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The Best Social Media Management Tools

Best social media management tools

Social media enables your business to increase brand awareness, generate leads, engage target audiences, increase sales, and so much more. Your customers expect it; studies show that 7 out of 10 customers are influenced by social media. If you’re not meeting your audience where they are, you’re missing opportunities to grow your customer base and, ultimately, your business. 

The Downside of Social Media Marketing

If you’re not already, it’s high time to start creating and sharing social content consistently. Managing social media may not seem like a complicated process at first, but one profile quickly turns into two, and two turns into three. Before you know it, you’re spending a lot (if not most) of your valuable time writing content, scheduling, posting, and managing your social media channels. As a small business owner or part of a small team, you may not have the staffing or resources to hire a social media professional — leaving you to do most of the work. You’re not alone, either; 43% of small businesses spend six or more hours on social media each week.

Many business owners wisely turn to social media management (SMM) tools for curating, scheduling and posting content. Here, we’re sharing some of the most popular SMM tools on the market today, their various features, and why you should look to ThumbStopper as an alternative solution.

What Are the Most Popular Social Media Management Tools?

If you do a quick search on the best social media management tools, you’ll likely see the same names appear in different lists. Some of those include: 

  • Hootsuite
  • Canva
  • Buffer
  • CoSchedule
  • Sendible

While they all help you manage your social media, each offers different features and functionality. Some are better for scheduling, some are better for sharing, and others — like Canva — are best for designing imagery for your social posts. You’ll need to consider which tool is best for you. (It might not be one of the tools on the list above.)

What Features and Functionality Should I Look For?

Each SMM tool offers its own mix of features and functionality. One of the most common features is the ability to manage all your social profiles from one tool or dashboard. With a dashboard, you don’t have to constantly log in and out of each profile to make or schedule posts. 

Other prominent features include:  

  • Scheduling post times and dates
  • Creating and design social imagery
  • Managing editorial calendars
  • Running multiple campaigns at the same time
  • Tracking comments and conversations

Several social media management tools offer free versions, but with fewer features. For example, you may be able to control only one social media profile or share a restricted number of posts before you have to upgrade to a paid version. 

Which Social Media Tool is Best for My Business?

There’s no one “best” social media management tool, as your small business has its own unique needs. Are you looking for a tool that saves you time? Money? Helps you find content to post? First, outline the current (and future) needs of your social media marketing plan. From there, you may need to undergo some trial and error before finding a tool that suits all of your needs.

What About an Alternative Solution?

The downside to social media management tools is that someone still has to manage the tools. You will save time by managing all your social profiles and posts with one tool, but that tool may still take up a lot of time. Between research, onboarding, and management, you may spend just as much valuable time looking for and learning a tool that you initially chose in order to save time.

social media management tools

Enter: ThumbStopper. We take the complexity of social media management tools out of the equation. We do all the heavy lifting by collecting high-quality images and content from the brands you carry in your store and publishing it to your social feeds. The brands appreciate the chance to reach your customers, you benefit from the quality of their content, and you gain the time and space to focus on actually running your business — not just your social channels. 

Let ThumbStopper Solve Your Social Media Management Problem

Customers who opt for ThumbStopper over the “best” social media management tools are experiencing a 50% increase in in-store traffic and up to 10x customer growth. All without lifting a finger. We specialize in retail businesses ranging from furniture and pet supplies to marine sports and golf carts. All you have to do is to select a plan that fits your business needs and customize it by the number of brands you sell and how often you want to show up in your customers’ social feeds. 
Experience the ThumbStopper effect yourself: sign up today!

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5 Social Media Tips for your Bike Shop for 2020

bike shop marketing ideas for social media

Social media is proving to be a main driver in purchase decisions and will only continue to grow in influence. We’ve compiled a few quick tips with the latest best practices to ensure your bike shop is growing socially so you can continue to grow your fans, followers, and ultimately revenue.

1. Start with Facebook

Facebook works incredibly well as a starting point for a social media strategy. Why?

This network is the powerhouse to a huge, engaged audience, combined with rich data and powerful advertising tools. It’s easy to use and gives you the ability to post photo albums, host and share events, broadcast live videos, and write in longer form. Add in the power to target posts to specific groups and Facebook will quickly become your go-to social network for small businesses. Simply put, there’s no better starting point for a successful strategy. 

2. Have Both Organic and Paid Strategies

Organic social tactics can help with things like establishing an online presence and engaging with existing customers, whereas paid social tactics can help with things like reaching new audiences and promoting products/services.

