The Ultimate List of Social Media Resources

Today’s digital landscape is so fast-paced that everyone (marketers included) may struggle to refresh and catch up. With digital consumers spending a daily average of 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media, marketers’ responsibilities now include staying updated on algorithm adjustments, trending memes, and new platforms that appear without notice. (Hello, Instagram Reels.) Consider it a full-time job to stay informed on the latest social media news. Check out our list of the best social media resources and tools to save time and effort before your next post. 

The Basics

Knowledge is power — and for newbies eager to learn the basics of social media marketing, here are some tutorials and guides: 

• What Is Social Media Marketing?: For a short and sweet introduction to each social platform and its corresponding strategy, check out our explainer article. Scroll to the bottom for helpful templates to kickstart your social ads. 
• The Beginner's Guide to Social Media: Created by Moz, this e-book is filled with gems of information, such as ways to calculate ROI on social media (which is extremely important). 
• Social Media Influencer Course: Curious how influencers can promote your brand but don’t know where to start? This course by Captevrix has the tips you need. 
• Video Best Practices: Secrets to Ideation, Production, and Distribution: You don’t need a fancy production studio to create engaging videos. Cue this free guide. 

For more on how to build a hybrid social media strategy:

Keeping Up With the Industry

Even if you’re an experienced social media maven, you’ll want to keep up with the latest industry news, trends, and updates. That’s right: No longer will that new Facebook cover photo size sneak up unannounced. Here are blogs, videos, and podcasts we encourage marketers to check out regularly. 

• Social Media Examiner: The first stop on our list is “the world’s biggest social media marketing resource” — a news publication and blog that covers everything you need to know about social media. 

• Social Media Today: Another popular one-stop destination, this website publishes deep dives into the latest tools and hottest trends. 

• Gary Vaynerchuck’s Blog: Peek into the brain of the social guru himself. Gary Vee’s blog not only contains valuable insights into the what of social media, but also the why and the how. Not a fan of reading? You’re in luck because he repurposes his content into videos and podcasts. 

• Neil Patel’s Blog: Get another perspective on social media’s newest ideas, courtesy of marketing thought leader Neil Patel. 

Mastering the Platforms

Each social media platform is its unique beast to conquer. Here are some nifty guides to supercharge your marketing efforts for each platform, complete with information on recommended posting times, frequencies, and formats: 

• Instagram: There’s much more to the platform than filtered, Insta-worthy photos — grow your brand’s presence on this highly popular social platform with the Instagram Stories and Instagram Advertising Strategy guides. 
• Facebook: Learn the basics of Facebook marketing from Hubspot’s hour-long course or Facebook’s own marketing guide. Once you’ve mastered the basics, here’s a comprehensive list of more resources to bookmark. 
• Twitter: Twitter is all about snarky, controversial, and real-time interactions. Hootsuite has a complete guide on how you can become a sparkling conversationalist on the platform. Pair that with HubSpot’s actionable guide on building a Twitter following from scratch, and you’re well on your way to going viral. 

• TikTok: To connect with your Gen Z audiences, TikTok is the platform of choice. Because of its novelty (and the slight possibility of being mocked by cool, outspoken youngsters), it may feel intimidating. You’re not alone: many marketers are still experimenting with the platform, too. To get started, check out this TikTok marketing guide for beginners. 

Creating Stunning Content

Tools like Photoshop and Premiere Pro are no longer the gatekeepers of social media content creation. These alternatives will save you precious time and resources. 

• BuzzSumo: If your creative juices are running dry, gain content inspiration with BuzzSumo, a discovery platform that allows marketers to identify high-performing or widely-shared content, trending influencers, and popular topics. The site provides rich data to inform your content creation process and ultimately keep it relevant and fresh. 
• Google Trends: Wondering what topics people are searching for? Google Trends is useful for discovering what people are interested in and creating relevant content. 

• Canva: Whether you’re more comfortable with Paint or Adobe Illustrator, think of Canva as a useful tool for easy and fast designs. Make a catchy social media graphic in minutes with their simple-to-use drag-and-drop features and ready-to-go templates. 
• Animoto: The video version of Canva, Animoto will help you create a professional video in mere minutes. 

• Unsplash: Visuals are a must-have for social media marketing. When your iPhone photography won’t cut it, head over to Unsplash for free, high-quality stock imagery. Other similar websites include Pixabay, Gratisography, or Picjumbo. For those lucky marketers with a budget, you’ve got 123RF or Shutterstock for stock photos, videos, and even graphics, too. 

• ResizeImage.net: Don’t let Youtube’s super narrow banner size stump you. This website can help you resize or crop images in seconds. 
• Headline Analyzer: Social media copywriting isn’t easy. The goal is to stay clear of clickbait but remain snappy. Harness the power of technology by plugging your drafts into this website, which will analyze how readable and clickable each piece of content is.
• Grammarly: Compose beautiful social media prose by having Grammarly proofread everything you write. Catch those pesky typos and run-on sentences by simply downloading the browser extension. 

For more social media resources to create dazzling content: 

Turning Followers Into Fans

Social media marketers know that replying to comments, monitoring competitors, and posting new content — on half a dozen social platforms is time-consuming. These interactive tools will help you reclaim your workday by managing social media management and analysis processes. 

• HootSuite: Every social media marketing expert talks about how consistent interaction with customers is crucial to building loyalty. Yet, no marketer wants to spend their whole weekend replying to customer service messages on Facebook. Luckily, there is a solution: Hootsuite. Not only is it a scheduling tool, but it also allows marketers to manage all their social media accounts efficiently. You can create posts, reply to messages, and queue upcoming content — all on one dashboard. 

• Sprout Social: It’s easy to measure LinkedIn impressions, review Instagram likes, and evaluate Twitter engagement, but a challenge to analyze the full picture of your social marketing efforts. Sprout Social is an analytics tool that can help you track and analyze all your accounts’ performance in one place. 
• FollowerWonk: This nifty tool by Moz will help you learn more about any account’s followers — from when they’re most active to where they’re located — including those of your competitors. (No, not creepy in the context of social media marketing.) 

For more social media resources around customer service:

Now It’s Time to Post

It’s time to put these social media resources to work. Keep identifying and fine-tuning parts of your social media process that may need improvement. It’s only a matter of time until you see your followers grow and engage with your brand more than ever before. 

Last updated on January 10th, 2023.