Social media management tools let you create, schedule and publish posts, tweets and pins across multiple social platforms.
All from one dashboard.
With built-in analytics, curation tools that find relevant, shareable content and social inboxes that make interacting with followers a breeze, these tools help freelancers and small-business owners take their social presence to the next level.
Ready to improve your social media strategy and save yourself loads of time? Check out these five tools.
Have a budget but want loads of features? Try Hootsuite.
Free to $499 per month
Biz.me readers routinely sing the praises of Hootsuite, and for good reason. This popular social media management app is used by more than 15 million people to create, curate and schedule content, manage social media ads, measure analytics and engage with followers.
The free plan gives you access to the app’s analytics as well as the ability to monitor keywords. And, it allows for up to 30 scheduled posts per month for up to three profiles.
The professional plan goes a step further, allowing for up to 10 linked profiles and unlimited post scheduling. At only $19.99 per month, it’s perfect for most small businesses.
Tips for use:
- See what people are posting on Instagram while inside your store with location search streams. And, track what people are saying about your brand on other platforms using the geolocate filter.
- Regram like a pro without screenshots and editing. Hootsuite does all the work for you, allowing you to share another user’s Instagram post directly from the dashboard.
- Experience the wonders of Hootlet. This Chrome extension allows you to schedule or publish content you find while browsing the internet.
Crazy about loads of data? Check out Sprout Social.
$99 to $249 per month
Ready to get serious with your social media management? Sprout Social offers multiple features, including post scheduling, analytics and monitoring, all on one platform. But it also goes beyond social media management with several tools for customer relationship management.
The cheapest plan gives you access to the platform’s complete line of social media management tools as well as the ability to monitor profiles, keywords and locations. Link up to 10 profiles to your account, and draft, schedule and publish unlimited posts.
The $149 per month plan includes reports on trends, engagement, productivity and competitors. Unique targeting and reporting options, all available on a single platform, streamline your social media use.
Tips for use:
- Learn everything you need to know about your followers with Sprout Social’s Group reports. Find out their ages, genders, location and how they engage with your brand on social media.
- Find timely, relevant content to share with Content Suggestions. This tool pulls links and content from various social channels based on your business and social media use.
- Keep shareable media directly on your dashboard with the Asset Library. From here, you can add filters, adjust sizing, incorporate text and make minor edits before scheduling or publishing the post, tweet or pin.
Targeting a small local area? Agorapulse has you covered.
$49 to $299 per month
For business owners who want loads of data but only need to target a small audience, Agorapulse offers the perfect balance of features and cost. It works for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, allowing you to track keywords and brand mentions as well as schedule posts.
Despite some limitations, Agorapulse gives you plenty of bang for your buck. The analytics track engagement, shares and mentions. And, they provide detailed reports on potential influencers you could work with, when your audience is most likely to engage with your post and who makes up your audience. All with the platform’s cheapest plan.
Tips for use:
- Take full advantage of the social inbox by saving different replies so you can quickly respond to messages without actually typing.
- Track the engagement and reach of specific campaigns with the post tag feature. At the end of the campaign, the tags will be included in the reports so you can comb through data quicker.
- Create a rule to track and flag any social comments aimed at your profile with words commonly contained in support questions (like who, why, where, how, question, etc.). Any time a message comes through with one of the words you include, the filter groups them so you never overlook a customer in need.
Need something cheap but powerful? Buffer is the go-to.
Free to $399 per month
Robust yet incredibly easy to use, Buffer is another favorite with Biz.me readers. Plan and schedule posts for Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn, all with the platform’s super intuitive dashboard.
Buffer’s free plan is perfect if you’re just dipping your toe into the world of strategic social media use. Link up to three profiles to your account and schedule up to 10 posts per month, including images, videos and gifs. Although the free plan doesn’t give you access to analytics or allow you to post to Pinterest, it’s a good starting point for newbies.
Buffer’s $15 per month plan is ideal for those who don’t need to schedule several hundred posts per month. Link up to eight social profiles (including your Pinterest account) and schedule up to 100 posts per month. With this plan, you also get access to Buffer’s calendar, RSS feed and social analytics tools.
Tips for use:
- Create custom schedules for each of your profiles to target audiences based on when they’re most active on specific platforms.
- Use Buffer’s Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Opera browser extension to share content from anywhere on the web, all directly from your browser. It also works for scheduling retweets!
- Integrate Buffer with your favorite apps to turn the platform into a truly all-in-one content curating and automation tool. Check out their list of compatible apps.
Don’t want a bunch of bells and whistles? EveryPost offers the basics.
Free to $99.99 per month
If you have an affinity for visual content over written, and you like to have plenty of customization options, EveryPost is worth a try. Post to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and more, and customize each post for the specific platform it will appear on.
While EveryPost does have a free option, it only works for one social media profile and you can only schedule 10 posts per month. However, the $9.99 per month plan opens a world of opportunities, letting you link up to 10 profiles and schedule an unlimited number of posts.
Tips for use:
- Curate content from Instagram, YouTube, Flickr and RSS feeds directly from your dashboard.
- Use the built-in analytics to figure out how frequently you should post, the best time to post, track campaign engagement and see how your brand is doing compared to competitors.
- Check out EveryPost’s custom scheduling option. Instead of sending out the same post to multiple profiles at once, create separate schedules for each profile.
Ready for more ideas on maximizing social media for your business? Check out these exclusive Biz.me posts:
- Marketing and selling on the world’s largest social media platform
- A comprehensive guide to marketing and selling on Instagram
- The ultimate guide to selling and marketing to 70 million Pinterest users
- Dive into the conversation: a guide to marketing, networking and cultivating relationships on Twitter
Biz.me is not affiliated with or endorsing any product mentioned or linked to in this article.