Keep in mind, the average human attention span is down to 8 seconds. Content should be short and telegraphic. Use photos and videos whenever possible. Showcase those new bikes you just got in for spring. Or share a tutorial on changing a flat.

If you’re not reposting content from your best-selling brands, you’re missing out on some great, free marketing. Chances are the brands you have in your store have a pretty healthy marketing budget to put towards rich video content, elaborate product launches, and pro sponsorships. Ride the coattails of their investment and share this content as it fits in with your social strategy.

3. Constant Engagement

Being responsive is the top thing brands can do on social to prompt consumers to purchase. Posting on a daily basis with visual content helps, too!

Once a month, look at which posts and ads are performing – and fine-tune your strategy. It’s no longer about the number of LIKES or FOLLOWERS you have…be sure to monitor whether people are engaging with your content – commenting or re-sharing.

Engagement is a two-way street so be sure and keep the conversation going with your audience. This creates a lasting impression of your brand in their minds and will keep you top of mind for all their bike needs.

4. Remember That Social Takes Time

Set aside 15 minutes a day as your “social marketing and communication time.” Use tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to pre-schedule content. If budget permits, hire or outsource. But be sure to spend an extra 15 minutes a month reviewing results. Which bicycle is most sought after? What kind of content do your followers engage with the most? Decide where to invest in social advertising and further fine-tune your shop’s social media plan.

After you have a content calendar in place, it’s important to stick with it as much as possible. Otherwise the time you put into it ends up being a waste, and we all know what that does to a small business’s bottom line. However, your plan should have some flexibility built in to accommodate things that are sure to come up throughout the year — such as product launches, reviews, and photo-worthy bike builds.

Especially with the social media algorithms in 2020, your content has to be top quality, as well as informative, engaging, educational, and entertaining. Add creative spend to your ad budget if you want to get big returns from social.

As social media becomes more complex, it’s unlikely that it will take up less of a small business’s time. However, it’s important to keep in mind that this effort isn’t being wasted—it’s a channel that’s increasingly central to people’s lives.

5. Continue to Invest 

Building successful organic and paid strategies requires consistent time and spend. Only through continual experimentation and optimization will your efforts grow more effective and sophisticated.
Ultimately, every one of the elements outlined above work together. By beginning with Facebook and crafting both paid and organic strategies, responding quickly to audiences and being mindful of not bombarding them, being patient with time, as well as investing in your online presence, bike shop owners can find sustained success on social media.

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ThumbStopper Helps Retailers Shift Their Social Media Content Into High Gear

ThumbStopper Helps Retailers Shift Their Social Media Content Into High Gear

The events surrounding COVID-19 have upended businesses big and small across the United States, forcing businesses to quickly adjust to the scarcity of physical traffic coming into their storefronts.

As individuals practice social distancing and stay-at-home measures, more and more people have turned to social media for news coverage and updates from the businesses they follow. This in turn has renewed efforts for businesses to cultivate and maintain a social presence online – despite the responsibilities surrounding their staff’s day-to-day operations.

The digital-first adjustment has impacted each business differently. But for a bicycle shop in Duluth, Minnesota that adopted ThumbStopper in February, their subscription of brand content to their social page has lifted a major weight off the shop’s co-owners during these uncertain times.

“I did a bit with Facebook – tried to keep up on it by posting bikes and such to cater to our favorite customers who followed us,” Emanoff said. “But we just couldn’t keep up with it.”

-Lee Emanoff, Co-Owner, Twin Ports Cyclery

In the new digital-first environment, this bicycle dealer can focus on engaging with their customers and managing their storefront while the ThumbStopper platform automatically delivers high-quality, digital content directly to the shop’s social feeds – straight from the brands they sell.

A Dynamic Duo Cycles Through Crisis

Denis Sauve and Lee Emanoff co-own Twin Ports Cyclery, an independent bicycle dealership in Duluth, MN. Established in 1975, Twin Ports offers a variety of bicycles across different brands and budgets, including Cannondale, Raleigh, and Jamis. The dealership is also one of the only shops that strictly caters to bicycle owners in Minnesota’s fifth-largest city.

ThumbStopper Helps Retailers Shift Their Social Media Content Into High Gear
Twin Ports Cyclery Co-Owner Lee Emanoff

“By sticking with bicycles, our employees then know the ins-and-outs about bikes, which helps them be really good with what they do for our customers,” said Emanoff.

