Guide • April 11, 2016

11 Essential Tools for Social Media Obsessives

Embrace your inner oversharer with these 11 apps and services

Prime for Instagram

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What’s the best time to workout, buy airline tickets, or hit the hay? More importantly: When should I be posting to Instagram for maximum hearts and views? Get Prime for Instagram (iOS) and let the app’s algorithm suggest the best times. Prime looks at when your followers are online, their relation to you, and a host of additional data points. Decide on a time and schedule in-app.
Buffer

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You’re on all the platforms and more. Simplify your sharing and schedule posts with Buffer, a tool that will automatically schedule posts on multiple platforms and share your content at the best possible times. Instead of flooding your friends and followers with a dozen articles in a row, add posts to Buffer and you’ll have content for days.
Gel

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Meeting people in real life is great, but you don’t really know someone until you’ve gone at least three years into their Facebook timeline. Make sure everyone gets to know you and your vacation photos with Gel, an iOS keyboard that lets you share all your social media handles (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.) in one shot.
Instamap

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We go on vacation for two reasons: 1. To avoid doing work, and 2. To get some killer Instagrams. Before you start snapping, head over to Instamap to see what everyone else near you is posting. That way you’ll know your shot of the Eiffel Tower is way better than everyone else’s.
SoFlow

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Think of your social feeds like ingredients in a cocktail—fine on their own, but when combined, they become something sublime. SoFlow, then, is the highball glass of social apps: Link up your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr profiles into one unified feed and like, retweet, and comment all from one place. Cheers.
Snowball

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You’re a social butterfly. As such, you field emails, messages, and notifications all day long. Clean up and prioritize notifications with Snowball for Android. Snowball (which we covered here) gives you a unified inbox where you can view and reply to all your WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook messages, and more in one place without opening a dozen apps.
Reddit: The Official App

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Reddit is the Walmart of the Internet—it’s got a little bit of everything. Now you can get your fill on the go with the official Reddit mobile app (iOS + Android), which launched last week. Browse subreddits, comment, upvote, and get a free 3-month Reddit gold subscription with features like ad-free browsing and customizable themes when you download the app.
StatShot

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There are a thousand and one places to get analytics on your social channels. Keep it simple with StatShot for Instagram. Sign up to receive daily, weekly, or monthly reports on follower count, reach, likes, and engagement. Connect all your accounts, track hashtags, and include up to five teammates or friends on your reports.
Fenix

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Some may lament that Twitter’s dying. But on Fenix (Android), it’s fresh and very much alive. If you’re an aficionado of Google’s Material Design, you’ll love this app, which delivers the usual Twitter experience in some very slick packaging. Browse your feed, compose tweets, retweet, and favorite on a platform designed specifically for Android.
Legend

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When you need someone to hear you in real life, you speak up. When you need to get some attention online, you make a custom gif on Legend. This handy app (iOS + Android) lets you upload a photo, add a caption, and animate it with a range of movements and filters. Now you can say exactly what you need to say.
GIFit!

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If you’re the kind of person who loves telling people “It’s pronounced JIF, not GIF” then get GIFit!, a Chrome extension for YouTube. Add GIFit! and pull up any YT video. You’ll see an icon sitting right in the video player toolbar that will allow you to set start and end times, quality, and size. Click the big red button and you’re all set!
Everyday Upgrades Guide

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So now that you’ve got your online presence in order, how about your, um, in-real-life presence? Yep, we’ve got a guide for that too, and it’ll show you how to upgrade everything from your toothbrush to your frying pan.