Content discovery tools are the best thing since sliced bread - for the content marketer at least. With so much being said and written about content marketing, its significance needn't be explained; especially now in the era of Web 2.0 when search engines have sharpened their focus on high-quality content.
To drive sales and grow consistently businesses today must focus on content marketing as much as other traditional approaches to marketing. The content shared needs to be engaging and must add value. It is also important to ensure that such high-value, high-engagement content is created steadily and consistently. And content discovery tools make it easier to find and share relevant content from across the web.
So here they are - four of the niftiest, most easy-to-use tools that can help boost a company's content marketing efforts while keeping costs and efforts low.
Not only does Hootsuite allow the user to discover great (entertaining, engaging and shareable) content online, but it also lets them manage multiple social media accounts using a single Web-based dashboard.
Hootsuite's Suggested Content feature takes into account the user's post history on social media, say Twitter, analyzes the Tweets that have been interacted with, and then makes Tweet recommendations based on the posts that have been most well-received. The user has the option of scheduling the suggested posts automatically, or viewing them and posting/removing them as you wish. Not just the suggested posts, a user can also schedule all Hootsuite discovered posts in advance from the dashboard.
In addition, Hootsuite allows the user to monitor and measure engagement metrics, such as likes, shares, conversations and social media conversions. Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and a host of other analytics help measure and fine-tune the content marketing strategy in an easy, efficient and cost-effective way.
Scoop.it is another popular content discovery tool that allows the user to discover and share content in an easy and efficient way. Scoop.it however, wins some extra points over Hootsuite, because of its sharing platform. A user can share the "scoops" that he/she discovers through a simple keyword search across the largest selection of social networks, using the tool's highly customizable sharing platform.
On a personal Scoop.it dashboard, the user can create different Web pages, which are called "topics" and then add content pieces or scoops to it. For instance, take the topic "Best Social Media Tools," give Scoop.it some relevant keywords, and click on "Create." The app generates a continuous stream of suggested scoops (see screenshot below) that can be added to the dashboard and shared easily. The user may also choose to publish posts using other social media tools, widgets and RSS feeds.
DrumUp has a fresh take on content discovery and social media presence management. The app simplifies both content discovery and sharing, while providing an array of customization options for both. It is a cool, clean app that needs little input to get rolling.
The user simply has to key-in the content themes, and the app will identify popular content from the Web, relevant to the selected audience. The posts to the user's Facebook and Twitter pages are scheduled according to the time zone input, and the user can run the app in manual share or auto-share mode. Completely fresh, custom posts can be added and scheduled as well. Since DrumUp is currently in process of acquiring early users, it is currently available for free.
Another cool and clean app for content discovery and social media management, Buffer likes to keep things conventional. The app supports the "big four" of social networks - Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn, allowing the user to seamlessly share great content across the four platforms with supreme ease.
It allows the user to schedule posts days, weeks and months in advance. There is a "Suggestions" feature on Buffer as well, which picks popular content across different categories such as marketing, business and startups, inspiration, lifehack or simply, Buffer picks. While DrumUp is a free tool, you can use Buffer for free for a limited time.
Author Bio:
Jessica Davis is a senior contributor from the Godot Media team, a leading content marketing company. She tracks social media and content marketing space closely.