Is it easy to stay connected on the move?
If you don’t already outsource your social media, or you do utilize the services of a VA but still like to contribute, social media marketing can get hectic. Whether you’re promoting your blog, showcasing your products or responding to comments, being good at social media often means being on the ball 24/7. Thankfully, in the age of the smart phone and tablet, you don’t have to chain yourself to your desk to maintain your ‘always-on’ social presence.
There are numerous apps out there designed to keep you in touch with your fans and followers and make planning/posting easy even if you’re not in the office, and below I’ve outlined my must-haves. Accessible via iPad and iPhone, they help me keep an eye on social media, and enable me to provide timely and relevant social customer care whether I’m at my desk, at home or on the go.
Google Hangouts
Google Hangouts enables you to easily turn your YouTube channel into a live streaming talk show channel, or a business webinar platform. This enables you to easily create valuable content that showcases your expertise, drives search engine results, and attracts new clients. It’s great for pre-recording and scheduling, enabling you to take into account your target market and the best time for them to be available to listen in.
Hangouts can be made public or just shared with your circles or an individual person, great to keep you on track with Google as it’s within Google+
Skype
Skype allows you to make group calls to your contacts or use individually for calls rather than use phone call allowance. Available on your computer, mobile, tablet, TV and even from your home phone, it allows you to stay in touch at home, in the office or on the go. With an upgraded account, group video calls are also available.
If you don’t have a landline, you can register for a specific local number e.g. London, Manchester, Liverpool, which can give the impression that your business is larger or has a designated office. With prices from £35 + VAT for 12 months, it’s an affordable option. International calls are also affordable and you can select a local coded number for the same rate.
Hootsuite
If your social media efforts involve more than just Twitter and you’re juggling multiple clients or multiple channels of communication, you really need HootSuite. HootSuite lets you multitask like a pro on the go! You can use it to schedule posts and cross-post to all your favourite platforms including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn at the same time. The mobile app will alert you to any new mentions or comments, enabling you to react to notifications wherever you are.
Links to websites/blogs can be shortened and thumbnails are also generated making posts more visual.
Facebook Pages App
The Facebook Pages Manager App helps on-the-go admins connect with their audience and keep up with activity on multiple Pages, all in one place. You can manage up to 50 Pages from your smartphone or tablet. It’s great for checking page activity, insights to posts and seeing what people are clicking on.
Pictures/Videos can be uploaded on the go and keep you closer to your followers
You can even create a new page whilst you’re out and about!
Get on-the-go access to your professional network with the LinkedIn app which enables you keep up-to-date with people in your network, review messages, read the latest industry news and share content with your network from anywhere.
A word of warning: you can’t personalise connection requests made via the app. I prefer to send more information than just the generic message in order for the recipient to have a frame of reference for my request, and I like to know where I’ve met people or why they why they want to connect before I accept invitations. This isn’t possible with the app.
Dropbox
Dropbox is not a social media app per se, but it helps me keep up with all the additional documentation that comes with managing my own and several clients’ social media presence. The Dropbox mobile app lets you easily view your content schedules, client edits, and social media strategies, and is great for sharing with colleagues, saving new documents that you create whilst out on the road.
If you have a cloud back-up, save copies of existing documents into a new updates folder, make your changes whilst you are out and then save back into your server when you are back in the office.
As managing your social media becomes an increasingly round-the-clock process, using these apps can help you to interact more consistently and effectively with your audience when you’re on the move. As you interact more, however, it’s essential to review, monitor and measure your impact on a regular basis. Be prepared to tweak your strategy for better results to ensure that you stay relevant and valuable to your customers wherever you are!
Find out more about how Virtual Assistant support services from Executive VPA could help you manage your social media activity.