In recent years, the husband-and-wife duo had difficulty advertising Twin Ports on digital and social media. With a website too complex for staff to manage and an inability to balance social media with the store’s day-to-day operations, Twin Ports relied heavily on “word of mouth” to get the store’s name out to their target audience.

“I did a bit with Facebook – tried to keep up on it by posting bikes and such to cater to our favorite customers who followed us,” Emanoff said. “But we just couldn’t keep up with it.”

Although St. Louis County – where Duluth is located in – has only seen 61 COVID-19 cases since its spread to the U.S., the crisis has disrupted normal operations for businesses like the bike shop, requiring staff to conduct business online and on the phone before having a customer set foot into the store.

The restrictions in effect place a greater need for businesses like Twin Ports to focus on digital channels to ensure their customers are up-to-date with timely business updates.

Lending a Helping Hand With ThumbStopper

Emanoff was present at Chicago’s CABDA Midwest bike conference, where she was first introduced to the ThumbStopper platform. She and Twin Ports never looked back afterward.

The software, which automatically deploys high-quality, brand-curated content to independent dealers’ social feeds, was a game-changer for the duo, enabling Twin Ports to receive a consistent feed of social posts featuring products the dealership sells to its customers. Within a few weeks, Twin Ports received an average 17.13% organic reach from content published to its Facebook page using ThumbStopper – 14 percentage points greater than average reach on the platform.

The influx of content has provided opportunities for the shop’s followers and interested customers to engage with the shop online – through comments, likes, and follows. Since joining ThumbStopper, Twin Ports has engaged with an additional 5,800 individuals with its content and facilitated 146 reactions among interested viewers.

“I’ve been very pleased with the positive comments [on the page] and feeling like there’s something going on that I don’t always have to keep up on,” Emanoff said. “Even though I can also post content, I know there’s something else helping do the work for us.”

Social Media: Amplified and in Full Effect

Although COVID-19 has slowed some business down for Twin Ports Cyclery, the bike shop has received continued success in the weeks since social distancing recommendations were put in place.

Twin Ports Cyclery has seen a 17% average organic reach from content deployed with ThumbStopper within the past month. During that time, the bike shop reached over 3,100 unique individuals on Facebook and amassed over 2,000 impressions despite restrictions with physical traffic.

“I didn’t know there was anybody out there that could do what ThumbStopper does,” Emanoff said. “It was a relief to know that somebody could do just that, and that the solution was reasonably priced.”

Emanoff also noted that Twin Ports will continue using the program throughout the year into the winter season, where bike sales slow down due to weather conditions. She recommends individuals take advantage of ThumbStopper because of its consistent content flow and affordable prices for independent dealers.

“I didn’t know there was anybody out there that could do what ThumbStopper does,” Emanoff said. “It was a relief to know that somebody could do just that and that the solution was reasonably priced.”

More information about Twin Ports Cyclery can be found by visiting the link here. To learn more about how ThumbStopper assists retailers in maximizing their social thumbprint online, check out the industries we support.

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Using Organic Reach to Your Advantage

Organic Reach TS

As a business owner, traffic is vital to your company’s success. But recent events are already bringing entire operations to a screeching halt.

As a business owner, traffic is vital to your company’s success. But recent events are already bringing entire operations to a screeching halt.

While the COVID-19 crisis continues, many owners are struggling to cope with the virus’s impact on their business and their employees’ livelihoods. And for those not bearing the brunt of the impact just yet, it’s become difficult for businesses to bring traffic to their cause.

If you are cutting back on your business’s operation while adjusting to the ramifications of the new normal, you may be stressed trying to generate buzz for your products or services. But with more eyes on social media, there isn’t a better time to start crafting organic relationships with your consumers at a fraction of the cost.

It’s time to use organic reach to your advantage.

Finding a Better (Cost-Effective) Way

Organic reach is a common metric used in social media marketing to track the number of unique individuals viewing your content without paid advertising. A strong organic reach can directly benefit your sales funnel by generating leads via authentic individuals who view your content without utilizing paid media strategies like boosting.

Unfortunately, organic reach on Facebook and Instagram has declined in drastic fashion over the past few years, due in part to greater competition for ad space on users’ news feeds and changes to their respective algorithms. As a result, many companies have turned to paid media out of necessity to build their social presence.

But there’s still hope! Organic reach is still a fundamental metric on social media that can generate traffic and engagement with the right approach. With a bit of strategy and creativity in your content strategy, your business can stand out and create unique connections with your target audience.

