No matter where you turn these days you seem to read or hear that you need to have a “social media presence” for your business. But what does this really mean?

We all know it is easy to spend all day on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and not actually do any REAL work.

The growth of social media has meant that if you don’t connect with people on this level you could be missing out on business from potential customers, or more business from your current customers. So how can you keep people engaged and interested in your services without spending all day on your computer?

Fortunately there are some great pieces of software out there that can help you manage this process simply. What this software does is allow you to spend only 1 or 2 days a month finding, writing and scheduling all of your social media posts in advance rather than having to sit in front of your computer if you want something to go up on your Facebook page 3 times a day, 4 days a week. This allows you to allocate writing time that fits into your schedule when it suits you.

Listed below are several of the most popular online software programs available with an explanation of how they work.

HootSuite

One of the most popular around currently is HootSuite. One of the best things about this software is that it will manage your posts to all the main social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Foursquare and WordPress.

It does this from on central window and allows you to prepare posts in advance and allocate dates and times as to when they will appear in your social media accounts. It will also multiple post – so the same post will go out on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all at the same time thereby increase your chances of being ‘seen’.

There is a free version available and a paid version depending on how many platforms and accounts you have to manage.

Hootsuite claims to have 7 millions users worldwide and to be the #1 Social Relationship Platform in the world.

Pagemodo

Pagemodo is a platform that helps you with all aspects of Facebook and Twitter. Not only will it help you schedule posts but it has different templates for cover pages and will also suggest content for posts based on key words you type in.

Like Hootsuite, you can select the date and time for posts and keep track of the number of comments and any feedback that you get. Helping you to respond and engage faster with your potential audience.

There are several account options from free versions to monthly fees for small and large businesses. Pagemodo has over 1 million users worldwide.

You can use it for all the different pages or groups you manage as well as your own profile. Feedback from customers shows they provide good support if you have a problem and there is content suggestions for niches based on key words you use for your business. It has a free version available for you to try and several other paid options to suit the size of your business.

As you can see there are several options out there, all having a free trial version for you to use to test them out. If you are wanting to include social media in your marketing strategy for your business, then the smart way to do so is to find an app to suit what you need and start using it.