Every social media manager has read a statistic about the best time to tweet or advice on what to post on Facebook pages. But savvy social media managers know that every audience is different. So although the social media research is useful, it’s important to test those assumptions with your own audience.

Social analytics don’t have to be a black box. There are tools out there that make it possible to track important metrics for your social sharing program.

Conservatives, rarely lacking significant resources, can afford to drop big money on paid advertising to get their message in front of millions of people. Progressives will need to think outside the box if they want to compete.