If you are reading this post that means you already know the value of social media in 2017. I assume you already know how it can double or triple your sales by being engaged on social media. But many people have little or no idea that how to get the maximum from it or what is the role of a brand in social media. In this post I will share the A to Z resource and guideline for your social media marketing.

When you or your brand is in social media it means you are here to be connected with others. But why should they connect with you? They should connect with you because you are going to help them by sharing valuable information. Whatever you will do is to help them to add value to their life.

Now each social media platform has their own algorithm. So to dominate on that platform we should have a clear idea how it works, and what sort of content produces the maximum impression and engagement.

Think about Facebook in 2017. Facebook is showing more video result on the newsfeed, isn’t it? Image contents get more engagement than text status. So in both cases, we need to produce either image or video. And both are little tough to create without having proper knowledge on the required tools.

But in web there is always some easy solution to face the tough job. There are lots of FREE and Paid resources which can help you to be a master of Social Media Marketing. I will talk on them tonight.

Image Creating Tool for Social Media Marketing

Canva
Canva is the best image creating tool I have ever used. You can create almost everything from a pdf book to infographic. I use this tool to create my blog post feature images, Facebook cover photos, wish card, presentation documents and so on. Even my company profile was created by this tool.

You can also create infographics, business cards, menu, book covers, and many more. I have used canva to create menu for my coffee shop, and you will be surprised to see how good looking it is.
Here you can check the menu design I have created by canva.
Also check my Facebook page, most of the cover photo and social media post has been created by canva.

Pic Moneky
Pic Moneky is similar to canva, you can create photo collage, add text and do some intermediate photo editing with it. I am not a big fan of it because I am more biased with canva.

Pictochart
Pictochart is another great tool for creating infographics. We have created lots of infographics by using this tool. They have a good amount of FREE template you can use.

Here are few more tools that can help you resize your photo, create mind maps etc.

• Skitch (Just for IOS)
• Mind node
• Image well (Just for IOS)

Stock Image Finding Tool

If you find the right tool you are half done in creating awesome graphics. Without copyright free image you can’t give it the best shape on it. Good news is that there are some good platforms where you can find very high quality copyright free images.

Here are few

• Pixabay
• Flickr
• Pexels

If you want to find copyright free image in old school way, you can do that too. Just go to Google image search and search with your keywords. Then click on tool > usage rights > labeled for reuse with modification.

Now the result you will get will be copyright free and you are allowed to use any image from there.

Video Creating Tools for SMM

Have you ever found someone who doesn’t like video? I am sure you have not. People love to watch quality videos. In videos they can grasp the message better way. Facebook is also showing more video on their newsfeed. Here are few tools which can help you create awesome video.

Animoto
You can create nice videos with animoto. This is one of the most popular tools for creating video. It will cost you as less as $8/month. Previously they had a free subscription but now they have closed that facility. I have created lots of videos by using animoto in 2012.

Screen-O-Matic
This is the tool I use right now for screen capturing. This is a great tool for both FREE and Paid version. In free version it shows a watermark in your video. It is well affordable. You can use their pro version by just $15/year. They also have hosting for storing your videos. Most of the team uses this tool for video tutorial for their team members.

Note: All screen capturing videos I have on my YouTube channel has been created by this tool. It has a good editing panel as well.

Camstasia
Camstasia is the most popular screen capturing video maker in the web. But it is expensive. It will cost you around $200 to purchase the tool. But it’s worth enough if you have the budget.

Video Maker FX
This is another affordable tool to create video animation. I have created lots of promo and informative videos by using this tool. Here is an example you can check out.

Filmora
This app is for semi advanced level video editing. You can do almost everything you expect in your video editing, such as cropping, filtering, transaction, adding texts and effects and many more. Check this New Year video I have edited by this tool.

You can also use windows and mac default video editor for basic level video

Here are some apps you can also try for creating short video in mobile device:

• Ripl
• Filmora Mobile

Quote Finding Website

For social media posting, I have found people love to see famous quotes because they inspire them. Here are few sites where you can find great quotes. You can use the quotes in creating image or video by using the above tools.

• Brainy Quote
• Good Reads Quote

Don’t forget about instagram and pinterest. You can find lots of quote there as well.

Social Media Content Topic Finder Tool

Now you have the tool to create image and video. But how you can get idea what kind of content should you create? It is always tough job to find idea for content creation. There are few tools you must need to know if you are serious about your social media marketing. Here are those

Buzsummo
This is the most popular tool for finding topics which get maximum social shares. It not only helps you build plan for social media, it can also help you in overall content marketing parts.

Daily By Buffer
Buffer is another must have tool for social media marketers. You will get the interesting and trendy topic there to plan your next social media content.

You can also try any of the following

• SmartBrief
• LinkedIn Pulse
• Triberr

Publishing / Scheduling Tools

Now you have all the weapons to produce and share social media content. But it is not a wise approach to invest time in publishing new post every day. You should have a schedule so that you can save your time and money. Maintaining a schedule will help to keep you on track. You just need to expense some time to engage every day on social media. So here are the tools that will help you schedule your social media post at once

• Hotsuit
• Buffer app

Social Media Analytics

Here are few top rated social media analytics tools you can use.

• Buffer App
• FollowerWonk
• SocialBakers
• Google Analytics
• SumAll

Some social channels you must need to focus on

Now you have all the required tools in your list, right? So it’s time to prioritize your social channels. Here are the top social channels I like to cover for every business. There might have some other channels for specific niches. But these work fine for almost every niche.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Slideshare
• Youtube
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Medium
• LinkedIn
• Tumblr
• Triberr
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon
• Digg

Please share the article if you find it useful. I will also love to hear about the tool you use for your social media marketing. Have a profit building year.