Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. YouTube. Pinterest. LinkedIn. Many small businesses are on at least 3 of these platforms. Managing each account can be overwhelming, so social media management platforms were developed to help content managers manage their time and content. There are many good social media manager platforms available to small businesses, so it feels like a repeat of that overwhelming feeling. Which one do I use? How much is it? Is it easy to use?
We want to help you make the best decision for your business regarding social media management, so we are going to share our top 3 recommendations. There are pros and cons to every platform, but in our experience, the following 3 are the best for small businesses.
Buffer has been around for a while and is well established. It gives you the control you need to plan, collaborate, and publish content. Buffer has many features including tailored posts, a calendar, scheduling, analytics, and a workflow with an approval process. Through a 3rd party premium add-on, you can support comments for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Supported Networks:
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn
Pricing:
$15/month for 8 social accounts, 100 scheduled posts and 1 user
$65/month for 8 social accounts, 2,000 scheduled posts and 2 users
$99/month for 25 social accounts, 2,000 scheduled posts and 6 users
Hootsuite, also well established, not only gives you control, but also allows you to bulk schedule. The platform has features to create content for several social media accounts at the same time, scheduling, approval process, custom branded URLS, and analytics.
Supported Networks:
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, WordPress
Pricing:
$45/month for 10 social profiles, unlimited posting and 1 user
$129/month for 20 social profiles, unlimited posting and 3 users
$599/month for 35 social profiles, unlimited posting and up to 10 users
SocialPilot is one of the newer tools. It has been around for a couple of years and proves to be considered. It’s platform is simpler with more profiles and good pricing. SocialPilot’s simplicity is appealing because it offers many features in one dashboard such as bulk scheduling, analytics, and content suggestions. SocialPilot also lets you boost Facebook posts from their platform.
Supported Networks:
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, VK, and Google My Business
Pricing:
$25/month for 25 social profiles, 200 posts/day and 3 team members
$41.66/month for 50 social profiles, 500 posts/day and 5 team members
$83.33/month for 100 social profiles, 1,000 posts/day and 10 team members
Choosing the right social media management platform is a big deal, because it is an investment. You want a platform that is intuitive and easy to use. The last thing you want is to use up all that time you are saving on a support calls because you can’t figure it out. Of the many social media management platforms available, we believe you will be making a good choice if you choose Buffer, Hootsuite, or SocialPilot. We offer social media classes tailored to your company to help your team use social media productively and as a valuable tool for sales and lead generation. Please contact us for more information.
