Everything I use to run my social media agency
Do you ever wish you had a directory of tools that could help you run your business? I know I did when I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey. That's precisely why I decided to create something extraordinary for all those intrepid freelancers and solo business owners out there – a dazzling 'Little Black Book' style blog post. In this post, you'll find tools and resources that I use and recommend to run your business.
From accountancy tools to content creation, productivity to contracts, you’ll find it all in this blog post. I’ve worked hard to get my business to a point where I can invest in the crème de la crème of tools for my business. This allows me to deliver an unparalleled level of service to my valued clients. So, why keep these tools to myself? It's time to share the magic!
So if you need some guidance on what tools will help you run your own business or you’re just feeling super nosy, keep reading.
FYI: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means I’ll get a small kickback or free credit when you sign up using my link. In some cases, you also get a free trial or discount!
Social Media & Marketing Tools
Social Media Scheduling
“What social media scheduling tool do you use?” is one of the number one questions that I get asked.
The answer is Agorapulse. I have been using Agorapulse for the last two and a half years and it is one of the best schedulers I have used. It is more suited to social media managers or agencies because of the cost and the level of features that are available. The automated reports that it provides are amazing and give me a lot more insight than your standard Meta Business Suite features. You can also engage with your audience all in one place, so you aren’t wasting time switching accounts on different social platforms.
Agorapulse.
Email Marketing
Email Marketing has been a big priority for me this year. I use Flodesk, which is a small female-led start-up. We love investing in female founded brands! You can segment your list, build landing pages, and workflows and even set up shops in your emails. It’s very intuitive, easy to use and affordable - Even more so if you use my referral code which will get you a year’s worth of Flodesk at $19 a month (around £15-16 depending on the exchange rate)
Flodesk.
Automation
Automating comments and messages on Instagram to drive sales and traffic is only something I have started to test and roll out recently. For this, ManyChat is one of the best tools to use. You know those posts that say ‘Comment X and I’ll send you the link!’ That process is all automated. As I mentioned in my 2024 Trends blog, growth on Instagram comes from Direct Messages and Stories, so this is a great way to boost that interaction and get conversions.
Get ManyChat here. (Affiliate link with one month free PRO coming soon!)
Content Creation Tools
Graphic Design
Unsurprisingly, like most social media managers and creators, I use Canva for all of the graphic design I do for myself and some of my clients. It really is one of the best, most affordable tools out there. It makes design very accessible to small businesses, and whilst there are still some thing I would turn to a graphic designer for, Canva is a great option for so many reasons. I would recommend getting the pro version, because there is access to so many more features.
If you’re looking for a Canva designer to help you with templates and your graphics, I’d definitely recommend the lovely Georgia from Ray of Social!
Canva Templates
If you’re looking for easy-to-customise Canva templates that get delivered to your inbox every month, Your Template Club by Your Social Team is a great option. It’s relatively affordable and the monthly content packs are super helpful if you are short on time. The templates have been really helpful for me to find a visual identity on Instagram. They also tap into different trends so you know what you are sharing is relevant and up to date!
Photo & Video Editing
For editing my photos, I use Lightroom. It’s free on one device, or you can pay (Around £10 a month) to sync media across your devices. This makes accessing the photos very straightforward as I can upload them on mobile and then edit them on my desktop.
For myself and my clients, I am filming Reels and TikToks. Editing in-app is often quite glitchy, so if I need to stitch lots of clips together, I use CapCut. You can add auto-captions, text overlays, image overlays and SO much more. To be honest I probably don’t use its full functionality but as a video editor, it is certainly one of the best! I pay for the pro version which is inexpensive (Around £70 a year)
Film/Video Equipment
Content creation still forms a big part of my job day to day, whether it’s for myself or clients. I mostly use my Samsung Galaxy S22 which is controversial I know. I think Samsung has a better camera than iPhone! For some shoots, I will also use my Olympus PEN EPL7 if I want a higher quality image.
I recently introduced a Gimble and Microphones to my filming set-up. The DJI Osmo 6 Gimble was SUCH a great investment for me. I love that it has automatic tracking, has the option to use a tripod, or telescopic rod and you can control the phone from the buttons on the little control panel. It’s great for vlogging and keeping your phone stable while filming.
RODE mics are the dream, but if you don’t have a spare £200+, these Lavalier Wireless Microphones are a bit of a steal at under £25. They are ‘plug and go’ so you just plug the USB and then they are connected to the mics. There are two in a set, which is perfect for interviews, vox pops and more. The sound quality is much improved with these!
