Is posting on your business’s social media accounts taking up too much of your valuable time?
Worse are you not able to prioritize your posts and is your social media marketing struggling as a result?
You may be a great candidate for a social media scheduling tool. Scheduling tools aggregate your data and share it across your social media platforms on a schedule that you set.
Maybe you need your “BOGO Friday” social media images to appear at 12:01 AM every Friday morning. Simply load the data into your scheduler and set the date; your info will automatically appear where you need it, when you need it. Another key benefit some services include is content recommendations. So in addition to batch scheduling, you can also receive content suggestions based on a series of ‘interests’ you select when creating your account.
Whether your company is operated by an army of one or you’re looking to grow into a multi-site enterprise, social media scheduler tools can offer your business the support you need to grow your customer base and strengthen your social media presence.
We’ve reviewed the features of 5 popular tools and summarized them below:
Scheduler Tool (Name)Is there a Free Version?KeyBenefitsDrawbacks
| Post Planner | No. The cheapest plan is $9/month | ● Schedule unlimited planned posts (depending on plan) ● Choose a customized tier to fit your unique needs |
Limited to posting on Facebook and Twitter |
| Hootsuite | Yes | ● Aggregate your posts across multiple popular social networks ● Data management tools are provided to track post popularity and ROI |
Lower tier plans are very DIY and require some user knowhow |
| HubSpot | No. The cheapest plan is $200/month, with $600 in onboarding costs | ● Offers comprehensive support for all business components, including web hosting and sales management ● Supports business functions for every aspect of marketing – far beyond social media platforms alone |
Very expensive and billed annually, with mandatory onboarding costs/service fees |
| Buffer | Yes | ● Post to all major social networks ● Compatible for web-based and mobile posting/scheduling |
Individual plans do not offer any social media analytics |
| SproutSocial | Yes – a free 30 day trial | ● Offers social media posting and management ● Option to purchase customer service management for your media pages |
After initial free trial, plans are pricey – upward of $99 a month |
Although some social networks like Facebook have their own built-in scheduling system – the benefit of the above options is that you are able to post to virtually any social network. This software can save you a ton of time and allow you to distribute quality content by giving you the tools you need to set up your posts in advance. Many offer a mobile app as well so you can also post from wherever you are and schedule it whenever you need it to appear.
Using an unlimited graphic design agency to develop your social media content saves you even more valuable time, and can work directly with your scheduler tool to ensure that you never miss an important post again.