Whether your business is on Facebook, Instagram, or another social platform, here are some tips on mastering organic reach and maximizing your content’s thumbprint on a budget:

Understand the Algorithms

Each social platform has undergone changes to its respective algorithms, tailoring content to specific users based on the platform’s specifications. To ensure you’re achieving strong organic reach from your content, make sure to understand the ins-and-outs of each social platform’s algorithms to effectively reach your target audience.

For instance, Facebook’s algorithms have adjusted in the past few months to correspond with its paid advertising measurements. Ranking well with these algorithms is also dependent on various factors, including who a user typically interacts with, the post type, and the popularity of the post itself.

By understanding each platform’s intricacies in greater detail, you can equip your business with vital knowledge on how to best position your future content.

Post Consistently

Consistent posting is key to growing your business’s organic reach. Businesses that post consistently see higher engagement rates, which in turn leads to higher organic reach.

Posting once or twice a month is like being open for business once or twice a month, and then wondering why customers are flocking through your doors. If you post infrequently, your potential customer will begin to form an opinion about your business. Think of restaurants with little or no patrons… Do you want to eat at a restaurant when you’re the only customer there? 

Quality and Timeliness Matter for Content

Using Organic Reach to Your Advantage

Consider the type of content you’re posting on social media, and consider the trending topics of the day and how your business can ride the wave of increased engagement. 

As an example, author Jeff Goins loosely incorporated ‘The Walking Dead’ into his social post while the topic was trending to benefit from the trending topic for his book launch.

Resist the Bait

Don’t get caught using deceptive social practices. Social platforms have begun cracking down on baiting tactics, ensuring that users follow the platform’s rules or pay the price.

Using paid followers, spamming irrelevant content, and using engagement bait are just a few instances of practices that can be detrimental to your business’ social media strategy and reputation among your followers.

Automate and Elevate Your Content Flow

Sometimes, you can also leave your social media content flow to the pros. Enter ThumbStopper.

At ThumbStopper, we work with thousands of business partners to automatically post high-quality, brand-curated digital content for the retailers that sell their products. This, in turn, has contributed to a 22% average organic reach among our retailer subscribers.

If your company is looking for digital content that makes an impact on a budget, we’ve figured out the ins-and-outs of maximizing our partners’ social thumbprint and helping them focus on engaging with their consumers.

Whether your business has or hasn’t been affected by recent events, it may be time to pivot your social media strategy to address organic reach. With a mix of strategy and creativity, you can cut back on costly techniques that don’t secure the right audience and focus on building authentic, organic relationships with your consumers through organic reach.


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ThumbStopper Announces Participation in CABDA Midwest 2020

ThumbStopper Announces Participation in CABDA Midwest 2020

ThumbStopper sets its sights for the 2020 CABDA Midwest trade show in Schaumburg, Illinois

Tampa, Fla. – ThumbStopper®, a SaaS digital marketing software solution for brands and retailers, announced today its participation at CABDA Midwest, taking place Feb. 12-13, 2020 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center & Hotel in Schaumburg, IL.

The expo will feature seminars, clinics and product displays from retailers and manufacturers in the bicycle industry. ThumbStopper’s Branden Elwell, VP of Business Development, will be in attendance during the two-day trade show.

ThumbStopper will exhibit at booth 1034 during the event, introducing the company’s “ThumbStopper for Bikes” solution to prospective bike shops and informing companies of its success in other brand verticals.

“We look forward to meeting with bike shops interested in our retail-specific solution and informing brands of how ThumbStopper’s Brand Manager™ has helped companies in other verticals,” said Elwell.

ThumbStopper focuses on connecting local retailers’ social pages with content from the brands they already sell, maximizing ROI for businesses wishing to engage, monitor and increase sales opportunities through the full cycle of the customer journey, from online research to purchase. ThumbStopper provides retailers and OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) with a consistent social presence, utilizing 15 years of experience in understanding a variety of brand verticals, their retailers, and their customers.

Registered CABDA Midwest attendees may request one-on-one meetings with ThumbStopper by clicking here or via direct contact to the principals below.

About the Conference

The Chicagoland Area Bicycle Dealers Association (CABDA) hosts a series of trade shows catering to manufacturers, retailers, mechanics and distributors within the bicycle vertical. Since reviving its regional trade show in 2015, CABDA is one of North America’s fastest growing bicycle shows, hosting events in New York, San Diego, Chicago and Orlando.

