With a smart phone in today’s world, there are several essential apps that come in very handy. At times it seems as if you can’t function at all without these, they’ve become so useful to us.

Regardless of whether you like or dislike social media, it seems as if it’s here to stay… at least for the foreseeable future. I’ve read many blog posts about abandoning social media for simplicity. While I think I understand what they are saying, and agree to a point, I find that I cannot do the same.

There are simply too many people that I connect with only through social media, and to give it up would be to abandon those relationships as well.

And so there are a series of apps that I find extremely helpful on this front.

My Top 5 Social Media Apps

Facebook

This is the monstrous social media beast that almost everyone seems to use. With so many people connected through Facebook, it makes sense to have an account. Despite the fact that privacy settings and cosmetic changes continually occur, it is a very helpful tool, especially since it is free. You can download it in the App Store.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a powerful social media manager that can help maintain almost all the major social media sites out there. At the most basic level, it is free, but you can pay a monthly fee for enhanced capabilities. Hootsuite syncs across all my platforms, allows me to schedule posts and tweets, and much more. It’s free in the App Store.

Instagram

While Facebook has a pretty decent photography arsenal, Instagram takes it to a whole new level. Every post is image or video oriented, and there are several different filters and effects that you can add to a photo before posting it. It also connects to most of the other social media networks too. You can get it for free in the App Store.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn focuses more on the professional side of social media, allowing connections based on skills and abilities. I don’t use this a frequently as some of the others, but it still comes in handy at times. This app is also free in the App Store.

Plugged In

While not a social media app exactly, the Plugged In app is extremely helpful in determining whether a movie, TV show, video game or band is worth watching, playing or listening to. Plugged In is a ministry of Focus On The Family, and shines a light of the entertainment industry, helping me to know what my family is absorbing in the media we take in. You can access it on their website, or you can grab it for free in the App Store.

Bonus: Downcast

I really enjoy listening to podcasts, and have several different shows that I subscribe to. Over the course of time, I’ve found that the native app on the iPhone isn’t the greatest when it comes to organizing and downloading these. Enter Downcast. This app allows me to download, organize, and listen to multiple podcasts without ever needing to sync them through iTunes. Although it is currently $2.99 in the App Store, this is well worth the price.

There are a few other sites and apps that I use occasionally in the realm of social media, but these few apps cover an overwhelmingly large majority of my needs in this area. However, with the continually, and swiftly changing face of social media, this could change pretty easily. Until then, these are my go-to apps.

Question: What social media apps do you have that help you be more efficient? Are there any that you can’t imagine doing without? You can leave a comment by clicking here.