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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. That’s where social media management tools come in.

Some of the top social media management tools come with a price, but there are also free options to consider.

Best Social Media Management Tools

To discover the top social media management tools for your small business, refer to the list below. These carefully selected tools will assist you in saving time as you expand your community and potential customer base.

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’s 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.

MeetEdgar

MeetEdgar is a social media management platform designed to automate content. It offers users unlimited scheduling for social media posts and includes versatile automation features. These features consist of an evergreen content library, automatic generation of post variations, and straightforward scheduling options. Additionally, you can establish A/B tests to track trends and receive engagement updates automatically.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 vary in price from $25 to $249 per month. Each plan permits multiple users to manage accounts. However, the upgraded accounts offer enhanced features such as larger ad budgets, custom workflow tools, branding options, and integrations with IM platforms.

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.

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.

Hubspot Social Media Software

Hubspot provides a social media management software designed to enhance efficiency and foster genuine connections. It features a single dashboard that consolidates activity and conversations across all your social media platforms. You can track mentions and engage with customers directly from this main dashboard. Additionally, you can access reports that illustrate how your social media strategy has influenced your overall marketing initiatives.

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.

SEMRush Social Media Toolkit

SEMRush’s social media management tools provide a comprehensive suite of features that can be handled from a single, centralized dashboard. This toolkit supports social profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google My Business. You can schedule posts and determine the optimal times for sharing content. Additionally, it offers capabilities for boosting posts, creating advertisements, and monitoring 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

More Social Media Management Tools

Check out this list of lesser known social media marketing tools to help your small business marketing efforts on the web.

HeyOrca!

HeyOrca! is a social media scheduling tool designed with collaboration in mind. It allows teams to visually plan, draft, and approve social media posts in an intuitive calendar view. Small business owners can streamline their content approval process, collaborate with team members or clients, and ensure that their social posts are on-brand and timely. It also simplifies the workflow by integrating directly with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, making it easy to schedule and manage content across channels.

Content Cal

Content Cal is a content marketing platform that helps businesses organize and manage their social media content across multiple channels. It allows small business owners to create and collaborate on social media posts, plan their content calendar, and gain insights from analytics to improve performance. With drag-and-drop functionality and approval workflows, it simplifies campaign management, making it easier for small businesses to maintain a consistent online presence.

Falcon.io

Falcon.io offers a comprehensive suite of tools for social media management, customer engagement, and analytics. It allows small business owners to publish content, monitor conversations, and manage customer engagement all in one place. Its powerful analytics tools help businesses understand their audience, track the performance of their social media strategies, and make data-driven decisions to boost engagement and growth.

Salesforce Social Studio

Salesforce Social Studio is a social media marketing solution that integrates seamlessly with Salesforce CRM, making it perfect for small business owners who use Salesforce. It allows users to publish, engage, and analyze content across all major social platforms while also gaining deeper customer insights from social data. It’s a powerful tool for small businesses looking to connect their social media efforts directly to customer relationship management.

Sprinklr

Sprinklr is a unified platform for managing customer experience across multiple social media channels. Small business owners can use Sprinklr to handle everything from social media publishing and engagement to customer care and advertising. Its robust analytics help businesses understand audience sentiment, track performance, and optimize their social media strategies. Sprinklr is particularly helpful for businesses looking to scale their customer engagement across multiple platforms.

Oktopost

Oktopost is a B2B social media management platform that helps businesses manage social media campaigns, track engagement, and generate leads. Small business owners can benefit from Oktopost’s detailed analytics and social listening features, which allow them to understand how their content resonates with their audience and optimize their strategies. Its integration with CRM systems makes it a valuable tool for tracking social media’s impact on lead generation and sales.

Khoros

Khoros is a customer engagement platform designed to help businesses build and maintain customer relationships through social media. Small business owners can use Khoros to engage with their audience in real time, manage customer support requests, and gain insights from customer interactions. It is especially useful for businesses looking to provide exceptional customer service and build stronger customer relationships through social channels.

Likeable Hub

Likeable Hub simplifies social media marketing for small businesses by providing pre-made content templates, automated posting, and real-time engagement tracking. With Likeable Hub, small business owners can create and post engaging content across multiple platforms without having to dedicate extensive time or resources. It’s an excellent tool for businesses looking for easy-to-use social media automation that helps grow their online presence.

SocialFlow

SocialFlow is a social media optimization platform that uses real-time data to determine the best times to post content for maximum engagement. This tool can help small business owners ensure their posts reach the right audience at the right time, driving higher engagement and better results. SocialFlow’s analytics also provide insights into content performance, helping businesses refine their strategies.

Content Studio

Content Studio is an all-in-one social media and content marketing platform that allows businesses to manage and schedule posts, curate content, and analyze performance across multiple channels. Small business owners can benefit from its automation features, which streamline the process of content creation and distribution, and its in-depth analytics, which help optimize social media strategies.

