Social Media Apps You Need to Know in 2018

As you enter a new year of doing business online, you’re likely to be increasingly more comfortable with All Things Internet. But the learning curve is high, and it seems as if a new technology or platform develops every day. A decade ago, the term “social media” meant learning to connect with networks of cohorts and others using a computer.
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That was then; this is now. In 2018, the most essential aspects of life have some involvement in social media— health, finance, news, social interacting, and the most explosive area, shopping.
It’s good news for fledgling and growing ecommerce merchants hoping to reach new clientele. But it also requires an above-average familiarity with how social media works.

As you head into this new business year, there are some social media apps and sites you need to be considering. We’ve covered Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in great depth. Creative minds have developed applications that make your impact on these sites far more prolific.
Among our favorites:
 

• HOOTSUITE
  A partner app for most popular social media sites, Hootsuite simplifies and consolidates the process of communicating with these sites without repetitive efforts. It uses a browser-based dashboard to facilitate tasks, making the process incredibly efficient.
  
  

• HOOTSUITE AMPLIFY
  Recruiting and retaining customers often means moving beyond a straight sales mode. Engaging with them to share news, company developments, trends, etc., has been shown to endear shoppers to sites and create loyalties. Hootsuite Amplify is a perk for employees to get them connected to your shoppers.
  

• SPRINKLES
  Let loose and have fun with your customers. Sprinkles is a camera-based add-on for iOS and Android phones that allows you to edit photos with lighthearted quips and visual icons. Do you have a shop dog? A pajama Friday? Take a pic and dress it up.
  

• MINDFI
  MindFi is a cool name, and an even cooler app. In the middle of chaotic efforts to modernize and organize your business, you need some “me time.” MindFi offers short meditation sessions on an IOS or Android phone to schedule during your day. Namaste.
  

• BOTLETTER
  Botletter is, well, a letter app for bots. Rather, by bots. If your social media reach includes Facebook (which it should), use this handy tool to send newsletters and updates to Facebook followers.
  
  

As you grow increasingly comfortable with device-driven marketing and operations, you will find it easier to search them out on your own and choose among options best suited for your particular product line and business model. Start with these and see how far they take you.