Over the past six years, I've tried all different techniques to help propel my blog to the next level. I'm all about organization, making my life easy, and making sure I'm using the best items to help me make the best content I could.
Within the past six years, I've seen my fair share of blogging tools, tips, and tricks to make the most of your content but right now, in 2018, I have found the tools that work best for me. I'm sure if you're a blogger, you've heard of these (I'm definitely not reworking the wheel here) but I just had to share!
Tailwind: This is the best Pinterest tool out there and everyone from brands to top influencers to micro influencers are using it. It's $15 a month and I've done the free version, but it's definitely worth it. For a time there, I was getting tired of spending the monthly fee so I canceled my membership. However, I quickly resigned up because I saw a dip in traffic and realized that it made my social strategy much better. I was basically lost without it.
All you do is schedule your Pinterest posts and Tailwind will send it out to the boards you picked at the right time to maximize views. It gives you all sorts of analytics and has a lot more features that I really need to take advantage of. Pinterest has always been my #1 traffic source because it's essentially a search engine, not a social media platform so if you aren't using Pinterest, you have too!
*I just discovered Tailwind Tribes which is basically like a huge group board directly on Tailwind, which will directly help your pins show up in front of more eyes. It's wild and maybe I'll do a whole post on this!
Buffer: I used to use Hootsuite to schedule my Twitter and Facebook posts but I find Buffer much easier to use. I have the widget installed on my bookmarks bar and just go to the URL I want to share and schedule it out, without even leaving the page. It makes re-sharing really easy and gives you good analytics as well. I love having the app on my phone and iPad so that way I can schedule on the go. It's very easy and a must have for all bloggers (and social media mavens!)
Planoly: As a social media manager, I understand the importance of crafting the perfect Instagram post. I think before my job, I didn't really play into the Instagram game with my blog. I kind of just crafted an Instagram photo and threw it up. What changed that, besides the industry, is Planoly. Before this app, I didn't really have a way to plan out content, without paying for a subscription to something. Planoly has completely changed that.
It is a scheduler/planner for Instagram, has deep analytics, and an amazing blog with so many resources for influencers/bloggers/social media professionals. What I mainly use this app for is to schedule my Instagram photos, and also seeing what a photo will look in my feed before actually posting.
It's really helpful in planning out content for campaigns or sponsored posts because you can schedule the posts and kind of forget about it until the push notification pops up on your phone!
I love that you can store your hashtags so you don't have to write the hashtags out for every post. I have a beauty hashtag group, everyday group, and books. I should add more and will eventually!
If you want to up your Instagram game, please go check out Planoly!
Google Docs/Sheets: This is a new addition to my blogging tools routine and I've been loving it. I have countless notebooks that I use for blogging but digitally, I would just use my Notes app that comes with the Macbook. However, I started running into issues because I would want to reference something that was in those notes but I was away from my computer. I started using the Google Docs/Sheets for my editorial calendar, blog ideas, brand outreach, and everything in between and it's been life-changing. I love being able to reference things on the go and I feel so much more organized. It's amazing and I highly recommend!
What are your favorite blogging tools?
xoxo
B
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