Social media management tools simplify the process of managing your social network presence. They provide an all-round solution to your social media marketing needs. Be it scheduling posts, generating reports, or analyzing content, you can get all from such social network tools. Some of the social media management tools even allow you to monitor your competitors. This can help to create more engaging campaigns and lead better traffic to your business.
Social network management tools let you schedule posts according to your preferred schedule. This way, you can engage with your audience. Some apps also allow searching for relevant keywords and set campaigns for specific audience types. It is also easy to manage direct messages using a single interface with social media scheduling tools. This makes it more efficient to follow up on the leads generated by your social media campaigns.
The Best Social Media Management Tools for 2020
Below are the top social media management tools to look into moving to 2020. See which one will be the most helpful for you to manage your presence on social media networks.
Buffer
Buffer is one of the most popular social media scheduling tools today. It is straightforward to use and comes with a lot of features to simplify social media management. Buffer allows you to schedule updates for each social media platform in advance. It has a beautiful and simple interface, from where you can upload your desired content easily.
You can even schedule or post content to several accounts on each social media platform using Buffer. Besides, it also helps you to track the performance of your campaigns. Note that the starter version of Buffer offers you basic content analytics tools. You will need to upgrade to the paid plans for more details such as impressions, clicks, and comments.
Pros:
- Free version available. It allows posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram
- Can be integrated with Pocket, Slack, Feedly, Zapier, and many other tools
- Makes it easy to manage social media interactions using Buffer Reply
- 14-day free trial available to check out its features
Cons:
- Pinterest integration available only on paid versions
- No option to upload image galleries on Instagram
- Buffer Publish version does not include social media engagement features
Pricing
Buffer comes in three main tiers: Publish, Reply, and Analyze. Publish is priced at $15 (Pro), $65 (Premium), and $99 (Business) per month. The reply is priced at $15 (Pro) and $35 (Business) per month. Analyze is priced at $35 (Pro) and $50 (Premium) per month.
You can also get custom pricing for bundled packages and discounts on annual billing. The main differences between the Pro plans in each tier are the number of social accounts, users, and scheduled posts. Premium and Business plans also include added features, like team management, overview report, and social analytics.
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Tailwind
Tailwind is one of the best social media management tools for managing Instagram and Pinterest accounts. It has great features to schedule posts and monitor the performance of your brand on social media. It even allows bulk uploading of images using a simple drag-and-drop interface. You can also sync your Dropbox account with Tailwind and import images on the go.
Just as other social media scheduling tools, you can also set up posts in Tailwind as per your preferences for maximum user engagement. You can also set up a collection of hashtags and pins to be used automatically on your scheduled posts. Tailwind can be used to analyze your followers, engagement trends, and popularity of pins/hashtags too.
Pros:
- Advanced monitoring tools that are specifically designed for Pinterest
- Easy options to measure your reach, followers, and engagement trends
- Image recognition and pixel-matching technology to analyze popular posts
- Offers a free trial
Cons:
- Primarily tailored to visual elements only
- Does not work with other social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- Advanced features need subscribing to additional packs
Pricing
Tailwind has two separate packs for Pinterest and Instagram, yet both are priced at $14.99 per account per month. There is an option to subscribe to their annual plans, too, that will save you up to $60. They also offer two add-ons, SmartLoop and Tailwind Tribes, at $7.99 each per profile per month.
Tailwind also offers a free trial for Pinterest and Instagram separately. It includes up to 100 pins on Pinterest and up to 30 posts on Instagram. There is no time limit on the trial.
Post Planner
Post Planner is the simplest social media management tool for posting curated content on Facebook and Twitter. It allows you to find engaging content on the internet and share those on your social media accounts. You can easily add the pages, hashtags, and keywords that you want to follow using Post Planner.
The social media management app then looks across the internet for the most successful content based on your preferences. This helps you to create more relevant content for your audience. Therefore, you can predict the popularity of your campaign even before posting the content. Aside from that, you can always post your content, such as images and videos, using Post Planner.
