29 (Mostly Free) Social Media Tools We Should ALL Be Thankful For!

There are probably a billion and one social media tools to be thankful for this year. There are SO many out there – and it’s my belief that everyone should have access to them to make their social media run smoothly.

For those of you who follow B Squared Media on Facebook, you know that every Thursday we host “TERRIFIC TOOLS THURSDAY” where we highlight some of the tools we’ve used to help us.

For this post, we’re outlining some of the 29 tools we’ve mentioned over the past year+ in the hopes you can become thankful for them as well.

Tools We Use (And Recommend)

1. Bit.ly: As written by us on 10/4/12, “Our life just wouldn’t be complete without Bit.ly – a place for bookmarking, link tracking and SAH-WEET click reports!” And that still rings true today.
2. Sprout Social: I’ve been using Sprout for over 3 years now and STILL can’t say enough about the platform. I think the fact that I’ve stayed with them for this long and amidst new and “shiny” platforms being released speaks for itself. At the VERY least, check out their 30-day free trial.
3. WooBox: Mentioned in October of 2011, we started using WooBox to host some of the free tabs on our Facebook page — such as our Twitter and Instagram integrations — and we’re still using it today.
4. Social Mention: Was touted by us in November of 2011. And although we use many of its features with Sprout, it still comes in handy when researching a competitor or would-be client.
5. Rapportive: A MUST for Gmail users. We’ve been using this one for over a year as well, and love the way it shows us how to socially connect with people who email us on Gmail.
6. Newsle: This was also a November 2011 tool and is something we still use today. Keep up with your networking circles and get notified when they’re in the news – a GREAT way to show you’re always listening!
7. EdgeRank Checker: We recommended this tool on 12/27/12 and still stand behind it! We’ve only used the free version, but hey, free can be GREAT!
8. Dropbox: Is one of the tools we use EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. When you manage a team — or clients — that ins’t under one roof (and perhaps not even in the same state!) this is tool provides one of the fastest, most efficient ways to share documents and information.
9. Back in January of this year we were in awe with Google Trends. We still are! This is a GREAT way to find out what topical information you can tap into with your social media or blog posts.
10. HubSpot’s FREE Website Grader: This is a MUST-USE tool (and it’s FREE). Don’t rely on your web provider’s word that your website is “awesome sauce.” Check it out for yourself by getting your “report card” from the renowned peeps at HubSpot.
11. If you’re a Chrome lover like us, check out Privacy Fix: It allows you to make sure your privacy settings are ALWAYS in check (and it’s FREE!).
12. Yoast for WordPress: As written by us earlier in March of this year, “Yoast for WordPress is a super duper awesome sauce tool for helping you get your SEO down pat for your blog.” This is one of our top, fave, and most-used plugins for WordPress.
13. Another cool (and FREE!) tool provided by HubSpot that everyone can take advantage of is LinkTally: Use it to see how many times your blog has been shared (perhaps without you knowing).
14. After Google Reader went bye bye we picked up — and love — Feed.ly. Store your RSS feeds and curate content with ease.
15. RetweetLab: In their 3rd mention on this list, HubSpot provides another FREE tool that allows you to see how you may be able to obtain more retweets.
16. Talkwalker Alerts: A nice alternative to Google Alerts (remember those nasty rumors that Google was getting rid of alerts?!). We’ve used, and like, Talkwalker, and definitely are keeping them in our back pocket for if/when Google Alerts are pulled.
17. HangoutMagix: Fellow SteamFeed author and friend Ray, of NewRayCom, alerted us to this cool (and free!) tool that helps you customize your lower third bar for Goole Plus hangouts.
18. Speaking of SteamFeed – it’s an absolute GEM for finding and curating content on a wide variety of topics, including Sales & Marketing, Business, Technology, Business, SEO, Blogging, and Design.
19. In yet another testimonial to their Youtility, HubSpot makes a forth appearance with WhoTweetedMe. We use this to analyze a URL and see who our most influential retweeters are.
20. TailWindApp (formerly PinLeague): With the dismal results you get from inside of Pinterest on your metrics, we tested out this tool in July of this year and really love that we can REALLY see what’s going on with our Pinterest page.
21. In August we were happy to find CircleCount:  Which — if you’ve been on Google+ awhile — you can use to see how your circles have grown, who’s followed you in the last month/week/day or someone else’s stats.
22. Tagboard: Is a SUPER way to check out, keep up with, and decide what hashtags to use across multiple platforms.
23. WPTouch Mobile Plugin: Is another FAVE plugin of ours, as it helps every single blog post show up flawlessly on mobile devices (no matter your theme).

Tools We Haven’t Used (But Come Recommended)

1. Twazzup is something we tried once or twice (but found Sprout covered a lot of our needs). However if you’re looking for something free to use and don’t have Sprout, you should check it out. 
2. IFTTT: Though many of our friends use it, we set it up but never got around to configuring our triggers. It still boasts a loyal following and is definitely worth checking out!
3. Though it’s been on our list FOREVER, we still haven’t gotten around to creating our own infographics. Once we do, we’re going to check out Infogr.am.
4. Our friend Ann Marie clued us in to a site that has several free reports to analyze your brand across Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and more. Check them out at Simply Measured.
5. One curation site that we’ve heard a lot about but have yet to try is Topsy.
6. Timing+ can help you figure out what the best times to post to G+ are (we use Sprout for this though!).

Thank YOU

Also, it goes without saying, we sincerely thank the peeps who’ve made these amazing tools available and hope you see how thankful we are for YOU, too, by sharing them all here!

Is there anything we’re missing? Please let us know in the comments section below!

Click here to download our cheat sheet > 32Tools To Take The Headache Out Of Running Your Small Business

See you in the social sphere!

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Brooke B. Sellas

Brooke B. Sellas is the in-the-trenches Founder & CEO of @HelloBSquared, an award-winning social media, advertising, and social media customer care agency. She's also the author of Conversations That Connect -- a book all about social listening and social media customer care. Brooke's marketing mantra is “Think Conversation, Not Campaign” so be sure to give her a shout on the socials!

Latest posts by Brooke B. Sellas (see all)

• The Best Social Media Customer Service Metrics to Measure in 2024 - December 6, 2023
• When to Let Go: Ensuring You Are Focusing On the Best Customers - November 29, 2023
• Optimizing Your ABM Strategy with Social Listening for Enhanced Results - November 15, 2023