The 3 Must-Have Softwares that Every Social Media Manager Needs

Social media managers, this one is for you.

As one of you 👋, I know we are constantly on our phones or our computers trying to pump out the BEST content for our clients.

There are so many different options when it comes to apps, softwares, and programs to use to be super-efficient in our jobs.

Sometimes, too many.

😩

We think that we need 800 different programs to make each account run smoothly.

After being in the social media management space for a hot minute, I’ve narrowed it down to TOP the three softwares that you absolutely NEED as a social media manager. Let’s get into it 👇

1. A CRM tool

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management.

This is just a fancy way of saying “a tool to keep track of customers”.

Within a CRM, you can keep track of all of your clients and everything that goes on with them.

Some examples of popular CRM tools are:
👉🏻HoneyBook
👉🏻Salesforce
👉🏻HubSpot
👉🏻Dubsado
👉🏻17hats

Each of them provides great options, depending on how robust your needs are.

Regardless of your needs, there are some basics that you need to look for in a CRM.

You need:
- A place to send contracts, invoices, and documents
- A way to sign those contracts and documents
- A way for clients to pay.

HoneyBook is one of my favorites because it’s an all-in-one tool.

Everything is set up in templates and workflows, which makes sending out documents and communications to your clients a total breeze. ✔️

Helllllo automation 😍

Another one of my FAVORITE Honeybook features?

Their client portal!

This internal portal allows your client to access all of their files and documents at any time.
 

The portal is really just a fancy way of saying “here is a place for all of the work we do together”.

You can also see where clients (or potential clients) are at in your sales pipeline.

At a glance, you can see if they’ve completed a discovery call, a new client questionnaire and if their payments have been made.

It’s a great way to stay on top of all of the things so that you can efficiently serve your clients!

If you want to try HoneyBook yourself, I have a special 50% off code here.

2. A content management system

The second software you're going to need is some form of content management system.

Many are all-inclusive, or you can mix and match programs to create a system that works best for you.

Personally, I actually have two different apps and softwares that I like to use for content management. 

My two holy grail SMM content tools?

Airtable and Later 🧡

I use a combination of Airtable and Later to manage content for my clients, as well as myself.

Airtable acts as a system to house content, get content approved and build out different content pieces.

One of the reasons I loooove Airtable is because it’s similar to Google Sheets, but it has a LOT more functionalities. From different views such as Kanban, calendar, grid, and more, to its advanced sorting capabilities and formulas, this tool is seriously powerful 💪

It also allows me to have a client-facing content space. This way, I give them a link to a “view” that only my clients will see. They can go in and approve their content as well as give me any feedback that is necessary before it gets posted!

Overall, it's a FANTASTIC way to build out a content database.

In combination with Airtable, I use a program called Later.

Later lets me go in and schedule my client’s content.

This part of my system is internal and handled only by my team and I - clients never see this part of the process. Everything they need to see is housed inside of Airtable, and then Later is where we go to make sure all of that beautiful content gets scheduled 🙌🏼

Not only is Later an amazing scheduler, but it also allows us to pull reports to see what’s working (and what’s not!) once the month is through.

You NEED some kind of system to not only be able to see the content you're going to be posting but to also get that content posted.

There are some other softwares out there, like Canva, that do this in an all-in-one inclusive system.

But for my clients and my needs, Airtable and Later work best. 

3. A content creation system

Finally, you need a way to create the content.

If you have been around for any amount of time... you know me.

I AM THE CANVA QUEEN 👑

It is by FAR my favorite way to create content for my clients.

That’s because it is basically an all-inclusive software.

There are SO many ways to create gorgeous graphics and customize images. They even have the capability to edit videos!

For a vast majority of my clients, this is where I create every single piece of content.

If I need more in-depth video content, I will use the app InShot on my phone.

Or, it is a more complex video piece, like and IGTV or a YouTube video, I will use something like an online video editor.

But for the most part, everything can be done in Canva.

There are a TON of other apps out there that for your content creation needs. The Adobe suite of products is incredibly robust... you can do almost anything your heart desires! ❤️

For social media managers, though, it is not always super efficient to use larger, more involved programs. The Adobe suite can take up a bunch of space on your hard drive and sometimes even slow your computer down. Not to mention, it’s a tad pricey 💸

Quick, accessible apps that you can use easily on your phone or desktop are THE way to go.

There you have it!

The 3 softwares that every social media manager needs in their toolbox.

If you want to use the exact same software that I use, check out the links below.

CRM - HoneyBook - Get 50% OFF Honeybook Here

Content Management System - Airtable + Later

Content Creation System - Canva for graphics, Veed for video editing.

If you’re a social media manager, my membership The Creative Content Lab is just 29$ a month!

I've tailored this membership specifically for social media managers to help you grow your business through creative content, and WOW your clients with your high-level service 🙌

This inclusive membership will take the guesswork out of building systems and creating content so you can build the social media business of your dreams!

Join The Creative Content Lab Here.

Let me know in the comments - have you tried any of the softwares I’ve mentioned today??

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