Social media marketing offers an easy and affordable way for businesses to communicate with customers. You can use it to spread information about new products, learn about your target audience, and even complete customer service tasks. But with so many platforms available, managing all your social media accounts manually may seem overwhelming. This is where social media management tools come in. Some of the best social media management tools do have a cost, but there are also free tools available. In this article, I will share some social media management tools you can use in your business.
Benefits of Social Media Management Tools
Social media management tools offer a variety of functions for small businesses. And different management platforms offer various features. Here are some of the most popular ways businesses use them.
- Schedule social media posts: Most basic social media management tools allow you to schedule content in advance. You can either schedule it to post on a specific time and date or put posts into a queue to post regularly.
- Manage multiple accounts: Many businesses manage more than one social media account. So, instead of going to each one manually, social media management tools give you a central dashboard to create content for them all.
- Monitor mentions and conversations: Social media conversations are a two-way street. So, you can use social media management tools to discover when followers mention your brand, use hashtags, or ask questions.
- Curate content: In addition, some social media tools suggest posts or allow you to quickly choose photos, text, or other content to add to your feeds.
- Automate content: Certain social media tools allow you to create repeat posts. So, you don’t have to go in and schedule this content on a recurring basis.
- Discover relevant trends: You may even learn about the things your customers or others in your industry are talking about. By monitoring conversations and trending topics, you may quickly find new things to post about on your own feeds.
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What to look for in a great social media management tool?
The choice of social media management tool for your business will depend on your business’ social media needs. So, evaluate how you currently use these platforms and think about the features that would be most useful to strengthen your social media marketing strategies. Here are some specifics to consider.
- Supports your social media accounts: Some social media management tools support a variety of platforms. Others include just a few. Make a list of all the platforms you currently use. Then, make sure whatever management platform you choose supports all of those sites and/or apps.
- Easy to use: One of the biggest benefits of social media management tools is their ability to save time. So, you don’t want to spend hours navigating a complicated interface or learning about features you will never use. Request a demo or free trial to see if your social media management platform is intuitive.
- Cost effective: Some social media management tools are free. Others come with a cost. Create a budget for your social media marketing efforts and make sure whatever platform you choose fits into it.
- Integrates into your team’s workflow: If you are managing social media accounts with a team, you need a management platform that supports multiple users.
Top Social Media Management Tools
To find the best social media management tools for your small business, check the list below.
1. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media management platforms available. The platform lets you plan campaigns, schedule posts, manage media like photos, monitor messages and mentions, and track relevant analytics.
There is a free plan and paid professional plan available. The free version supports one user and up to three accounts. The paid version is $49 per month and offers advanced features like team accounts, permissions, content assignments, and up to 10 social accounts. There are also larger accounts for big businesses and enterprises. All are available with a 30-day free trial.
2. Buffer
Buffer is a simple social media management platform that aims to help businesses create authentic connections online. You can publish content or add it to a queue to publish periodically on its own. The tool also provides analytics features to monitor post performance and help you find the best times to post and most effective type of content for your brand.
There are both free and paid plans available. The free plan lets you manage up to three accounts and queue up to ten posts at a time. Paid plans range from $15 to $99 per month and offer management for between 8 and 25 accounts.
3. TweetDeck
TweetDeck has mainly been known as a Twitter management platform. In fact, Twitter now owns the tool, which replaces its previous “Dashboard” app that was discontinued back in 2016. You can use it to track conversations, organize posts, and monitor engagement. Basically, you set up multiple streams of content to monitor — maybe one with brand mentions, a specific hashtag, and a Twitter list. Then you can also tweet or manage content from the same dashboard.
TweetDeck is free to use. You just need a Twitter account to sign up. Of course, this doesn’t provide functionality for other social networks. But it’s perfect for those that want to create an advanced presence on Twitter.
4. Hubspot Social Media Software
Hubspot offers a social media management software that is built to facilitate efficiency and authentic connections. You get one dashboard that shows you activity and conversations from all of your social media platforms. You can monitor mentions and respond to customers right from the main dashboard. And you can get reports that show how your social media strategy has impacted your overall marketing efforts.
Hubspot’s social media software is integrated with its other marketing tools. So prices start at $45 each month. But that also includes additional features like landing pages and ad management.
