- Jenny Weller
Top Social Media Management Software for Small Businesses
Social media is a powerful tool to connect with new clients and grow your business. But, it takes up a surprising amount of time and can be tough to grow organically. With multiple platforms to maintain and create content for, it’s essential to be consistent in your messaging and branding. Whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram, social media platforms are the ideal place to rub some personality into your business. Show your clients who you are and what your company stands for.
Constantly posting on social media platforms is a daunting task for any business, no matter how big or small. Keeping your social media channels active and engaging is by no means an easy job. If you are a team of one, you likely double up as a fitness instructor and social media manager. It’s essential to find tools that streamline your social media efforts and make the most of your 24 hours. The right tools increase productivity and, ultimately, save time.
With so many great social media management tools to choose from, let’s break them down to help you pick the right one.
Hootsuite was one of the first social media managers that allow users to view multiple social media accounts in one place. It’s a good management tool and easy to use that works for both individuals and larger teams. You can schedule posts across multiple platforms and keep on eye on any business mentions, relevant keywords, or hashtags.
It can integrate over 20 social media networks in one environment, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Hootsuite features analytics, post-approval, social listening tools, and team management.
Pricing: Free and premium plan starts at $29 per month.
Buffer is an excellent option for scheduling and managing organic social media content. It’s very user-friendly and easy to navigate. The clean layout makes scheduling straightforward, and it includes some tools to make your content better. Buffer features the image editor Pablo and a video and GIF uploader.
As Buffer focuses on creating content and scheduling posts, it doesn’t contain social media monitoring. Free and low-cost plans have limited social network integration, so this is something to keep in mind. Its main selling point is that it makes scheduling posts super easy.
Pricing: Free and premium plans starting at $12 per month.
SproutSocial is similar to Hootsuite in the way it allows you to monitor, schedule, and manage several social media platforms in one place. On the more expensive side, SproutSocial is ideal for a more established online presence looking to expand their social media. A bonus of SproutSocial is that it includes customer relationship management features. This helps to give you a full profile of your clients.
One way SproutSocial is unique is that it delivers incredible reports. The reports are clear and well-designed. If you need to provide reports often and this is important to you, SproutSocial is very useful.
Pricing: $99 per month.
Crowdfire is a social media tool built to drive social media engagement and growth. As you would expect, it comes with all the bells and whistles of a social media management tool. Crowdfire allows you to schedule and publish content, create reports, and monitor mentions across multiple platforms.
A bonus of Crowdfire is that it lets you connect your YouTube channel, blog, and online store. This allows you to create social media posts based on the updates on your channel, blog, and shop.
Pricing: Free with premium plans starting at $9.99
Zoho Social is a complete social media management tool to monitor mentions, schedule posts, and create reports. It has robust analytics and social media listening tools to help you grow your business. If you’re serious about kicking your social media up a gear, Zoho Social is a great option.
It’s simple, easy to use, and you can get started in minutes. It offers pretty good value for money. An added benefit is that it has flexible scheduling. You can choose to schedule your posts at the times when your audience is most active.
Pricing: Free with premium plans starting at $15
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