About ThumbStopper

ThumbStopper is a leading provider of digital marketing solutions, delivered via its award-winning SaaS technology platform. Through the company’s brand manager, ThumbStopper focuses on delivering custom-curated content generation and syndication through web and social channels to connect brands with their retail network. With over 15 years’ experience understanding brand verticals, ThumbStopper currently services over 25,000 retailers across the Automotive, Bicycle, Watercraft, Firearm, Farm & Garden industries.

Contact

Alicia Alongi // Director of Marketing

aalongi@thumbstopper.bssdev.com

Angel Kennedy // Content Marketing Manager

akennedy@thumbstopper.bssdev.com

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ThumbStopper Spotlight: CABDA

CABDA West Background

What you need to know to be “in the know” about CABDA Expo

Next week, ThumbStopper® is heading to San Diego to exhibit at the inaugural CABDA West expo. In light of the upcoming event, let us introduce you to the folks behind North America’s fastest-growing bicycle trade show.

The Chicagoland Area Bicycle Dealers’ Association provides events, seminars and best practices for dealers and manufacturers in the bicycle vertical. The association, originally known for its series of trade shows, reemerged onto the scene in 2014 and has grown ever since.

A departure from large-scale conventions, CABDA trade shows offer a smaller, more intimate experience for dealers and manufacturers to interact with new and exciting brands. This centralized focus has allowed the expo to grow year after year.

In addition to CABDA West, the association is hosting three additional shows in 2020:

  • CABDA Midwest (Chicago, Feb. 12-13)
  • CABDA East (New York, March 11-12)
  • CABDA Industry Summit (Lake Buena Vista, Nov. 2-3)

Each trade show brings in hundreds of bicycle vendors from across the country to showcase the latest products and services within the industry. CABDA West will also offer 37 clinics and seminars during the two-day event. From nutrition advice to tech-centric showcases, CABDA West gives you the tools to take your bike shop to the next level.

While at the expo, come schedule a one-on-one with ThumbStopper and find out how we can amplify your bike shop’s social presence.

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ThumbStopper Announces Participation in CABDA West 2020

CABDA West

ThumbStopper sets its sights for the 2020 CABDA West trade show in San Diego, California

Tampa, Fla. – ThumbStopper, a SaaS digital marketing software solution for brands and retailers, announced today its participation at CABDA West on Jan. 15-16, 2020.

The inaugural expo, first announced by CABDA in February 2019, will feature seminars, clinics and product displays from retailers and manufacturers in the bicycle industry. ThumbStopper’s Branden Elwell, VP of Business Development, will be in attendance during the two-day trade show.

ThumbStopper will exhibit at booth B123, introducing the company’s “ThumbStopper for Bikes” solution to prospective bike shops and informing companies of its success in other brand verticals.

“Getting to know the brands and retailers we hope to partner with and doing more for their organizations is part of being a good steward of business,” said Elwell. “We look forward to meeting with bike shops interested in our retail-specific solution and informing brands of how ThumbStopper’s Brand Manager TM has helped companies in other verticals.”

ThumbStopper focuses on connecting local retailers’ social pages with content from the brands they already sell, maximizing ROI for businesses wishing to engage, monitor and increase sales opportunities through the full cycle of the customer journey, from online research to purchase. ThumbStopper provides retailers and OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) with a consistent social presence, utilizing 15 years of experience in understanding a variety of brand verticals, their retailers, and their customers.

Registered CABDA West attendees may request one-on-one meetings with ThumbStopper by clicking here or via direct contact to the principals below.

About Synapse

Synapse is a Florida nonprofit organization connecting entrepreneurs, corporations and stakeholders to collaborate and accelerate success in Florida’s thriving business economies. The organization promotes itself as an innovation hub, connecting Florida’s business community to promote engagement, spur collaboration and provide an outlet to amplify the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

 

About ThumbStopper

ThumbStopper is a leading provider of digital marketing solutions, delivered via its award-winning SaaS technology platform. Through the company’s brand manager, ThumbStopper focuses on delivering custom-curated content generation and syndication through web and social channels to connect brands with their retail network. With over 15 years’ experience understanding brand verticals, ThumbStopper currently services thousands of retailers across the Automotive, Bicycle, Watercraft, Firearm, Farm & Garden industries.

 

Contact

Alicia Alongi

Director of Marketing

aalongi@thumbstopper.bssdev.com

Angel Kennedy

Content Marketing Manager

akennedy@thumbstopper.bssdev.com