Here, you’ll find the best free social media management tools, tips, and resources available in 2020!
At Relevantly, we have over 15 years of experience in marketing, and we want to share what we’ve learned with you.
In this article, you can find tons of free resources to help you take control of your social media strategy. Let’s get started!
Free social media management tools: planners, calendars, and more!
Social media content calendars help you organize your posts and keep track of your already posted and upcoming content. This awesome template by Hubspot is free to download and use.
This calendar allows you to plan for a variety of social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest.
Coschedule offers another variation of a social media planning calendar. This calendar has been modified for 2020, so if you are looking to get started on your social media plans this year, this may be the right calendar for you.
This calendar is designed in a spreadsheet format, which allows users to easily input information and move it around if necessary.
At Relevantly, we also offer a free social media calendar that you may find beneficial for your social media planning! Our calendar includes a spreadsheet-style layout, with various tabs for multiple platforms.
We also include planning for a week at a glance, a monthly calendar, and a campaign manager.
If you are more hands-on and would prefer to create a customized social media calendar, then this guide is the perfect resource for you.
This thorough how-to guide by Sprout Social will provide you with all the information you need to create an effective social media calendar for your unique wants and needs.
Smartsheet provides users with a variety of free social media planning templates that you can use through Excel.
These spreadsheets are all simple and easy to use. If you are looking for a calendar and planning tool that provides you with the basics you need as well as some more advanced options (such as the Social Media Report Template), then this is the perfect calendar for you.
Hootsuite is an awesome social media planning and scheduling platform. If you are just getting started with your social media plan, then Hootsuite’s free plan is a great place to start!
With their free plan, you’ll be able to manage three social media accounts, schedule social media posts, and make use of their helpful free apps.
Ready to transform your company’s Instagram page? Later is a platform specifically designed to help you schedule picture posts.
Since visuals are so important across many social media platforms, Later provides users with a visual planner as well as unlimited media storage space so you can test out lots of different pictures.
They have a wide variety of plans to best suit your budget, including a completely free plan!
Speaking about the importance of photos…VSCO offers a free photo editing software that allows you to easily and quickly enhance your social media photos.
This is an important tool as there is simply so much content available across social media platforms, you need to make sure yours stands out! VSCO makes that possible even if you don’t have any previous photo editing experience.
Generating content for your social media accounts can be tricky and time-consuming. Canva makes it so much easier - and quicker.
Canva is a content creation tool. It allows you to create anything from social media posts to flyers to business cards and so much more. Canva’s free plan is excellent and comes with nearly endless templates, photos, icons, and more.
One of the best things about Canva is that it allows you to choose from a wide range of pre-made social media templates. So if you aren’t in a creative mood, you can simply choose a template, input your information, and post it!
Are you an avid Twitter user? Then TweetDeck is the perfect tool for you! Simply log in with your Twitter account and you will gain access to tons of insights without all the clutter that you’ll find on Twitter.
And best of all, it’s absolutely free with no upgrades. This means everyone who uses it will get the same experience.
Awesome Social Media Resources
There are a lot of great tools out there for you to use as you work on your social media marketing strategy. However, free tools aren’t the only resources you should be taking advantage of.
Check out some of these blogs and websites that regularly post excellent content on social media strategy, recent studies, and more.
Backlinko is a huge marketing blog by Brian Dean, and can help you with pretty much every single part of your marketing strategy.
If you’re just focused on social media, Backlinko has a lot of super thorough blog posts about social media strategy and recent statistics that can help you better plan your posts.
Get great marketing tips from Neil Patel’s videos like this one
Neil Patel’s website is filled with awesome marketing tips, tricks, and thorough research.
Similar to Backlinko, you will be able to find lots of information on social media marketing as well in the form of blogs.
Neil Patel also has an active YouTube channel, so if you prefer watching videos to reading blog posts, you can get some great tips for your social media strategy there too!
SproutSocial provides social media marketing solutions for businesses - but it also has an amazing blog that’s absolutely free to access.
They conduct a wide range of studies and provide thorough research for readers who are looking to learn more about what’s working (and what’s not working) in the world of social media.
They also provide insights into good free social media management tools to use and lots of how-to guides that are easy to follow even for beginners!
Want to learn more about what’s going on in the world of social media? Social Media Today is an online news source that gives you in-the-know with all things social media.
Learning about current trends and social media news can help you plan accordingly and keep you in the loop, as social media platforms are constantly changing and evolving.
HubSpot is a marketing company that provides software and resources for businesses. It also has a great blog that contains lots of informative posts as well as access to free social media marketing tools.
Social media marketing is often a part of a larger marketing strategy, and if you want to get all of your information in one place, HubSpot is a great website to start with.
Social Media Marketing Tips
Now that you’ve got some great free social media management tools to get started and know how you can stay in the loop when it comes to all things social media, here are some tips we’ve compiled to finish off our list!
16. read case studies
Case studies are a great way to help you see what other companies have done that’s worked (or hasn’t worked!) Don’t be scared to learn from other businesses. If you want to see an example of a case study, check out Relevantly’s Nike Case Study.
17. learn how to budget for ads
Creating a Facebook ads budget can be a challenge. How much should you spend - and how will you know when you’ve spent enough? Before you set up any ads, make sure you understand how ads work and figure out an appropriate budget.
18. consider working with the pros
Social media marketing can take a lot of time and effort. This is especially true if you’re trying to do it while running your business! Whether you choose to hire someone in-house or work with specialists, it’s best to have a professional do the bulk of the work for you.
19. get familiar with your platforms
Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…whether you use all or just some of these platforms, it’s important that you have at least a basic understanding of how they work.
Instead of signing up with ALL platforms all at once, take time to sign up with one, familiarize yourself, grow your audience, and then consider adding another platform. Don’t overwhelm yourself!
20. use facebook messenger
Customers are looking for more personal ways to connect with businesses, and Facebook Messenger is one of the best ways to do that. It’s absolutely free for you to use and can help generate more interest and more sales.
21. don’t be too “salesy”
Most people are on social media to connect with friends and family - not to shop! Because of this, you want to make sure that your posts and even your ads are not overly “salesy.”
Instead, you want to pique interest and grab attention rather than try to go directly for a sale - even if that seems counterproductive.
22. post consistently
The tools we’ve outlined at the top of this post will help you plan and schedule social media posts. Consistent posting is very important to ensure your followers stay engaged.
23. consider your target audience
Who do you want to see your posts and advertisements? Creating an effective target audience is one of the best ways to generate results from your social media efforts. Click here to learn more about the important of a good target audience and how you can create yours.
24. get reviews & recommendations
On platforms such as Facebook, users can leave reviews and recommendations on business pages. If you are selling a product or service, those reviews mean a lot to potential new customers.
More and more consumers are beginning to use Facebook to learn more about consumer experiences. Because of this, it’s important to encourage your customers to leave reviews - not just on Google, but on Facebook too.
25. keep your info up-to-date
All social media platforms provide a space where you can tell your followers more about who you are and how to contact you.
Make sure that this information is fully filled out and if there are any changes, ensure you reflect those changes on your pages.
You want to make sure that new and existing customers can find you easily and contact you easily - and one of the best ways to do that is by staying accessible online.
take control of your social media
rely on relevantly for free social media marketing tools, marketing strategies, and more
At Relevantly, we provide businesses with the tools necessary to create an effective social media strategy. We work with our customers to do everything from setting up brand new social media accounts to improving existing pages and platforms. Learn more now.