You can find all the equipment, office essentials and books I love on my Amazon Storefront.
Accountancy, Insurance & Legal Stuff
Accountancy
If you aren’t using an accountancy tool, then you should be. It’s no longer enough to keep your accounts updated with a spreadsheet, and with Making Tax Digital being implemented in 2024, you are going to want an accountancy tool. My accountancy tool of choice is Xero. I raise all my invoices in Xero, which makes paying and reconciliation simple. I have retainer clients who get billed the same amount each month, so these invoices get automated which saves me time too.
Sign up to Xero and get 50% off for the first three months.
If you are looking for an accountant, I recommend Donna Smets at The Financial Collective. If you contact her, be sure to say that I referred you.
Or, if you simply just need someone else to file your tax return, I recommend TaxScouts. For just £149, an accredited accountant will fill in and file your tax return for you. I know for many people, the lingo on HMRC’s website is hugely inaccessible, so this is an ideal service for those who just want their tax return off their to-do list! Click here to get your tax return done by TaxScouts.
Business Insurance
Insurance is a not-so-sexy thing that we should all have. I got my insurance through Simply Business. For small businesses like mine, it was easy to understand what I needed cover for. Professional Indemity is a must if you run a social media agency, Public Liability and Cyber are also key! This blog post is a handy guide to what insurance you need.
Sign up for Simply Business insurance and we will both get a £50 gift card.
Contracts
Contracts were one of my biggest headaches when I started my business. Legal lingo is not something I am au fait with, but I knew I needed watertight contracts to protect myself and set boundaries with my clients. Lucy Legal made everything very straightforward. She sells a huge range of fantastic templates that you need for your business, as well as essential stuff like Terms of Sale and Website Privacy Policies.
For £5,000, you can get EVERY template you need for your business, as well as membership for ‘Legal in my Pocket ‘ to help you understand andy legal issues you might be facing.
Pension
You SHOULD be paying into a pension! If you are a Limited company, your pension contributions also reduce your corporation tax bill. If I’m honest, I find the world of pensions a little confusing, but Penfold makes it VERY easy and accessible. You can also merge your past pensions into your pot and easily keep track of how much you’re putting away each month through their app.
If you sign up with my referral link, we’ll both get £25 in our pension pot.
Admin & Processes
Project Management
My business is literally run on Asana. My CRM, Task Management, Content Planning, team management, client approvals… Yes I am evening planning my wedding in Asana. My brilliant VA, Debs, helped set it all up for me in 2022, and I haven’t looked back! I think it is one of the best project management tools out there. I’ve used Monday.com and Trello and neither hit the mark. Asana is the one!
Find out more about Asana. I use the Advanced Pricing at ~£20 per user.
Booking System
If you host one-to-one calls for coaching or training this tool is for you! Paperbell is a nifty little tool that allows people to book a call in your diary. I used to use Calendly but found it a little clunky. Paperbell is like a hybrid of Dubsado and Calendly. I can upload shared content in Paperbell, which is really useful for my consultancy clients. You can automate emails, add contracts, add group sessions and accept payments through Stripe. It’s helped me manage my time better as I can set availability for specific clients and packages. It only costs me around £350 a year too.
Mobile Phone
If you need a business phone or help with your comms, Mint Technology is the one! They have three decades of experience in IT and Telecoms and offer a bespoke advisory service on everything to do with your telephony, your internet connectivity and your IT and how to integrate them all to allow you to simply get on and do what you do best. Our biggest strength over our competition is having a local dedicated support team to manage and maintain your new phone system (guaranteed no automated responses within office hours) and a dedicated provisioning team to ensure you are kept in the loop throughout the entire process.
Sasha sorted me out with a great deal on my business phone contract. Just mention my name if you decide to use them!
Feedback Forms & Landing Pages
TRACX is an AI-powered marketing platform specifically for small and independent businesses with limited time and resources. It is really easy to use. You can create landing pages, mailing lists, tracking links, email campaigns and bespoke landing pages that you can share on your socials and beyond. I used it to power the feedback forms and data collection for Sophie’s Street Feast last year. It was so helpful in being able to look at trends in customer feedback so we could improve the event for 2024.
Use my referral link and you’ll get a month PRO free!
I hope this blog post was useful! If you have any other tools you’d like to know more about, drop me a message on Instagram.