Social media has emerged as a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their audiences and promote their brands. However, navigating the complexities of social media marketing can be overwhelming without the right tools. To address this challenge, we have curated a comprehensive list of 20 free digital online tools that can streamline and enhance your social media marketing efforts. From scheduling posts and creating captivating visuals to analyzing performance and optimizing campaigns, these tools are designed to make social media marketing easier, faster, and more effective.
Analytics
Analytics tools allow you to track and measure your social media performance, such as how much traffic, engagement, reach, and conversions each platform generates. You can also use analytics tools to identify your best-performing content, audience segments, and areas for improvement. Some of the best free analytics tools for social media marketing are:
Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that tracks and reports your website traffic, conversions, and user behavior. You can use Google Analytics to measure the impact of your social media marketing on your website's performance, such as how much traffic each social channel drives, how long visitors stay on your site, what pages they visit, what actions they take, and how much revenue they generate. You can also set up goals and campaigns to track specific objectives and events.
Facebook Insights: Facebook Insights is a free analytics tool that helps you understand how people interact with your Facebook page. You can use Facebook Insights to get data on your page's likes, reach, impressions, engagement, video views, actions on the page, and more. You can also compare your performance with other pages in your industry or niche.
Twitter Analytics: Twitter Analytics is a free analytics tool that helps you understand how people interact with your Twitter profile. You can use Twitter Analytics to get data on your tweet impressions, engagement, retweets, likes, replies, mentions, and more. You can also compare your performance with other accounts in your industry or niche.
Instagram Insights: Instagram Insights is a free analytics tool that helps you understand how people interact with your Instagram profile. You can use Instagram Insights to get data on your profile visits, reach, impressions, engagement, followers, and more. You can also see the performance of your stories, reels, IGTV videos, and live broadcasts.
Pinterest Analytics: Pinterest Analytics is a free analytics tool that helps you understand how people interact with your Pinterest profile. You can use Pinterest Analytics to get data on your profile's impressions, saves, clicks, followers, and more. You can also see the performance of your pins, boards, and topics.
Content Creation
Content creation tools allow you to generate high-quality content for your social media posts, such as blog posts, articles, captions, headlines, hashtags, and more. You can also use content creation tools to improve your writing skills, including grammar, spelling, and style. Some of the best free content creation tools for social media marketing are:
Grammarly: Grammarly is a free online writing assistant that helps you write clear and error-free content for social media. You can use Grammarly’s web version or browser extension to check and correct your grammar, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, tone, and style. You can also use Grammarly’s plagiarism checker to ensure originality.
Hemingway: Hemingway is a free online writing tool that helps you write concise and impactful content for social media. You can use Hemingway’s web version or desktop app to paste or type your content and get instant feedback on how to improve it. Hemingway highlights sentences that are too long or complex, words that are weak or vague, adverbs that are unnecessary or excessive, and passive voice that is dull or weak.
CoSchedule Headline Analyzer: CoSchedule Headline Analyzer is a free online tool that helps you write catchy and effective headlines for your social media posts. You can use the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to enter your headline idea and get a score based on how well it captures the reader’s attention and interest. CoSchedule Headline Analyzer also gives you suggestions on how to improve your headline by using power words, emotional words, numbers, and keywords. You can also see how your headline will look on Google and social media platforms.
AnswerThePublic: AnswerThePublic is a free online tool that helps you find and generate content ideas for any topic or keyword on social media. You can use AnswerThePublic to enter your topic or keyword and get a list of questions, prepositions, comparisons, and related terms that people are searching for on Google. You can also use AnswerThePublic to create content that answers your audience’s queries and needs.
Design
Design tools allow you to create stunning visuals for your social media posts, such as images, videos, graphics, logos, and more. You can also use design tools to customize your visuals with fonts, colors, icons, photos, and other elements. Some of the best free design tools for social media marketing are:
Canva: Canva is a free online graphic design tool that allows you to create stunning images for social media, blog posts, presentations, flyers, and more. You can choose from thousands of templates or start from scratch and use Canva’s drag-and-drop editor to customize your design. Canva also has optimized sizes and built-in templates for different social media platforms, so you can easily create the perfect image for each network.
Pixlr: Pixlr is a free online photo editing tool that allows you to edit and enhance your photos for social media. You can use Pixlr’s web version or mobile app to crop, resize, rotate, adjust, filter, and add effects to your photos. Pixlr also has advanced features like layers, masks, cloning, and more.
Lumen5: Lumen5 is a free online video creation tool that allows you to turn your blog posts or articles into engaging videos for social media. You can use Lumen5’s web version or mobile app to select a template or theme and add text, images, videos, music, and voiceover to your video. Lumen5 also has optimized sizes and built-in templates for different social media platforms, so you can easily create the perfect video for each network.
VistaCreate: VistaCreate is a free graphic design tool that allows you to create stunning graphics and animations for social media. You can choose from thousands of templates or start from scratch and use its drag-and-drop editor to customize your design. VistaCreate also has optimized sizes and built-in templates for different social media platforms, so you can easily create the perfect graphic or animation for each network.
Logo.com: Logo.com is a free online logo design tool that allows you to create a professional logo for your brand in minutes. You can choose from hundreds of templates or start from scratch and use Logo Maker’s simple editor to customize your logo with fonts, colors, icons, and shapes. You can also download your logo in high-resolution formats for free.
Scheduling
Scheduling tools allow you to plan and publish your social media posts in advance, saving you time and hassle. You can also use scheduling tools to optimize your posting times, frequency, and consistency. Some of the best free scheduling tools for social media marketing are:
Buffer: Buffer is a free social media management tool that lets you connect up to three social profiles and schedule up to 10 posts in advance. You can use Buffer’s desktop version or mobile app to plan and publish your content, and you can also access basic analytics and reports to measure your results.
TweetDeck: TweetDeck is a free Twitter management tool that lets you schedule tweets in advance as well as monitor and manage multiple Twitter accounts from one dashboard. You can use TweetDeck’s web version or desktop app to create and publish your tweets and also access basic analytics and notifications.
Facebook Creator Studio: Facebook Creator Studio is a free tool that lets you manage your Facebook and Instagram pages from one place. You can use Facebook Creator Studio to schedule posts and stories in advance, as well as access advanced analytics and insights.
Ads
Ad tools allow you to create and run paid campaigns on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more. You can also use ad tools to target your ideal audience, optimize your budget, and measure your results. Some of the best free advertising tools for social media marketing are:
Facebook Ads Manager: Facebook Ads Manager is a free tool that helps you create and manage your Facebook and Instagram ads. You can use Facebook Ads Manager to set up your campaign objectives, budget, audience, creative, and placement. You can also use Facebook Ads Manager to track your campaign performance, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and more.
Twitter Ads Manager: Twitter Ads Manager is a free tool that helps you create and manage your Twitter ads. You can use Twitter Ads Manager to set up your campaign objectives, budget, audience, creative, and placement. You can also use Twitter Ads Manager to track your campaign performance, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and more.
Google Ads: Google Ads is a free tool that helps you create and manage your Google ads. You can use Google Ads to run ads on Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, and other Google properties and partner sites. You can also use Google Ads to set up your campaign objectives, budget, audience, creative, and placement. You can also use Google Ads to track your campaign performance, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and more.
Conclusion
Social media marketing is essential for businesses seeking to thrive in the digital landscape. The 20 free digital online tools we've presented here offer invaluable assistance in streamlining social media management, crafting engaging content, and analyzing performance metrics. With the help of these tools, businesses can create a more cohesive and impactful social media presence, reaching and engaging their target audience effectively while driving traffic to their websites and increasing brand awareness.