Using the cloud in social media management

If you’re managing social media campaigns then you’re probably already using a range of cloud services to make your life easier. If you’re not making use of these services then you’ll want to know about them, since they can make social media management so much easier. We’re going to discuss three of the most useful cloud social media management in this article. If there are any others that you use then we’d be delighted to hear about them in the comments.

What is the cloud?

Put simply, the cloud is software that runs from a web server rather than your own computer. We recently came across this infographic from Single Hop that does a pretty good job of summarising the changes that have occurred (you can see it in full at the bottom of this article). Over the last five years or so cloud services have become a bigger and bigger part of most of our day to day lives. Whether the cloud service you use is Facebook, Office365 or Dropbox, it’s likely that you use one of these on a daily basis. In fact, it’s quite possible that you spend more time using cloud services than traditional software packages.

Hootsuite

If you’re trying to run a social media campaign without a scheduler like Hootsuite or a similar cloud service then you’re quite simply doing it wrong. These services make it possible for you to schedule your social media posts in advance. This removes one of the biggest problems of businesses using social media – simply not finding the time to post regularly. There are also a number of other features designed to make the lives of digital marketers that little bit more straightforward. Hootsuite isn’t the only option here. It’s also worth considering other services like Tweetdeck or Sprout Social.

Crowdfire

Making sure you’re following the right people on social media is one of the most time-consuming parts of managing a social media campaign. Crowdfire (which used to be known as JustUnfollow) makes the process that little bit easier. You’ll still need to find the time to regularly check your followers but removing followers who have become inactive is much easier. We highly suggest taking a look at it as a first step to building a following amongst influencers and prospects in your sector.

Twitter Analytics

If you’re not using Twitter Analytics to measure the impact of your social media campaigns then you’re missing out on huge amounts of very useful information. Twitter Analytics lets you know how many people are seeing your tweets, how your followers are engaging with them and (crucially) how many people are clicking on the links you include in your Tweets. If you’re involved in social media management then you should review this information regularly so that you can make the most of your most successful tweets and remove those that are not having the right impact from your feeds.

If you’d like to know more about social media management then why not contact one of our digital marketing scientists? They’d be delighted to help you with your social media campaign and demonstrate how social media campaigns can deliver an uplift to your lead generation.

Of course, the cloud is working its way into a diverse range of areas. You can find full details on what the future has in store in the full infographic below.