Thank goodness for these 14 free social media management tools.
I would tell you how many times in my three years of blogging, I’ve been labeled a spammer, but I try to forget the unpleasant.
The details of my most recent experience having the dreaded label thrust upon me are recounted at Virily.
Experts maintain that blogging is 20% writing and 80% promotion.
If you want to promote your blog posts multiple times without being called a spammer, you need to smarten up your social media strategy.
Bloggers often write for little or no compensation. To be at the receiving end of a “spammer” label can be the height of demoralizing. The label is certainly demeaning.
Where IS it okay to promote multiple times so you are not perceived as being a pushy spammer?
This post will explain how you can promote multiple times without seeming spammy at Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. Instagram doesn’t even allow you to use free social media schedulers to promote, but this post will explain how you can nonetheless.
Consider these comments:
When I first started using social media, I struggled with promoting my content more than once. I thought it would be considered spamming. ~ Susan Velez
Sharing multiple time, in the beginning, I thought that it will be a mere exhibitionism… Unless we tell about our product or resources to others, how will others know? ~ Philip Verghese Ariel
UPDATE: Just Retweet, recommended in this section, is no longer operational.
Consider these comments:
Hi Janice, love your tips on how often to share especially on Twitter. Many people don’t realize once is not enough there! ~ Lisa P. Sicard
How many times a day should you promote on Twitter?
10 times a day.
People say if you only tweet your blog post links on Twitter once, it’s like whispering in a concert. No one will hear you. Multiple retweets are needed.
Blogger Julie Syl Kalungi recommends in addition to your newest promotion, you should tweet 10 of your old articles per day!
Twitter experts Todd and Leah Rae say to post multiple times using different social media scheduling tools every 69 minutes!
Free Social Media Management Tools you can use to promote multiple times on Twitter:
- SocialChamp
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- IFTTT
- Just Retweet
- Triberr
- DrumUp
- Missinglettr
- Revive Old Posts Plugin
- Social Oomph
- Social Jukebox
- StatusBrew
- TweetDeck
TweetDeck will help you schedule tweets for free.
Do you need all 12? Yes! The more you schedule your tweets for promotion on Twitter, the increased chance of blog traffic.
Buffer will only allow you 10 free tweets a day. If you use the other tools as well, you can schedule more than 10 for free in the course of a day.
Strategies
- Kalungi offers important advice. The most successful bloggers promote other bloggers. In addition to scheduling your own tweets, Julie recommends scheduling other bloggers’ retweets in your social media schedulers.
- How many hashtags should you put in your Twitter promotions? People say 2-3. Use any more than that and your content won’t look natural.
Since Pinterest’s algorithm change several years ago, bloggers have reported a decrease in blog traffic coming from Pinterest.
It stands to reason that in order to boost your probability of blog traffic, you need more images in your blog posts. These can include screenshots.
How many images should you have in each blog post?Â
Three.
In addition to having multiple graphics in each of your blog posts, you should have multiple boards that represent your blog or brand.
An important tip: If you want to boost your exposure on Pinterest, belong to community Pinterest boards. (Note: this blog has a community Pinterest board for subscribers of Mostly Blogging.)
Free Social Media Management Tools you can use to promote multiple times on Pinterest:
- Ahalogy
- IFTTT
- Viralwoot
Strategies:
- Like with Twitter, you should support other bloggers. You do this on Pinterest when you repin other pinners’ pins.
- How many hashtags should you use on Pinterest? In 2017, experts say zero. Today, Pinterest is trying to become more of a search engine than a social media site. People don’t use hashtags in search engines.
Earlier this year, I published a list of 18 Facebook groups I joined. Since that March publication, I’ve joined even more Facebook groups.
You can promote multiple times on Facebook by promoting in multiple Facebook groups.
How many times a day can you promote to Facebook groups?
Not every Facebook group allows you to promote even as little as once a day. Many only allow once a week. You need to read the rules before you join ask to join the group. Not following the rules are grounds for expulsion from the group.
As long as you’re allowed, promote to as many groups as time allows. However, note the number of members in the group. The more members, the greater the chance that your promotions will be seen and your blog traffic will increase.
In addition to promoting to Facebook groups, you can make multiple postings to your Facebook page. Every blog or business should have a Facebook page so you can promote your blog without appearing spammy to your Facebook friends.
You can engage your fans by posting information about your blog, giveaways, posts, discounts… You might even promote other people’s content on your Facebook page if your fans would find it interesting.
Free Social Media Management Tools you can use to post to your Facebook wall or page:
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- IFTTT
- Missinglettr
- Revive Old Posts Plugin
Strategy
How many hashtags should you use on Facebook? Experts say zero. Apparently, using hashtags can actually turn Facebook users off and dissuade them from sharing your content.
How many times a day should you promote on Instagram?
4 times a day.
Instagram by the numbers
How many hashtags can you use in each Instagram post?
Instagram allows 30 hashtags.
How many should you use?
I know a very successful Instagrammer who uses all 30 in each post.
However, I heard if you don’t want to be considered spammy, you should only use between 5 and 7.
Agorapulse claims 6 to 8 hashtags is ideal. They caution: You should never have more than 10 hashtags per Instagram post. They agree with my understanding that more than 8 will be considered spammy.
They conducted research which reveals including hashtags in your Instagram posts could boost your Instagram engagement by 70%!
Note: Make sure your hashtags are relevant to your content.
Free Social Media Management Tools you can use to post to your Instagram feed:
None
However, these free tools will send you reminders to post on Instagram:
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
Wrapping Up: Free Social Media Management Tools
- Ahalogy
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- IFTTT
- Just Retweet
- Triberr
- DrumUp
- Missinglettr
- Revive Old Posts Plugin
- Social Jukebox
- Social Oomph
- StatusBrew
- TweetDeck
- Viralwoot
Conclusion
In closing, do you really need all these tools and a multitude of social media sites?
Yes, if you don’t want to be considered a pushy spammer by putting all your eggs in one basket.
The Beatles once sang a song that discussed how “Maxwell’s silver hammer came down upon his head.” If you don’t want the dreaded label of “spammer” to come down upon your reputation, you should use these free social media management tools.
Another benefit exists if you use these tools. In addition to avoiding the “spammer” label, you’ll have more opportunities to interact with your followers.
Please share so other bloggers learn about these free tools and how they can avoid being labeled a spammer.
Readers, I look forward to your answers in the comment section. Did I leave any out? Are there any additional free social media management tools you can recommend?
Related
How to Get Noticed Online Without Looking Like A Spammer Part I
How to Get Noticed Online Without Looking Like A Spammer Part II
For Further Reading
- Buffer [Read: 17 Reasons Buffer Will Blow Your Mind]
- Hootsuite [Read: Can We Really Trust Hootsuite?]
- IFTTT [Read:Â 27 Ways to Use This Amazing Free App That Will Make You a Happy Blogger: IFTTT]
- Just Retweet [Read:Â How to Shop for Retweets Without Actually Spending Money: Just Retweet]
- Triberr [Read:Â How You Can Increase Your Blog Traffic Using Triberr]
- Missinglettr [Read:Â Missinglettr: How to Boost Traffic & Save Time with This Amazing Automation Tool]
- Viralwoot [Read: This Wonderful Pin Scheduler is the Fastest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: Viralwoot]
