Here at Bomo DM we have contacts across the globe to advise us on the latest social media trends. The very awesome James Aldous (@JamesAldousPR) is based in sunny California and frequently makes us jealous with tales of life in LA. He is a master networker and social media expert.

Social media utilities can help you make the most of digital marketing at very little cost. The following five utilities recommended by James are free, while some feature upgraded features at a low cost, as little as £3.89 per month.

Hootsuite – a great platform to help you manage Facebook (pages and profiles), LinkedIn, Google+, Foursquare and Twitter content, and simultaneously monitor keywords, competitors and hashtags. You can also use this to schedule content to publish at times when you might be busy doing other things. The Vancouver-based company also provides a ‘Pro’ version ($5.99/£3.89 per month) that has further features including additional team member access, Google Analytics and Facebook Insights integration.

Tweetdeck – I personally prefer the iPhone app rather than the desktop platform, but regardless it still provides a good way to keep up-to-date with conversations and keywords on the move or at your desk. Widely used, and recognised as one of the better tools out there, the company was recently acquired by Twitter (May 2011) as they build out their user management and analytics capability.

Ubersocial – ‘the world’s most popular full-featured Twitter app’. With versions for iPhone, Blackberry and Android, Ubersocial helps find the world’s best Tweeters on particular topics, and aims to generate followers amongst those keen to hear what they say.

Tweeteffect – want to know which of your latest Tweets generated most followers? Or perhaps see what may have caused some of them to stop following you? I find this tool a little unreliable, but can still provide a good indication of what content your followers are likely to be turned on and off by.

Klout – find out the influence your social channels have with Klout’s scoring system. Some recent changes in how they calculate scores downgraded a lot of people’s scores, but this is still a good tool to see who you most influence, and in what subject areas. This is useful as you manage your influencer lists and identify who in your follower base is most responsive to your content. Also, if you’re an ‘influencer’ in certain topics, you could qualify for special offers and gifts through the ‘perks’ program.

What utilities to you use? Tweet us @bournemouth247 and let us know.

Read James’s blog on Telegraph Expat.