5. MeetEdgar
MeetEdgar is a social media management platform that focuses on automating content. Users get unlimited scheduling of social media posts along with flexible automation features. These include an evergreen content library, auto-generations for creating post variations, and easy scheduling. You can even set up A/B tests to monitor trends and automatically receive engagement updates.
Plans start with Edgar Lite, which lets you manage up to three social accounts for $19 a month. The regular Edgar plan is $49 per month and gives you unlimited posting, tons of automation, and up to 25 social accounts. Both come with a 7-day free trial.
6. Sprout Social
Sprout Social focuses on helping businesses optimize value from their social media strategy. In addition to basic features like publishing and scheduling, the platform offers easy-to-use engagement and analytics features. You can monitor conversations, uncover trends, and see how specific types of content perform over time.
There are various plans to choose from, starting with the standard option for $99 per user per month. This includes up to five accounts, a content calendar, review management, and all-in-one inbox. Each Sprout Social plan also lets you add on specific features like listening and premium analytics to customize the experience. Free trials and demos are also available.
7. Zoho Social
Zoho Social offers flexible scheduling features to meet the needs of a wide array of businesses. Platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google My Business. In addition to basic features, the social media management platform can even analyze when your followers are most active to find the ideal times to post. And since it’s part of the Zoho One Suite, you can integrate it with other tools like Zoho CRM and ads to maximize performance.
Business plans range from $10 to $37.50 per month and come with 15-day free trials. There are also options for social media agencies that need to manage accounts for multiple brands.
8. Later
Later is a marketing platform made specifically for managing Instagram accounts. The social media management tool lets you find or upload photos, videos, and even stories. Then you can arrange your content into a calendar to schedule up to a month’s worth of content in advance.
Accounts for individual users are free. Paid social media management tools for businesses range from $12.50 to $33.33 each month.
9. AgoraPulse
AgoraPulse focuses on helping social media users save time and stay organized. The tool offers publishing, reporting, monitoring, and even team collaboration tools. You get one unified inbox to monitor messages and mentions. This helps you stay up-to-date with conversations and customer service inquiries across platforms. And the intuitive publishing features let you easily create and schedule posts quickly. The company also boasts the top customer support rating in the industry.
There is a free option available for a single user and up to three accounts. Paid accounts start at $79 monthly and include extra features to support extra social networks and small teams.
10. CoSchedule
CoSchedule includes features to let you organize all of your marketing in one place. The marketing software includes a calendar for publishing and automation, along with a marketing suite for managing team workflows. You can use both of these tools together or just choose one. In addition to managing your social media posts, these tools can be used to manage other marketing like blog posts and ad campaigns. So it’s ideal for companies that need to see all of that info together.
The marketing calendar starts at $29 per user per month. And the marketing suite tools are all priced separately. You can request a demo to see them in action.
11. Facebook Publishing Tools
Facebook Publishing Tools are perfect for small businesses that mainly need help organizing their Facebook content. There are a variety of options for managing everything from post scheduling to advertising. Some features, like Creator Studio, even work with Instagram as well. Since each option is a separate function, it takes some time to learn the functionality and navigate the options. But it’s easy to access for any business with a Facebook account.
The Facebook Publishing Tools are generally free for Facebook users. However, some that connect to advertising campaigns may come with additional costs.
12. Social Pilot
SocialPilot is a tool for social media scheduling, marketing, and analytics. The platform is ideal for small businesses that deal with a lot of social networks and a high post volume. You can manage up to 200 accounts and up to 1,000 posts per day. You can also get white label analytics reports and PDFs that dive into your social media strategy and results. Additional features include a central inbox to manage conversations and a team collaboration feature.
Professional plans start at $25.50 per month for one user. The option for small teams costs $42.50. And there’s even an option for agencies that manage accounts for multiple social media clients at $85.
13. Sendible
Sendible is a social media management software made for agencies and marketers. The scheduling and collaboration features are built to help users easily communicate and work with clients and team members. You can create posts, have people check and edit them. Then you can send them to a wide array of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google My Business.
Monthly plans range from $29 to $299. The most basic plan includes one user and up to 12 accounts. You can also request eight quick reports or more to see how your content is performing. This is also an essential part of providing social proof for clients.
14. Tailwind
Tailwind is a scheduling tool build specifically for Pinterest and Instagram. For Instagram, you can schedule posts, get hashtag suggestions, and find the best times to share content. For Pinterest, you can schedule a week’s worth of pins in minutes and access deep analytics to find the best ways to post. Pinterest and Instagram are included in some other social media management tools. But since Tailwind is specific to these platforms, its features are perfect for businesses that focus on these visual platforms.
