Top iPhone Apps for Managing Your Social Media Accounts

social media apps for business

marketing planBest smartphone apps to help your business schedule, post and engage better on social media

As a small business owner, there are plenty of tasks for you to juggle every day. And social media management is just one more item for you to get around to in your busy day. Even if you delegate this task to a member of your team, staying on top of your social accounts can be difficult.

However, your brand’s online presence can make or break your business because customers expect to have almost instantaneous interaction through social media.

So, to help you manage it, here’s a peek at some of the apps best suited for small businesses.

Bitly

Bitly is largely known as a service that shortens links so they can fit the 140 characters or less demanded by Twitter. But, the Bitly app actually encompasses a lot more than paring down the length of a URL—it’s also highly useful for capturing data.

You can use “Branded Short Domains” to keep links consistent with your brand’s image and turn to “Custom Bitlinks” in order to maximize and measure how your links perform. Bitly helps determine what’s effective or ineffective about your current strategy so you can adjust accordingly.

Buffer

Buffer for Business promises increased traffic and fan engagement as well as time saved on social media. The cost is $50 per month for a small business, which gets you 25 connected social accounts, access for five team members and RSS feed integration. Beyond this, you can use the app to view the analytics of your posts and schedule future posts to go out automatically.

Buffer also just optimized its app to fit the larger screens of the iPhone 6 and the iPad. The developer explains on Macworld that it took so long to do this because they didn’t just want a larger version, but rather one that is made specifically for these larger screens.

HootSuite

Hootsuite is a well-known app for social media management. While the company doesn’t offer a plan specifically for small businesses, its pro plan is an extensive management platform that can fit small- or medium-sized businesses. Use this tool to handle up to 100 social profiles and give access to 10 team members.

Hootsuite also connects with nearly every social platform you can think of, so it’s less limiting than other similar choices. Beyond this, Hootsuite offers ways to help you listen to what your audience is saying about you over social media as well as analytics to measure how your efforts are working.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is another variation of social media management that may be helpful to your company. With an emphasis on the conversations and relationships created on social media, Sprout Social ensures you “never miss a social message” and grants you the ability to monitor pertinent keywords.

While scheduling posts and reviewing analytics come with this system, Sprout Social also enables your sales, support and social teams to collaborate for better customer service. This platform is best for those that want to dig into the finer nuances of social media.

Choosing the right solution for your social media management should not be taken lightly. Look for apps that offer a free trial so you can test it out before committing to a subscription. No matter which tool you choose, be sure to make your social media presence a priority. Your customers (and your brand’s presence) will prosper from some proper TLC.

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Roy Rasmussen

Roy Rasmussen, co-author of "Publishing for Publicity," is a freelance copywriter who helps small businesses get more customers and make more sales. His specialty is helping experts reach their target market with a focused sales message. His most recent projects include books on cloud computing, small business management, sales, and business coaching.