Life as a social media manager and business owner can be very hectic. Here is a look at four of my favourite tools that help keep me organised and streamline my workday as much as possible.

1: Metricool

This is an amazing scheduling platform. Over the 13 years I’ve been a social media manager I’ve used a lot of different scheduling tools. I’ve tried Hootsuite, Sprout, Meta Business Suite, Later, Buffer - you name it, I’ve tried it!

When I came across Metricool I breathed an instant sigh of relief. It was so easy to navigate, I loved how it clearly showed the optimal times to post for Facebook and Instagram and that I was able to edit images and find hashtag suggestions within the platform.

You can get an account for free and it has really good features on that plan. As I’m running a social media management business, I do have the paid plan which is about $35NZD a month. This allows me to add multiple client accounts and access more of their analytics features.

A glimpse at what the scheduling view looks like in Metricool.

The analytics section is another reason I’m a big fan of Metricool. I can easily see which posts have done well, measure my progress against competitors and also generate custom reports which can be exported. This really helps to streamline my monthly client reporting workflow.

The analytics section is easy to understand and navigate through. I like how it shows you whether the numbers have increased or decreased for the time period.

You can check out Metricool for yourself here: www.metricool.com

2: Dubsado

For client management, Dubsado is my go-to. From the moment a new client project or enquiry comes to my inbox, Dubsado keeps everything streamlined.

I can add notes, tasks, send proposals, questionnaires, and contracts all from Dubsado.. It's been a game-changer for simplifying the administrative side of my business and making it easy for clients to work with me.

You can check out Dubsado here: https://www.dubsado.com/

I know pricing can be of concern so in the interests of being super transparent (and hopefully helpful), I paid $260NZD for a yearly subscription to Dubsado. I did use a code for 20% off too.

3: The Productivity Method Notion template

I am in the process of switching over to working fully from Notion - currently I’m going between Trello, Google Drive, my whiteboard and my paper diary. But building a custom Notion space can take time!

I have been a fan of The Productivity Method’s physical diary for a couple of years now and last year they released a digital version of the diary on Notion. You can read up about how this method of productivity works here: https://productivitymethod.com/pages/about-us

It’s been a game changer for me! As well as planning my months, weeks and days, this Notion dashboard is also where I keep track of business goals and learnings from business books I’ve read or masterclasses I’ve watched. I can also keep track of larger projects in this Notion dashboard too.

This is what the weekly planning section looks like.

4: Google Sheets Content Calendar template

My Google Sheets content calendar template is what I use to not only plan my client’s content but also my business social media content too.

The first time I sent this template to a new monthly management client she said ‘I LOVE this system. You’ve clearly worked with overwhelmed comms managers before!’.

While there are a ton of content planning templates out there, I’ve found a lot of them to look really pretty but they are just too complicated to use. This template is super simple and will bring order, simplicity and fun to your planning process each month.

Why you'll love this template

Intuitive design: user-friendly dropdowns make categorising content a piece of cake.
Customisable: tailor it to your business's unique needs. It's flexible like that.
Collaborative: share with your team and plan together seamlessly.

And that’s a wrap!

While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for streamlining your workday, these tools have significantly impacted how I work and how much I can achieve in a day. They’ve allowed me to save time, streamline processes, and feel more on top of my workload.

For small business owners and fellow social media managers looking to refine their workflow, trying out these tools could be the first step towards feeling a little less stressed and a little more organised.

And if you're looking to elevate your content planning game, consider investing in my Content Calendar Template. It's designed to bring clarity, efficiency, and effectiveness to your social media planning sessions, giving you back the time to focus on growing your business and engaging with your community.