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The 6 Best Mobile Social Media Management Apps

Every social media manager out there knows that the most ideal place to do social media management is from the comfort of your computer, preferably with a beverage of your choice. This is not, and cannot, always be the case though. Sometimes you have to get out there, at live events, and share what’s going on.

How do you cope with the trials of being outside when you have multiple accounts and platforms to manage? You use mobile apps which were built for social media management from mobile devices! Let’s look at 6 of them now, and get you moving!

Hootsuite: For multiple accounts on the go

Most people are familiar with Hootsuite’s desktop version, but its mobile app is just as powerful. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices, and brings a compact version of your Hootsuite dashboard to you.
If you’ve used Hootsuite you know that bringing their dashboard to a small device is no easy task. Their dashboard is best used with many streams of content being followed, all lined up next to each other. The mobile app handles this well, allowing you to click through each one and see one stream at a time.

Tweetbot: Twitter perfection on iOS

The Tweetbot mobile app (only for iOS) is specific to Twitter only. If you’re focusing on Twitter, which makes sense considering that we’re going mobile and likely tweeting live, it will be the perfect mobile app for you.
What most users enjoy about this app is how it allows them to better mute conversations they don’t want to hear. They can even mute conversations coming from apps that are commonly used to create spam, really quieting the conversation so they can focus on getting more real followers instead of being distracted by auto-tweeted content. That auto-tweeted content is usually just barely above being spam.

Facebook Pages Manager app: Learn about your audience

The mobile app that Facebook have put together focuses on helping Facebook Page admins stay connected with their audience on the go. The app’s features include:
  • Schedule: Photos, links, and short videos.
  • Insights: You can look at condensed reports on your Facebook Page’s activity.
  • Target: You can now target your Boosted Posts based on gender, age, location, and interest categories.
And this all happens from your iOS or Android smartphone anywhere you find time to do it! This is a specialty app for Facebook only, but it really allows you to go deep into your important Facebook Page. I’d recommend pairing it with Tweetbot, the app discussed above, to cover the major social media bases.

Buffer mobile app: Tools and scheduling

The Buffer mobile app has something that every busy social media manager on the go needs: Suggested Stories. These are stories automatically suggested for you by Buffer to share with your audience based on what’s trending, and what you audience’s interests are. When you’re stuck for ideas on what to share while sitting on the bus, this is what you need for inspiration.
Buffer still, of course, has its ability to schedule posts in advance. It also integrates well with many, many other apps. You can see them all on the app’s homepage, but a few include:
  • Zapier
  • If This Then That
  • Social Bro
  • Tweriod
  • Followerwonk
  • Scoop.It
  • Commun.It
Each of these tools will add to your experience using Buffer on mobile, giving you the chance to customize your experience the way you need to.

Wordswag: Create images

Here’s a mobile app you didn’t see coming! What this app does is help you create beautiful pictures with text. It’s kind of like a meme generation site, except with better images, better text layout, and greater ease of use. We all know how much everyone loves images, and we also know that these images are better with text on them. Using Wordswag will give you the ability to:
  • Create visually appealing text layouts with a few taps, rather than hours.
  • Find inspiration for your text overlays with sourced quotes.
If you’re a quote sharer, this app could save you loads of time while also allowing you to work on the go. If you’re not a ‘quotes on pictures’ type of social media user you can still use it to add extra information to your posts where people look most: The images!

Pocket: Read it later and share great content

For social media managers who like to keep up with their followers and competition, the Pocket mobile app can be a big help. All of these mobile apps have been able to help you while you have an Internet connection of some type. But what about those of us who ride the subway sometimes? There’s no connection 100 feet down!
What Pocket does is allow you to save articles, videos, or anything else in a ‘pocket’ of your phone for offline reading and viewing. Take the time to read articles, or watch videos, sent to you by your community and truly engage with them using Pocket when you’re offline.

What the best mobile apps for social media managers can do

Each of the mobile apps above can serve a different function for you. Choosing the one which is ‘the best’ will come down largely to what you want to do while you’re away from your computer:
  • Use Hootsuite to stay on top of multiple accounts and multiple platforms, as always.
  • Use Tweetbot to stay in the most relevant conversations on Twitter.
  • The Facebook Pages App will allow you to interact with your audience, get reports, and schedule content.
  • Buffer’s mobile app will help you find content to share easily.
  • Wordswag will be the graphic designer in your pocket.
  • Pocket will store content for you to read later so you can know more about your audience and competition.
If you’re looking for one app that will do the most of the above, I’d go with Hootsuite. If you want to go deeper I’d start with Hootsuite and then add that one app which best fits your needs.

Matthew is the writer for the Devumi.com blog. You can read his latest thoughts on the world of social, video, and online marketing every Friday. If you like to tweet, send something 140 characters or less to the @Devumi Gorilla.