Good morning!
Welcome to Social Studies.
Brought to you by the 47 browser tabs you have open right now and the subscription you forgot to cancel.
Find customers on Roku this holiday season
Now through the end of the year is prime streaming time on Roku, with viewers spending 3.5 hours each day streaming content and shopping online. Roku Ads Manager simplifies campaign setup, lets you segment audiences, and provides real-time reporting. And, you can test creative variants and run shoppable ads to drive purchases directly on-screen.
Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.
Here are my favorite tools in no particular order.
This post contains affiliate links
1. SCHEDULING TOOL
My Pick: Vista Social
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Vista is hands down the best smm tool in terms of features per dollar. It has single-handedly replaced every tool that I use for publishing, reporting, listening, link-in-bio, and advocacy.
2. DESIGN TOOL
My Pick: Canva
Everyone knows the word Canva for a reason. It's cliche to recommend them, but tbh I use it multiple times per day.
3. AI CHAT TOOL
My Pick: Abacus.AI
Idk what they're doing or how they're doing it, but you can use any of the big name LLMs for less than the price you'd pay for one individually.
4. PODCAST CREATION
My Pick: PodcastVideos.com
Technically this isn't an online tool. It's a podcast studio in NW Arkansas. They've put way more money into cameras, mics, and environment than I could ever afford. It's underrated to have a spot where you can pay an affordable price and have someone else set everything up and press record.
5. AI IMAGES
My Pick: Ideogram
They've got an ability to create and set a custom color palette so every image has your brand vibe without a logo. 10/10
6. NEWSLETTERS
My Pick: beehiiv
No shade on other platforms, but with the hiiv, you actually own your audience. Other platforms let you rent space from them by taking a cut of whatever you make. I don't dig that.
7. AI SHORTS
My Pick: Vizard.ai
I've tried Riverside and Opus for this and just wasn't getting what I wanted. I've heard that Opus has gotten loads better since I last used it, but lately Vizard has been crushing it for me.
8. MARKETING STRATEGY
My Pick: StoryBrand AI
Like any good marketer, I'm a big fan of Donald Miller and his StoryBrand framework. Their AI tool is unbelievable at walking you through their process and creating the assets for you.
9. AI VIDEO
My Pick: Google DeepMind Veo3
It ain't perfect, but it's pretty darn good and beats anything I've ever used by a country mile.
10. AI ADS
My Pick: Creatify AI
I just started using this, but so far I've been blown away. I'm a big fan of the phrase "volume always wins" and this tool seems like it makes volume incredibly easy. Tbd on whether I'll use it on the long term, but so far so good.
11. MEME MARKETING
My Pick: Memelord Technologies
Be smart. Don't get sued. Even if you don't actually use all (or even any) of the memes, Jason Levin’s email that tells you what's trending and why is invaluable. On the software side, he's created a Canva for memes that's absolutely dope. Again... be smart. Don't get sued.
WORK TOGETHER?
Want to reach tens of thousands of social media pros? Reply to this email to collab.
P.S. - If you have a tool you swear by that I didn't mention, reply and tell me about it. I'm always looking for hidden gems.

