Managing a social media marketing strategy is not an easy task, considering the targeted and numerous audiences, but also the intricate mechanisms of Facebook advertising.
Some of the challenges of Facebook marketing include reduced organic search, social media trolls or limited time to sustain a Facebook marketing strategy. Moreover, undertaking social media marketing also requires you to deal with multiple platforms, to write high quality blogs and posts, to analyze reports and to adjust the strategy accordingly. Sounds so…overwhelming!
Although most of the times, I like to keep my hands on anything that’s related to Facebook (especially interacting with the customers and readers). Automation tools come in handy when it comes to making the process smoother and more effective.
While some marketers prefer to use the Facebook tools for updates, others prefer a social media management tool for the sake of productivity and ease of use. Let’s see what Facebook has in store for you in terms of marketing automation.
- Facebook features EdgeRank, an algorithm that can easily indicate which updates are shown in your fans’ news feed. The advantage of EdgeRank is to decrease the value of the updates from third party tools whilst prioritizing updates made directly from Facebook. Result? Better engagement levels.
- Another issue is the fact that users have the option to hide entirely updates pushed by third party applications. If they think something is too annoying or not interesting, they can choose to never see your page’s updates from that application.
Third party tools are great if you simply don’t have the time to update your Facebook pages on a regular basis, which is much better than not updating the page at all☺. There are a number of tools that brands, social media experts and Irish companies are using to update their Facebook pages. Here are three popular third party tools used for updating Facebook effortlessly; of course, depending on your needs, preferences and budget, we recommend you to do a more thorough research in order to see what fits you best.
1. HubSpot is perhaps one of the most used automation tools for Facebook marketing.
HubSpot helps you validate any Facebook marketing efforts on-the-go, especially since it’s also mobile. You can plug it to your customer database and it will simply help you prioritize responses, after efficiently color-coding customers and leads. HubSpot provides actual ROI and features a number of options, allowing you to publish personal/business pages, to schedule posts, to attach content and anything else to drive prospects straight in the middle of action. 2.
2. Sprout Social is an excellent tool to use for scheduling and publishing updates for the major social networks, including LinkedIn, Twitter and, of course, Facebook.
Whenever new content is available, Sprout can connect the RSS feeds with your account and regularly update the social media networks. In addition, it can track the engagement levels for an affordable pricing plan. The great thing about Sprout is that allows you to shorten links, attach photos and customize the posts. For just $9 you can manage 10 profiles, while for $899 a month you can have unlimited coverage. However, you can try the one month free trial to see if your Facebook marketing improves.
3. Buffer is another excellent tool that enables users to schedule and publish regular Facebook updates.
Setting specific scheduling patters is one of the features that made Buffer a highly appreciated Facebook automation tool. Buffer works as great on other social media platforms – for free if you want to start with up to 10 updates at a time. Other pricing packages include: a Pro plan for $10 per month (handle up to six social media accounts) and a Premium plan for $99 (up to 50 scheduled updates).
Other great Facebook automation tools are Pardot, Marketo, Act-On, LeadSquared or AgoraPulse. Some platforms are better at email, others at analytics or social media. Choose according to your needs, ease of use and of course, budget. Facebook marketing is the spice of any marketing strategy. Without it, your efforts may not reach maximum potential.