Pros:
- Allows to share top-quality content for assured user engagement
- Simple options to monitor your results and track history in one place
- Lets you schedule posts using the intuitive drag-and-drop interface
- Offers an option for bulk upload to social accounts
Cons:
- Does not work with Pinterest, LinkedIn, or Instagram
- Content discovery tool may fail to show new content sometimes
- No free trial available
Pricing
Post Planner has two main pricing tiers: Small Business and Enterprise. The Small Business category has three options: Starter ($3 per month), Love ($12 per month), and Guru ($24 per month). The Enterprise category also has three options: Master ($59 per month), Agency ($139 per month), and Venture ($299 per month).
You can get up to a 20% discount on all of their plans if you go for annual billing, except for the Starter Pack. The main differences between the Small Business and Enterprise plans are the number of accounts, users, planned posts, etc.
CoSchedule
CoSchedule is one of the best large-scale social media scheduling tools. It comes with a dedicated marketing calendar to help you manage your campaigns. CoSchedule also offers added features like content marketing and email marketing. What’s more, you can get reusable workflow templates and tools to measure social analytics with CoSchedule too.
The cloud-based social media management tool can improve the efficiency of your marketing efforts. CoSchedule is also easy to integrate with WordPress and other content management systems. This allows you to publish posts on the site and social media sites collectively.
Pros
- Lets you recycle and schedule your best messages automatically for better user engagement
- Easy to integrate with WordPress, Asana, Mailchimp, Trello, and Campaign Monitor
- Shares posts to social media account automatically as they are published on the site
- 30-day free trial available for Individual and Startup plans
Cons
- Interface not that intuitive as compared to other social media scheduling tools
- Expensive pricing
- Free trial not available for all plans
Pricing
CoSchedule offers two packages for small-scale users: Individual and Startup. They are priced at $30 and $60 per month, respectively. For large-scale users, they have five plans: Marketing Suite, Content Organizer, Work Organizer, Social Organizer, and Asset Organizer. Each of the plans is further divided into Growth, Professional, and Enterprise.
The monthly prices for Growth and Professional plans are $190 and $750 (Marketing Suite), $80 and $300 (Content Organizer), $60 and $300 (Work Organizer), $120 and $350 (Social Organizer), and $70 and $250 (Asset Organizer). You will need to contact the sales team of CoSchedule for Enterprise pricing in all the categories.
Also read: Best Periscope Alternatives for iPhone and Android
Creator Studio by Facebook
Creator Studio is Facebook’s dedicated content management tool to help you post and manage content on Facebook pages. The free social media management tool also allows you to monetize and measure the performance of your campaigns. It lets you make use of all the new features and monetization opportunities on the videos you post on Facebook.
You can even search for engaging posts on Facebook and share them on your accounts using Creator Studio. It also gives you access to Rights Manager, from where you can protect your content on Facebook. If you have multiple pages on Facebook, you can view the stats about each separately using the tool as well. Another benefit of Creator Studio is that it can be used to manage content on Instagram too.
Pros
- Great tools to monitor the activity of Facebook posts
- Allows viewing interesting videos on other Facebook pages and cross-post them on your page
- Makes it easy to find the best performing videos and create more engaging content like that
- Access to Facebook’s Sound Collection that lets you add amazing tracks and sound effects to your videos
Cons
- Creator Studio does not work with other social media networks, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest
- No option for bulk uploading content
- There is no workflow for approval processes if multiple users have access to your Facebook page
Pricing
Facebook Creator Studio is free to use. Anyone who manages a Facebook page can use the free social media management tool.
Later
Later is a smart social media management app. It helps you to manage your accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. However, Later focuses more on Instagram. It can be beneficial to both starters and pro users on the image-sharing social media network.
Later allows you to upload an image, add relevant text to it, and schedule the post as per your preferences. You can even schedule content for Instagram Stories using the free social media management tool. What’s more, Later also lets you manage your Instagram comments and respond to them quickly.
Pros
- Free social media management plan available for individual users
- Easy to integrate your social accounts
- Its primary emphasis on Instagram makes it best-suited for influencer marketing
- Simple options to sort and filter images using labels and stars
Cons
- It can be a bit difficult to schedule images to be posted automatically on your social media accounts
- You cannot use the app without an Instagram account
- Might not be that useful for bloggers
Pricing
Later offers two plans for Individuals (Free and Plus) and three plans for Businesses (Premium, Starter, and Brand). The Free plan offers basic features to individual users and can be used for as long as you need it. The Plus plan is priced at $9 per month that offers a few premium features to the subscribers.