Social Chimp

Social Chimp is an automated social media marketing platform that helps small business owners create and schedule content with minimal effort. It features a library of pre-written content that can be customized and scheduled across multiple platforms. For small businesses with limited time or resources, Social Chimp provides an easy way to maintain an active social media presence without constant manual updates.

Social Champ

Social Champ is a social media management tool that allows small business owners to schedule posts, analyze performance, and engage with their audience across multiple platforms. With features like bulk scheduling, content suggestions, and automation, Social Champ helps small businesses save time while maintaining a consistent presence on social media.

Story Chief

Story Chief is a content marketing platform that allows small business owners to create, publish, and distribute stories across various channels, including social media, blogs, and newsletters. Its collaborative features make it easy for teams to collaborate on content creation, and its analytics tools provide insights into how content is performing. It’s an excellent solution for businesses to streamline their content marketing efforts.

Planable

Planable is a collaborative social media planning tool that helps small business owners visually organize and schedule their social media posts. The platform allows teams to comment, suggest edits, and approve content, making the content creation more efficient. Planable’s drag-and-drop interface simplifies the planning and approval process, ensuring content is always on time and brand.

Facebook Business Suite

Facebook Business Suite is a free tool from Facebook that allows small business owners to manage their Facebook and Instagram accounts in one place. It includes features for scheduling posts, responding to messages, and analyzing engagement across both platforms. This tool is particularly useful for small businesses to streamline their social media management and save time by handling multiple channels from one dashboard.

Brand24

Brand24 is a social media monitoring tool that allows small business owners to track brand mentions, monitor customer sentiment, and identify trends across social platforms. This tool helps businesses stay on top of what their customers are saying about them, allowing them to respond quickly to feedback and adjust their strategies accordingly. It’s especially useful for managing a brand’s reputation online.

NetBase

NetBase is a social analytics and listening tool that helps businesses track conversations and trends on social media. Small business owners can use NetBase to gather insights into customer sentiment, track competitor activity, and uncover market trends. By understanding what’s being said about their brand, businesses can adjust their social media strategies and improve engagement with their audience.

SocialBakers

SocialBakers is an AI-powered social media marketing platform that helps businesses optimize their social media campaigns. It provides in-depth analytics, audience insights, and recommendations to help small business owners create more engaging content and improve their social media performance. SocialBakers is a valuable tool for businesses looking to make data-driven decisions and grow their online presence.

Meltwater

Meltwater is a media monitoring and social listening tool that helps small businesses track conversations about their brand across social media, news outlets, and blogs. With its comprehensive analytics and reporting, businesses can understand their market positioning, identify influencers, and make data-driven decisions to improve their social media presence.

Sked Social

Sked Social is a social media scheduling tool designed specifically for visual content platforms like Instagram. It allows small business owners to schedule and manage posts, stories, and carousels while providing analytics to measure performance. Sked Social is a must-have for businesses that rely heavily on Instagram or other visually-driven platforms for marketing.

SharedCount

SharedCount is a tool that tracks how content is shared across social media platforms. Small business owners can use SharedCount to measure the reach and impact of their posts, helping them understand which types of content resonate with their audience and which social channels drive the most engagement.

Revive Social

Revive Social is a tool that helps small business owners breathe new life into old blog content by automatically sharing it on social media. By keeping their content in circulation, businesses can maintain a steady flow of traffic to their website without constantly creating new content. It’s a great way for businesses to extend the lifespan of their existing content and keep their social media feeds active.

NapoleonCat

NapoleonCat is a social media management tool offering publishing, customer engagement, and reporting features. Small business owners can use NapoleonCat to schedule posts, respond to comments and messages, and analyze their social media performance. Its automation features help save time by streamlining repetitive tasks, making it easier to manage social media across multiple platforms.

Statusbrew

Statusbrew is a social media management tool that provides features for publishing, engagement, and team collaboration. Small business owners can schedule posts, manage interactions, and track performance across multiple platforms from a single

How do you use social media management tools for your business?

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: Even the most basic social media management tools offer the option 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: Some social media tools also suggest posts or allow you to quickly choose photos, text, or other content to add to your feeds.
  • Automate content: Some social media content is evergreen, meaning it can be posted over and over again. 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. And this is where social media automation plays an important role.

• 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.

What should you look for in a great social media management tool?

The best social media management tool for your business depends on your company’s exact social media needs. 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’ll 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: When managing social media accounts collaboratively, it’s essential to have a management platform that accommodates multiple users. Some platforms even provide approval systems or workflow processes to assist individuals in various roles.

Is there a free version of Hootsuite?

Yes, Hootsuite offers a free account, alongside its paid professional account for $49 per month. The free plan lets just one user manage up to three social accounts. And you can schedule up to 30 posts in advance. This may be the perfect option for solopreneurs or those with a single person running their limited social media marketing plan.

Image: Depositphotos

This article, “Top Social Media Management Tools to Streamline Your Marketing” was first published on Small Business Trends