this number is increasing every day. To mount an effective social media campaign Hootsuite offers three options: Free, Pro, and Enterprise.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is yet another social media management tool much like Buffer and Hootsuite. Like other tools we discussed, this one too offers the ability to manage multiple channels all in one place. An important feature that sets this SM tool apart is the inbox. All your messages and opportunities for engagement will arrive at one place.

The Add Keyword option is another powerful feature. By adding your keyword here you can keep track of all your brand mentions. Sprout Social also offers excellent analytics service. In the report section, you can monitor and create reports on engagement, team performance, trends, etc.

Sprout Social is reasonably priced with three membership options to choose from. You can also sign up for a free trial for a short period of time, and later upgrade and continue if you're happy with the features Sprout Social provides.

SocialBro

If Twitter is your target network, then there is no better social media management tool than SocialBro. This powerful tool is unique in that it provides a more comprehensive platform than any other SM manager application for Twitter. This SM tool has four main features: Targeting, Engagement, Management, and Analytics.

Even if your plan is to target multiple social media networks, this tool can complement your efforts by offering analytic reports, which can be used in SM campaigns run on Hootsuite or Buffer. SocialBro has a free version, and there are four paid options (Basic, Professional, Business, and Enterprise) with lots of powerful features.

So, what is your preferred social media management tool?

Social media marketing is a crucial component of any successful digital marketing strategy, and has literally changed the way in which we communicate. This powerful set of marketing tools now only allows businesses big or small to engage with their customers, but also with new audiences in an effort to increase brand exposure and generate leads. These channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube offer unmatched opportunities that go way beyond a conventional website, and help you stay a few notches ahead of the competition.

It is crucial to employ simple yet sustainable online media strategies, and consider your budget, time and resources to delineate one that meets your business's goals and objectives. Today more than ever, people use their mobile devices to search the web, and when they find you, it is important that they are able to communicate with you in a seamless manner. Social media management (SMM) experts use bespoke social media strategies to generate more traffic, leads and sales for your business as well as improve your search engine rankings.

Benefits of Social Media Marketing

There are several different social platforms to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and social media marketing experts will help you find the most suitable platforms for your business. For example, certain businesses may be better off showcasing their products on visually rich media sites such as YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest, while others with text posts and even Twitter's 140 character tweets.

Social Channel Management Services include:

Customers today want to find you online, on their mobile devices, home computers, and today social medial platforms as well. Building and maintaining a strong online presence adds stature, reputation, trust, and by engaging with your customers, you prove that you are a genuine business. The more valuable information you provide, the more you promote your brand and build awareness.

Whether you're looking to manage your social media channels yourself or outsource the entire operation, there's a viable solution that's right for you. Sopcial media management is a rather long process so its best to get started sooner than later. Experts in this field can help you leverage your brand advocates, find your target audience and create that two way conversation to share ideas and solve problems.