Just like social media, listening and monitoring platforms are plentiful. However, just because there are so many available, certainly does not mean that they are all created equal. Trends change on social media VERY quickly and it can be overwhelming Which is exactly why tools like Later and TikTok are invaluable to building and maintaining a successful online presence.
The first tool that I can’t live without is Later. This is a free service, however I pay for the extra business features to be able to view helpful analytics. Later is a content deployment software that allows users to schedule their posts on various social media platforms and input captions, hashtags, locations, and more. While I could rave about all the things that makes Later great, what I want to focus on right now is their hashtag analytics. There are apps to see the popularity of hashtags, Later goes a step further and shows users how their posts perform within the hashtags being used.
Like many millennials, I was wary of TikTok. I avoided downloading it for the longest time, but as soon as I did I realized my mistake. TikTok has been the single greatest tool for predicting and monitoring trends for my business. The main platform that I utilize for the social media accounts that I manage is Instagram. Now that Instagram Reels exist, TikTok is more important than ever! All of the trends that hit Reels start off on TikTok. Typically, I’ve noticed it takes about a week for TikTok trends to move from there to Instagram, so this provides ample opportunity to create content to release when the trend hits.
I love these tools because they handle both predicting trends and monitoring content performance within those trends. What are some of your favourite social media tools?
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 