While Instagram provides brands with tons of tools, there are some limitations. And for businesses just starting out, it can be overwhelming to keep up with marketing, promoting, and creating content all by yourself.
Not everyone can organize an entire team to handle every aspect of the business. But if you’re not tapping into your analytics on a regular basis and creating consistent content, you risk never getting off the ground with your brand.
Fortunately, several third-party apps work well with the Business Instagram account type. These third-party apps help you stay organized, create professional and polished content, and balance your work and personal life by stacking and scheduling content. However, figuring out which third-party apps will benefit you most can be tricky. Here are five popular and effective third-party apps that will take your Instagram to the next level.
Hootsuite
While Hootsuite is more geared toward brands with an established and significant following, this jam-packed app offers tons of features even for users new to social media. Its features can help you stay organized and save time while maintaining engagement with your audience. Users can schedule replies to comments ahead of time. Hootsuite also offers a content creator and scheduler for all of your linked social media accounts. In addition, you can also enable Hootsuite to choose when to post based on its algorithms.
Many people love Hootsuite because it interfaces with 35 different social media apps, meaning you can create consistent messaging for your brand across all the social media channels you use. You can view everything from your dashboard and even post from there to keep your messaging organized without being redundant. Hootsuite streams also let you monitor conversations all in one place and respond to comments from within Hootsuite rather than leaving you to toggle back and forth between multiple apps.
Try Hootsuite for free to see how you like the tools and process.
Like4Like
Working within the Instagram algorithm is key to getting your posts seen. The more engagement you get, the more your posts will appear in the feeds of new potential followers. However, getting the ball rolling can be a challenge, especially for brands that are just starting out. You can give yourself a boost with Like4Like, an app that does exactly what its name suggests: generating likes for your posts.
The difference is that with Like4Like, you won’t have to chase down all the accounts because the app does it for you. You’ll get likes from people in your niche, and they’ll get likes in return. The process is free, which benefits new businesses with tight marketing budgets. Download the Like4Like app or install a Chrome extension to get started. While the app and the likes are free, you can also opt to use some paid services.
Check out Like4Like and boost your post rankings.
Sprout Social
Not every brand and business on Instagram is a one-person show. Sprout Social helps you organize your team and automate tasks. In addition, you’ll get a detailed dashboard and tons of analytics to help you gain insight into post performance and engagement. You’ll also have tools for your customer care support so your marketing team can stay focused on driving the brand.
Established and rapidly growing businesses can benefit from Sprout Social’s sweeping capabilities. You can easily link your relevant social media accounts and manage them from a central dashboard. Monitor feeds, handle all incoming messages, and schedule posts for all your accounts on a single calendar. Another key feature that Sprout Social offers is a chatbot that can handle frequently asked questions and some basic customer care issues for you.
Visit Sprout Social to review the plans available.
Later
Creating consistent content is key to maintaining and growing brand awareness and engagement. Later is another social media scheduler offering user-friendly software that creates and schedules social media content. One reason many users love Later is that it allows you to sync photo and video libraries on your laptop and phone in the Later app for future post creation. In addition to that, you can tag shoppable Instagram posts.
The features on Later are scalable depending on where you are in your marketing journey. For example, if you’re just beginning to explore social media content tools, you can try out Later’s free plan. You can also choose from several tiers that provide expanded services, with the highest tier offering content management for multiple social media accounts.
Get a feel for Later with a simple signup process.
Canva
Designing eye-catching and unique content can be the key to standing out from the crowd in your niche. If you desperately need professionally-designed products but don’t have extensive Photoshop experience, then Canva is an excellent tool for you. Canva says its goal is to make graphic design available to everyone, empowering anyone to create visions they can share with the world.
In addition to offering free features, Canva also provides a Design School with free video courses to help people understand how to access all of Canva’s features and templates. The Pro version of Canva entails a fee, but it comes with a ton of tools that are accessible for free. Businesses can use Canva solo or invite a team to work together. Canva works with social media seamlessly so that you can enrich your posts with vibrant graphic design.
Create unique content with Canva, or access a design powerhouse with Canva Pro.
Exploring Third-party Apps That Suit You
Your brand is unique, but finding your voice and sharing it with others can be a considerable challenge. A lot of content is continuously posted on Instagram, but third-party apps can help you successfully navigate the algorithms and find your people.
Remember, tools that work great for some may not be the best fit for you. It’s okay to explore management tools to see which works best for what you’re doing. Keep in mind that accessing tools that generate likes can be a great way to kickstart increasing your visibility. Third-party apps can save you precious time and eliminate the anxiety of building your business outreach on social media. These tools will enable you to stay engaged, find your balance, and focus on success.