The Premium plan is designed for small businesses and priced at $19 per month. The Starter plan is priced at $29 per month, while the Brand plan is priced at $49 per month. These two are ideal for medium to large companies and agencies. You can also get up to a 17% discount if you subscribe to their annual payment plans.
Planoly
Planoly is an easy-to-use free social media management tool. It is designed specifically to manage content on Instagram. Planoly also helps you to decide what type of content your audience likes so that you can create highly-engaging Instagram posts. It even allows you to monitor how your posts are performing.
The interface of the social media management app is simple. You can easily add posts on your Instagram account using its drag-and-drop feature. Planoly also has added features like post scheduling, hashtag sorting, and grid preview, which further simplify the process. You can also get a Shoplink add-on with a Planoly subscription to boost user engagement rates on Instagram. Moreover, there are options on the app to share your post on Facebook and Pinterest too.
Pros
- Free-to-use plan available to test the scope of Planoly for your business
- Allows viewing Instagram feeds and schedule posts in a single interface
- Comment inbox available to manage all direct messages effectively
- Lets you choose comments to post automatically
Cons
- Analytics tool not that comprehensive when compared to other social media scheduling tools
- Shoplink add-on can be a bit expensive
- Does not work with other social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn
Pricing
Planoly offers four subscription plans: Free, Solo, Duo, and Custom. The Free social media management plan is free to use for as long as you want. The Solo plan is priced at $9 per month, while Duo is priced at $19 per month. The Custom plan can be customized as per your needs, although it also starts at $19 per month.
The main differences in the plans are the number of users, social accounts, and frequency of uploads. Premium features like automatic posting, post analysis, and quick scheduling are available only on paid subscription plans.
TweetDeck
TweetDeck is a free social media management tool. It allows you to view your Twitter home feed, messages, and notifications in a single interface. You can also check out the trending hashtags on the application interface and add a relevant one to the TweetDeck screen. This helps you to view all the tweets being shared with the hashtag in real-time.
You can also add multiple Twitter accounts on TweetDeck and monitor them together under one roof. The free social media management app lets you interact with your followers directly via the streamlined dashboard. Moreover, it features an excellent search function too that allows you to filter results as per your needs.
Pros
- Allows managing an unlimited number of user conversations, notifications, and trending hashtags
- Lets you tweet or schedule a post for any desired Twitter account added to the social media management tool
- Simplifies your content planning and social media marketing strategy
- Free to use for life
Cons
- Linking multiple accounts gives the primary Twitter account admin privileges to other accounts
- Does not work with any other social media networking platform
- No tracking, team management, or analytics features
Pricing
TweetDeck is free to use for all Twitter users. You can add as many accounts as you want in the free social media management tool and manage them simultaneously without having to spend a penny.
SocialBee
SocialBee is a powerful social media management app. It allows you to manage curated content on all major social platforms. SocialBee helps you to find relevant content, cross-post that on multiple social accounts, and review how they perform. This way, you can offer engaging content to your followers, which is likely to receive more social shares. That, in turn, will make sure that you to reach new customers.
The social media management tool lets you post directly on Facebook, Twitter, Google My Business, and LinkedIn. However, you need to integrate it with Buffer and Hootsuite to post on Instagram and Pinterest. Yet you can get full control of the content to be shared with separate schedules for each social media profile.
Pros
- Allows you to import posts automatically through RSS Import
- Easy tracking options to analyze content performance
- Bitly URL shortener included with all SocialBee plans
- A 14-day free trial available to check its features
Cons
- No native WordPress integration
- Buffer or Hootsuite integration required to make the most of the social media management app
- Setting up the RSS Feed properly may take some time
Pricing
SocialBee offers three subscription plans for individuals: Bootstrap ($19 per month), Accelerate ($39 per month), and Pro ($79 per month). They also have three agency plans for high-end users, Pro ($79 per month), Pro 50 ($149 per month), and Pro 150 ($379 per month).
If you subscribe to their annual plans, you can get up to two months free. The major differences between their plans are the number of users, social profiles, RSS Feeds, content categories, etc.
MeetEdgar
MeetEdgar is one of the best social media scheduling tools for automating content on various social media accounts. It allows you to manage your profiles and pages on all major networks, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. MeetEdgar can help you to discover quote-worthy text relevant to your business. It also creates prospective updates to be posted with them.
