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What tools or platforms are available for my small business to manage social media?

One of the reasons a lot of businesses have difficulty keeping up with their social media channels is lack of time.

It's a valid reason, considering everything entrepreneurs have on their plates. But to stay on followers' radar and make social media pay off, small business owners need to maintain a relevant, consistent presence.

Fortunately, there are free, timesaving social media tools out there to help you. Here's a short profile for three media tools that integrate well across multiple social platforms.

• Hootsuite: A web-based platform and mobile app that provides a dashboard to enable you to monitor activity on your networks, interact (like, comment, message, follow, etc.), and schedule posts in advance. It connects with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, FourSquare, and LinkedIn. Hootsuite's "Hootlet" browser extension allows you to compose a post/share a Web page on any of your networks without leaving that page. Hootlet gives you the option to publish your post immediately, schedule it for a time of your choosing, or have Hootsuite "auto-schedule" at a time that it selects. Hootsuite is available in a free version and paid Pro and Enterprise versions that offer additional capabilities.

• Buffer: This is another cloud-based platform and mobile app that allows you to schedule posts and even set a recurring schedule for posting. With its browser extension, you can compose a post/share a Web page directly while you're on the page. You can also allow Buffer to schedule your posts for whatever time it believes will be ideal. Buffer also has an image sharing platform, Pablo, integrated in it so you can size images for your social platforms, augment images with text, and make other edits. Buffer works with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest. An individual user account is free, or you can subscribe to various paid business options that provide access to multiple users.

• Likeable Hub: This is a web platform and mobile app that enables you to monitor activity and engage with users on your social networks; schedule social media posts; and even select content to share from the Likeable Hub "Idea Library," which suggests trending articles and content ideas. The free plan is suited for individual users - which might be of particular interest to solopreneurs. Likeable Hub's free offering integrates with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn personal profiles. You can also create a simple website with the tool. To connect business Facebook pages and LinkedIn company pages and get additional capabilities, you can opt to subscribe to one of Likeable Hub's paid VIP, Expert, or Pro versions.

You'll find other social media management tools out there, as well. Your choice of management tools that will serve you best depends on the social media platforms you use, and types of features and functionality you're looking for.

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