The Pinterest and Instagram tools are $9.99 monthly each. You can get started free and simply sign up with your accounts on these platforms. There are also add-on products for things like pin creation and content repurposing.
15. eClincher
eClincher offers a social media management tool that can be customized to the needs of each business. There are features optimized for small teams, enterprises, and agencies. You can schedule posts, monitor engagement, manage a media library, collaborate with your team, and view analytical reports. The focus of this platform is on ROI. So everything is optimized to help you determine how effective your time and monetary investments are. Then you can focus on the social media activities that are most efficient.
The basic plan starts at $59 per month for one user. And there are also premier and agency accounts for $119 and $219, respectively. All options also come with a free trial and live demo options so you can get to know their features.
16. SEMRush Social Media Toolkit
SEMRush’s social media toolkit offers a variety of functions that you can manage in one centralized dashboard. This tool includes support for social profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google My Business. You can schedule posts and find the best times to share content. There’s also functionality for boosting posts, creating ads, and even tracking competitors.
The social media management software is integrated into SEMRush’s other marketing management tools. Prices start at $119 monthly. And free trials are available.
17. Social Bee
Social Bee is a social media management tool that specializes in helping small businesses collect leads. You can schedule and automate posts. And the platform offers custom URLs and tracking features so you can see the exact impact your social media posts are having on your sales and marketing efforts.
Prices range from $19 to $79 per month. And a 14 day free trial is available for all plans.
18. Crowdfire
Crowdfire is a social media manager that lets you curate, publish, and analyze content. The curation section includes a selection of relevant articles from thousands of sources. You can even create an RSS feed of custom items and curate images from across the web. There’s also a social inbox to help you easily monitor conversations and respond when necessary.
There’s a free plan available that lets you monitor up to three social profiles. Paid plans range from $7.48 to $74.98 per month.
19. Ripl
Ripl is a social media management tool that focuses on creating easy, branded, animated videos for social media use. You can select design elements like your logo, colors, and fonts. Then the tool offers templates, stock visuals, and effects to easily integrate into your content.
The tool starts at $14.99 monthly. And a 7 day free trial is also available.
20. Loomly
Loomly touts its service as a brand success platform. You can use it to gather inspiration for posts, create content, optimize posts, automate publishing, and manage team workflow. The social media management platform even integrates with social ad features and analytics tools. So you can use it as part of a larger marketing strategy.
Plans range from $25 to $249 per month. All of them allow multiple users to manage accounts. But the upgraded accounts come with higher ad budgets, custom workflow tools, branding, and IM integrations.
21. Iconosquare
Iconosquare offers actionable analytics for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can manage multiple accounts from one dashboard. And the social media management tool can then tell you the best times to post and the types of posts that receive the most engagement. There’s also a scheduler that includes functions for posts, comments, and extra features like location tagging.
Plans for small businesses start at $29.99 per month. And you can pay more for advanced features aimed at larger teams and agencies.
22. Everypost
Everypost is a social media management tool that focuses on helping users curate visual content. You can integrate a variety of platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. And the social media management tool pulls content from around the web to make it easy for you to find the most relevant posts.
There’s a free plan available for one user. Paid versions of the social media software range from $9.99 to $99.99 monthly and let you manage between 10 and 120 channels.
23. Nuvi
Nuvi is a social media management tool that focuses on advanced features like social listening and strategic planning. It stands out from other social media management tools because of its team collaboration and analytical features.
Nuvi offers specific products for functions like social listening and campaign planning. So you can customize the experience and pricing to your exact needs.
24. Friends+Me
Friends+Me lets you create and schedule content to post nearly anywhere across the web. The social media management tool offers team support, cross promotion, bulk scheduling, and even browser extensions.
There’s a free plan available that lets you schedule up to five posts across two queues. Paid plans range from $7.50 to $215.84.
25. MavSocial
MavSocial aims to create a more streamlined experience than users can find on other social media management software options. In addition to supporting the most popular social media sites like Facebook, MavSocial also supports chat apps, Facebook Messenger, and Tumblr. Users get a social inbox to help you manage your social media mentions and interactions. And there’s an easy interface for scheduling.
Plans range from $19 to $499 per month. And there’s a 14 day free trial available for the social media management tool.
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