The app features high-end analytics tools too that let you monitor how your content is performing. Besides, you can also bulk import cross-network updates with MeetEdgar. This, in turn, will assist you in creating more engaging posts for your target audience. The social media management tool even makes it simpler to recycle old updates that have performed well for you.
Pros
- Automatically creates relevant content for you
- Helps to monitor the performance of past updates and recycle them without duplicating content
- Allows categorizing updates for better management
- Free trial available
Cons
- Analytics tools are not much efficient when compared to other social media scheduling tools
- There can be performance stability issues at times
- The interface looks a bit outdated
Pricing
MeetEdgar offers two plans, one priced at $19 per month and the other priced at $49 per month. The first option is best suited for individual users, as it allows only up to 10 automated scheduled posts per week.
The second plan is better for businesses, as it permits up to 1000 automated scheduled posts per week. It also lets you connect up to 25 social accounts and offers premium features like unlimited content categories.
Twittimer
Twittimer is a simple free social media management app. It helps you to schedule your posts on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Just like other social media scheduling tools, you can post on multiple social media accounts simultaneously using Twittimer. However, what makes it different from others is that it allows CSV bulk message upload to manage your profiles.
Twittimer also works with RSS Feed to let you repost the latest content easily and keep your followers in the loop. Moreover, it comes with advanced tools to assist you in reviewing engagement rates on your posts. This, in turn, helps you to figure out the most beneficial content types and create more engaging posts in the future.
Pros
- Allows managing multiple Twitter accounts
- Features modern and easy-to-use interface
- Lets you integrate Bitly URL shortener
- Free social media management tool
Cons
- Does not work with Instagram and Pinterest
- The free version allows scheduling only up to 10 posts
- Analytics tools not as insightful as that compared to other social media scheduling tools
Pricing
Twittimer offers two plans apart from its Basic tier, which is free for life. Its next plan is Pro, priced at $6.99 per month. It is ideal for startups, consultants, and growing businesses. Their upper tier, Business, is priced at $19.99 per month. It is specially designed for established businesses and digital media agencies.
The major differences between Pro and Business plans are the number of social profiles you can connect, the maximum number of users, and access to premium features.
SmarterQueue
SmarterQueue is a renowned social media management tool. It allows you to schedule, curate, and review the performance of your posts. SmarterQueue also offers advanced features like competitor analysis and monitoring to make social media marketing much simpler. You can easily schedule and post on multiple social networking accounts simultaneously with SmarterQueue.
It is also very easy to organize and plan content using the calendar and categories features in the social media management app. SmarterQueue helps you to monitor the best performing posts with its advanced built-in analytics tools too. This allows you to know the type of content that your audience likes the most. That way, you can create similar engaging posts.
Pros
- Smart tools for content curation and evergreen post recycling
- Features visual content calendar to manage posts
- Advanced built-in analytics to monitor top performing posts
- 14-day free trial option available to check out its features
Cons
- Expensive plans
- Occasional glitches reported, especially when logging into LinkedIn
- Can get disconnected sometimes when scheduling posts
Pricing
SmarterQueue offers four plans to businesses: Agency ($79.99 per month), Business ($39.99 per month), and Solo ($19.99 per month). They also offer a Custom plan for managing your social media accounts, which starts at $19.99 per month for up to four profiles. You can save up to 15% by subscribing to their annual plans.
All of their plans allow you to manage your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram. Yet the differences between the plans lie in the number of users, social profiles, availability of premium features, etc.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is one of the best-known social media scheduling tools for businesses. It offers great publishing and analytics features to boost the level of user engagement on your social media profiles. Just like other major social media management apps, Sprout Social allows you to schedule and post content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. However, it also lets you manage the messages on Facebook Messenger and follow up on your leads immediately.
There is a dedicated filtering tool to streamline incoming messages on Sprout Social as well. This makes sure that you reply to the most important messages first. The interface of the app is simple and easy to work with. It is also very easy to manage all your posts using the calendar feature on Sprout Social.
Pros
- Customizable report templates to monitor social media activity
- Impressive content library for managing social posts
- Allows running Facebook promotions from within the app
- Easy tools to monitor relevant keywords and hashtags
Cons
- Expensive pricing
- The interface seems a bit outdated
- The calendaring system can run into errors at times
Pricing
Sprout Social offers three plans for their customers: Standard ($99 per month), Professional ($149 per month), and Advanced ($249 per month). Sprout Social also offers a 30-day free trial to test their social media scheduling tools.
