What comes to your mind when you see the term “Social Media Scheduling Platform”? Well, for a lot of people, they just think of it as some tools that render convenient shortcuts to queue up posts. But what you need to understand is that these tools are not just limited to helping you queue your posts conveniently. Using the right tools can help your overall social media management process, enhancing your efficiency so that you have more time to produce great content and develop relationships with your followers. Also, read our post about the social media calendar. We are sure it will be really helpful.
Now that you know why you need to start using these tools, you might be confused as to which of the many tools out there to choose and this is where we can help.
Here’s our list of the top social media schedulers for you:
1. HootSuite
Just like every other scheduling tool, Hootsuite allows you to schedule posts that you wish to publish at your preferred time in the future. In case you’re just a beginner and you’re just trying out scheduling tools, you can enjoy the free plan which limits you to scheduling 30 messages across three social profiles.
The $45 / month Professional plan is more usable, allowing you unlimited scheduling across 10 social profiles. At this level, you can set up bulk scheduling as well.
If you have more serious social media scheduling needs, there are also the following plans: a $129 / month Professional plan and a $599 Business plan, each adding additional features.
Here are a couple of facts about Hootsuite that you need to know:
- Hootsuite doesn’t have a Social Inbox. You will have to manually engage with each follower by logging in to each social media account separately.
- It doesn’t offer the ability for you to find influencers.
- Hootsuite has the basic team features, plus post-approval and custom branded URLs.
- Hootsuite only supports networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, WordPress.
2. Sprout Social
This tool allows you to both schedule and post across multiple networks. With its calendar feature, it provides marketing teams with a bird’s eye view of what’s being published and promoted on a daily basis.
Plans range from $99 to $249 per month, after a free 30-day trial.
A couple of facts about Sprout Social that you need to know:
- Sprout Social comes along with amazing publishing features. Apart from the basics, there are a few more customized features.
- Sprout Social has the social inbox. It also has social monitoring and keyword searching features which are great for your brand as they help you monitor it on social media.
- Sprout Social doesn’t have an influencer search feature.
- Sprout Social’s supported networks are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
3. Buffer
Buffer is one of the most established social media management tools out there. It has features like publishing with a queue, engagement, analytics, and team features.
Buffer operates a freemium model. You’re allowed to schedule 10 social updates for free. If you opt for a paid plan, unlimited scheduling is allowed.
Here are a few facts about Buffer:
- Buffer has the RSS feed that helps you publish posts from blogs.
- With a product called Reply, Buffer allows its users the ability to have social engagement with their followers. This product only supports Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram comments and its costs range from costs $50-$225/month, 1 user for each connected profile.
- Buffer has a restricted team feature. It allows a user to add team members and give them permissions to manage various social media pages.
- Buffer only supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest.
When you work with the right digital marketing agency, they can help make sure you’re using the best social media scheduling platforms. Talk to us today to enquire about our services.