Social Media Marketing Productivity

Have you fallen in to the social media trap? Internet marketers are constantly looking for ways to stretch their advertising dollars. For that reason, social media has become a favorite among both seasoned and new entrepreneurs. But, if one is not careful, it is too easy to get trapped into what I call the "social media black hole"; being drawn by the social aspect of it all and wasting hours and hours on social media sites without producing any real results. I believe I can help! Here are some tools to help improve your social media marketing productivity.

• Twellow
The Twitter "yellow pages". Twellow allows you to find people based on specific keywords and tags. The tool allows you to follow people right from the application, without having to visit your Twitter page. It also shows you who you are already following and who is following you back!
• TweetDeck
This is a software you download directly onto your computer and which you can access without actually opening your browser. TweetDeck allows you to manage most of your social media accounts from one single location. You can customize the column views and add columns that feed directly from your Facebook newsfeed or your Twitter mentions and Direct Messages. You can also add and schedule updates to all the sites you have linked to your TweetDeck account without having to visit each one individually.
• SocialOomph
Perhaps the most comprehensive tool for managing social media accounts, Social Oomph allows you to manage several accounts from one convenient location. Not only can you schedule updates, but this service allows you to automate and rotate recurring updates (such as welcome messages). It also give you the option of managing your friends/followers lists and purge direct messages right from this site.
• Hummingbird
This IS a paid download, but it is worth the money if you are serious about increasing your productivity, particularly on Twitter. The reason I recommend this tool so highly is because it significantly simplifies the most tedious process on Twitter which is unfollowing those who are not following you. So, it is definitely worth checking out.

Using these tools, while some will require a bit of an investment, will help you expedite and automate some of the most time consuming, tedious, and potentially distracting aspects of working with social media. The end result will be a noticeable increase in your social media marketing productivity.

Marcy Amaro is the owner and creator of [http://www.GlobalMarketingClassroom.com]. She is a Christian, wife, mother of two, and a former English teacher. She has found a way to put her family back at the top of her priority list. You too can have the time and resources to focus on what's really important and enjoy life once more! Find out how at http://www.StrategicMarketingMaven.com.