The key differences between the plans are the number of social profiles and availability of advanced features, such as trend analysis, custom URL tracking, social reporting, etc.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media management tools today. It is known for its wide range of features and compatibility with all social media networks. You can integrate Hootsuite with WordPress and other content management systems as well. Hootsuite allows scheduling and posting content across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
The app has an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that lets you preview content before posting them as well. Hootsuite even recommends relevant content to be shared based on the saved searches and monitored hashtags. Besides, it has advanced analytics tools too. You can use them to review the performance of your social media content. There is a content approval feature for managing team collaborations as well.
Pros
- Allows managing content on your YouTube channel
- Easy-to-use social media content boosting options
- Shared content library for teams
- 30-day free trial and demo available. A free plan is also available that permits managing up to three social profiles
Cons
- The interface feels a little outdated when compared to other social media scheduling tools
- No all-in-one social inbox available to manage direct messages
- Analytics is only available with paid plans
Pricing
Hootsuite offers a free social media management plan for individuals. It allows managing up to three social profiles and scheduling up to 30 posts. Its Professional plan, priced at $19 per month, permits up to 10 social profiles and schedule unlimited posts.
They also have high-end plans that let multiple users and adding more social profiles: Team, Business, and Enterprise. Hootsuite Team plan is priced at $99 per month, while the Business plan is priced at $599 per month. You will need to contact the Hootsuite sales team to get the pricing for their Enterprise plan.
Sendible
Sendible is an influential social media management tool. It comes with amazing features that are beneficial for every type of business user. Sendible allows you to manage content on all major social media networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube. It also helps you to create content for different blogging platforms, such as WordPress, Medium, Tumblr, and Blogger.
Sendible can also be integrated with Facebook Ads and Google My Business. Scheduling and posting content on multiple platforms is very easy with the app too. At the same time, its pre-built report templates make generating reports for clients very easy. All these features make Sendible an all-around social media management app for today’s business users.
Pros
- Allows you to track the audience’s reaction to the posted content on different social media sites
- Easy to use tools for measuring engagement targets
- Lets you manage and reply to direct messages through a single social media inbox
- Makes it simple to review and repost top-performing content
Cons
- Can be a bit overpriced for small businesses
- Not that well-suited for individual users
- Occasional glitches reported when scheduling posts
Pricing
Sendible offers four subscription plans: Starter ($29 per month), Traction ($99 per month), Growth ($199 per month), and Large ($299 per month). You can also go for their annual plans to save up to 15% on the subscription costs.
The major differences between their different plans include the number of users and available social media services. Sendible also offers a free trial for each of their plans. This way, you can check out the features of its social media scheduling tools.
Why You Need a Social Media Management Tool
Before jumping on to review the top social media scheduling tools, let us see why you need such tools anyway. Take, for instance, that you have a Facebook or Twitter page, and you have a few followers on it. You post updates on them once in a while and see average engagement.
Well, that is not enough to get the best out of social media. If you have plans to grow your business today, you need to use all the available digital channels aptly. And that includes social media marketing as well. Therefore, you should be consistent with posting updates on social media. This will make sure that you can keep your followers engaged. Regular posts mean more chances of social shares, meaning more referrals to your business.
Being consistent on social media can effectively drive more customers to your business. Yet being consistent can be a bit tricky for those who are not that expert in social media management. Logging in to each of the social media networks and posting updates can be a time-consuming process.
This is where social media scheduling tools can be of help. Social media management tools allow you to manage all your profiles from a single interface. Moreover, they also make it easy to recognize what types of content and campaigns are more beneficial to you. This way, you can focus on those aspects that work in your favor and generate more ROI.
Social media is a revolutionary platform for businesses. In the early days, social media platforms became popular as it provided a way to connect with our loved ones. Yet today, they have opened up a great channel to market your brand and grow your business too. A strong presence on social media can benefit all.
With proper social media management, you can keep your customers updated about your offers and deals. At the same time, it helps to reach new customers and drive more traffic to your business. That is why more and more businesses are trying to make the most of social media management apps today. If you are not in the mix yet, it is the right time to look into the best social media management tools for 2020.