The average person spends up to two hours a day on social media. Whether they are liking Facebook posts are commenting on Instagram pictures, social media is a popular boredom killer. Pinterest is especially great for businesses, as 93% of people who use the platform want to make purchases. Each social media account has the potential to reach millions of untapped customers. The day of the billboard is over. Social media is the new king of advertising.

Sadly, online marketing can be quite expensive. You might spend thousands of dollars and see minimal returns. You want to cut your costs as much as possible. One great way to do this is by utilizing free social media marketing tools. Here are some great ideas:

Facebook Page Insights

Get a closer look at your audience with Facebook Page Insights. Find out the demographics of who likes your page. This will help you segment your marketing strategy based on factors like age and gender. Get some insight into your consumers to maximize your next marketing strategy.

Fanpage Karma

Sometimes you need to know what your competitors are up to. Fanpage Karma allows you to get the analytics of your rivals. You can see what kind of posts are driving the most traffic and use that valuable information to your own advantage.

TweetDeck

With over 330 million monthly active users, Twitter is the place to be. TweetDeck helps maximize your Twitter game by allowing you to manage several accounts, create collections, and track data. It’s almost impossible to describe the breadth of its uses, but it’s quite easy to see why TweetDeck is possibly the most popular free Twitter tool.

Buffer

Sometimes you want to post content without physically being at the computer. Buffer allows you to schedule posts on Twitter, Facebook, and more. You can optimize your strategy by scheduling posts during peak times where more people are viewing their social media apps. The app also tracks follower activity and gives suggestions to best times. You can buy company plans for more expensive rates, but individual use is cost-free.

Hootsuite

This handy app allows you to view and manage multiple accounts on different platforms. You can easily view your feeds on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more. Compare them side-by-side to glean useful insights. Like Buffer, Hootsuite is free but offers pricing plans for greater capabilities.

Google Alerts

You’ll get a notification every time someone mentions your company or keywords on a social media site. This helps you determine which platforms your audience members are interacting with and driving traffic to your webpage. You can then use this information to decide which social media websites are best at bringing in customers.

Qzzr

Are you a fan of shareable Buzzfeed-like quizzes? If so, this app is for you. Qzzr allows you to create simple and fun quizzes that people love to share with their friends. Perhaps you won’t ask your audience members which Gilmore Girls character they are if they can distinguish between Bible verses and heavy metal lyrics, but you can still make fun content to drive audience interaction and sales.

TrendsMap

Hashtags on Twitter are all the rage these days. With billions of tweets being sent every single day, everyone has something to talk about. TrendsMap helps discover which hashtags are popular in your area. You can capitalize on trends to drive up awareness and interaction.

NeedTagger

You can find the right customers through this handy tool. NeedTagger finds out which Twitter users have been asking about certain things on Twitter. For example, if you offer car repair services, NeedTagger will help you find everyone on Twitter who has been asking about car repairs.

Conclusion

Who needs to shell out a ton of money for social media marketing? Small businesses and startups often have a very limited budget to work with, so they cannot afford fancy strategies. These helpful and free tools will make up for that by driving traffic and audience interaction.