5 Tools for Social Media Consistency
This post was originally published on September 12, 2019 and has since been updated.
Sometimes social media can feel like a necessary evil. It’s all fun and games until you have to follow certain rules and best practices if you ever want your accounts to grow. Luckily, there are apps and tools out there to make your life oh so much easier. Check out the social media tools I use almost daily that are sure to make your planning and scheduling a heck of a lot easier.
Canva.com is a user friendly online design platform. Even with access to Illustrator, Canva is the way to go for quick projects like social media graphics. Whether I’m creating quote images for Ink & Olive’s Instagram and Facebook accounts or promoting open houses and “just sold” properties for real estate teams I work with, Canva is a simple tool for designing professional looking graphics.
Free vs. Paid
I had used the free version for several months before springing for an upgraded account. The most beneficial features of paid accounts are being able to upload your own fonts and the ability to resize canvases after you have begun a project. Canva Pro also allows users to store branding (colors, logos, and fonts) as well as templates. In addition, users of Canva Pro have access to a greater range of already uploaded stock photos and fonts.
Getting Started
Start out with the free version to get used to Canva and ensure that you’ll actually use it. If you find that the available fonts are not cohesive with your branding and/or you’re wanting to easily resize your projects, upgrade to Canva Pro.
2. Lightroom
Lightroom is a photo editing app within Adobe’s Creative Suite that I use to edit my photos before publishing them to Facebook and Instagram. While the desktop application requires a paid subscription, users can download and utilize the mobile app for free. Within the app, users have the option to import and utilize “presets” that are stored groups of edits. While some of my favorite presets have cost me money, you can edit without using presets, find free presets, and even create and store your own presets.
Using presets save editing time and make it easier to achieve a cohesive look across your visual social media platforms.
Free vs. Paid
A paid Lightroom subscription allows access to the desktop application, where you have additional features and may find it easier to utilize certain tools, such as healing and spot editing. The mobile application can be used for free, which may be all you need!
When browsing presets for purchase, you’ll find that mobile presets are more affordable but again, you do not have to buy presets to use the app effectively.
Getting Started
I raaaaaaaaaarely use Lightroom on desktop. If you’re interested in fine tuning or editing your photos, download the free Lightroom mobile app. If you’re ok with dropping some dough, spend it on presets that are representative of your style and will help you achieve a beautifully cohesive Instagram feed.
3. Google Sheets
I love Google Workspace and use Google apps for just about everything. I use Google Drive for organizing my documents, photos, and spreadsheets, Google Meet for video calls, and Google Calendar for staying on top of appointments and tasks. While I have a different calendar within my Google Calendar for each client, it would be too chaotic to chronicle every single social media post, so instead, I use Google Sheets. I have a different sheet for each client and a different tab for each month. Within each tab I create a calendar with the dates and insert a draft of my posts. Once a post is scheduled, I change the background color to denote the status. Sheets can be shared for collaboration and accessed on multiple devices through the cloud.
Free vs. Paid
While Google apps are free with a gmail account, business accounts start at $6/month. Business accounts allow you to attribute your account to your domain rather than an @gmail.com account.
4. Loomly
Loomly.com is a social media scheduling tool and my preferred tool for scheduling Instagram content. While Facebook’s Creator Studio (see below) has the functionality to schedule Instagram posts, Loomly allows users to preview what their feed will look like once the scheduled post is published. Hootsuite used to be my go-to scheduling tool for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn but Loomly is oh so much better. After experiencing several errors, noting the plethora of unavailable functions, and receiving terrible customer service from Hootsuite, I have made the switch to Loomly. I schedule Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube content through Loomly and the tool integrates with even more platforms, including TikTok and Snapchat.
Paid
While Loomly offers a 14 day free trial, pricing for the Base plan starts at $25/month if you pay for a year upfront. If you want one tool for managing social media accounts for multiple businesses, Loomly is totally worth it. Their platform is easy to use, their customer support is helpful and responsive, and they offer tips for optimizing each of your posts.
Getting Started
I recommend taking advantage of the free trial to see if the investment would be worth it for you.
5. Facebook Creator Studio
If you cannot justify investing in Loomly, Creator Studio is a great, tool for scheduling Facebook and Instagram posts. Because the tool is native to Facebook, you don’t have to navigate to another site to schedule your content. In addition, you can schedule videos, polls, and multi-photo posts; functions that are unavailable through third party platforms. Bonus- like Facebook itself, using the Creator Studio is free.
Getting Started
Simply log in to your Facebook account, navigate to your business page, then select “Publishing Tools”. From there, select “Scheduled Posts”, then “Create Post”. Or, navigate to business.facebook.com/creatorstudio/ to view scheduled posts, insights, and more for all Facebook business pages that you manage.
While there are countless social media tools available, it’s important to find the ones that work well for you so that you commit to using them, making it easier and more manageable to be consistent on social media. Have a favorite app that I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment on Facebook or Instagram or shoot me an email here.