BTS of a social media manager: the tools I use day-to-day
Letting you in on the apps, workflows and general tools that streamline my working life
Over four years of freelancing, I have tried and tested many, many apps, workflow platforms, editing software and other useful tools to streamline the tasks that come with being self-employed. Here’s what I’m using currently to manage all the different elements of being a freelancer:
CANVA PRO
An oldie, but a goodie! Canva is a social media manager’s dream - there is a free version, but if you do a lot of editing there and require tools such as the background remover, the paid plan is excellent value. I primarily use it for video editing and creating artwork for social media posts. Where the platform really comes into its own is with pre-existing assets (logos, colour palettes, and graphics from the Canva library), which you can upload and edit together to create a really swish graphic. I’ve also designed logos for my own brand using Canva before, but a professional graphic designer should really be your go to for creating those initial assets that you can then utilise on Canva.
CAPTIONS APP
This clever little smartphone app also has a desktop version, and I use both pretty much every single day to caption podcast clips and videos for social media. It’s an automatic captions app, but what sets it apart for me is the sheer choice of fonts and styles, ability to customise colours and upload colour palettes and the accuracy of the captions themselves (for the most part). When the timing is slightly off or a spelling is wrong, the app makes it incredibly easy to edit the captions until they’re perfect. LOVE. IT.
TRELLO
I use Trello to manage my workflows - I have a Trello ‘board’ for my personal to-do list and then separate boards for each of my clients. It’s in a similar vein to Asana or Monday, but it’s much, much simpler and cleaner with less bells and whistles, and it’s also free, so that’s a bonus. There are paid memberships, but you get a LOT of functionality on the free plan, unlike many of the other workflow platforms I’ve come across. It makes the planning, copywriting and approval process for every social media post super smooth and easy, and I can keep track of my tasks each day/week/month which is life-changing honestly.
GOOGLE WORKSPACE
My professional email runs through Google Workspace, which includes Google Drive, Sheets, Docs and Slides and Google Meet. Google Meet is without a doubt the best platform that I have come across for video calls, and the workspace allows me to streamline everything when it comes to my calendar and collaborating on projects with clients.
DROPBOX and iCloud
I am slightly militant when it comes to backing up my files, so Dropbox is truly my bestie. As a social media manager, I always have tons of videos, photos and screenshots on my phone, so I also pay monthly for extra iCloud storage so that my phone storage isn’t taken up by the 29,000 files I have on there (I know, I know).
WHATSAPP
WhatsApp is a godsend for easy back and forth with my clients, be it photos, videos, content ideas or draft copy for approval while on the move. Many of the people I work with are often out and about and need to be able to quickly send me content to post, and although iMessage is generally better as it doesn’t decrease the quality of images and videos, it isn’t significant enough for it to be a real issue. Emma Reed Turrell and I designed the logo for her new podcast, Friendship Therapy, entirely through WhatsApp and it was such a quick and easy process.
Thanks for reading!
Lauren x