Social media has become an integral part of marketing for businesses and individuals. With billions of active users across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more, having an active social media presence is crucial for reaching your target audience.
However, constantly creating and curating content, engaging with followers, running campaigns, and analyzing performance can be extremely time-consuming. This is where social media scheduling tools come in handy.
Social media scheduling tools allow you to plan, schedule, publish, and analyze your social media content efficiently. They can automate repetitive tasks, provide insights to finetune your strategy, and save you tons of time so you can focus on creating great content.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the top 12 social media scheduling tools available in 2024 for managing your social profiles and content like a pro.
Contents
Why Use a Social Media Scheduling Tool?
Here are some of the key benefits of using a social media scheduling tool:
- Schedule posts in advance – Plan and queue content for automated publishing at the best times. Some tools allow scheduling months in advance.
- Save time – Scheduling, publishing, and analyzing social media takes up several hours each week. Scheduling tools automate repetitive tasks to free up your time.
- Optimize post timing – Analytics help you determine the best times/days to post for higher engagement on each network. Schedule content for those high-traffic periods.
- Collaborate with teams – Colleagues can co-create, review, and schedule content together. Smooth collaboration improves workflow.
- Unified inbox – Manage comments and messages from multiple social profiles under one inbox for prompt responses.
- Track performance – View in-depth analytics on engagement, reach, clicks, followers, etc. for each post and network. Identify what works.
- Manage multiple accounts – Schedule content across different social profiles from one centralized platform.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Tool
With so many options available, how do you select the right scheduling tool for your needs? Here are some key factors to consider:
- Available social networks – Ensure the tool supports all the platforms you actively use like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest etc.
- Posting features – Options for bulk uploads, multimedia content, post preview, tagging users, adding hashtags etc. make posting easier.
- Analytics – Robust analytics on engagement, best posting times, follower growth etc. are crucial for optimizing your strategy.
- Scheduling flexibility – Ability to schedule at specific dates/times or queue posts in aooled calendar is important.
- Content library – A library to store created content assets for easy access saves time.
- Workflow features – Collaboration, approval process, notifications etc. help manage team workflows.
- Customer support – Responsive technical support can help troubleshoot issues quickly.
- Pricing – Match tool capabilities to your budget and use case – individual or organization.
- User experience – An intuitive, easy-to-use interface makes adoption easier.
Now let‘s look at the top social media scheduling tools available today based on these parameters:
1. Circleboom
Key Features
- Comprehensive social media management
- Real-time monitoring and alerts
- Detailed analytics dashboards
- Image editor with licensed media library
- Post scheduling up to a year
- Team workflows and collaboration
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube
Standout Capability
Circleboom goes beyond just scheduling with powerful capabilities for managing every aspect of your brand‘s social media. Real-time monitoring, detailed analytics, team workflows, and post automation make it easy to execute an effective social strategy.
Pricing
- Free – Manage 2 social profiles
- Team ($29/month) – Manage 5 profiles, 10 users
- Agency ($99/month) – 25 profiles, 25 users
- Custom packages available
Ideal For
Businesses, agencies, and teams who need a full-featured social media management platform. The free plan allows easy trial.
Website
2. Buffer
Key Features
- Intuitive media scheduling calendar
- Posting queue to reorder content
- Real-time analytics on engagement
- Browser extensions for quick sharing
- Team workflows and collaboration
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest
Standout Capability
Buffer makes it incredibly easy to visually schedule posts and analyze performance. Browser extensions allow quick sharing of web content to your queue.
Pricing
- Free – Schedule up to 10 posts
- Pro ($5/month per profile) – Unlimited scheduling
Ideal For
Solopreneurs,individuals, and small teams who need an affordable scheduling solution with powerful analytics.
Website
3. Hootsuite
Key Features
- Unified inbox for managing messages
- Bulk image uploader for quick posting
- Keyword tracking for social listening
- Customizable analytics dashboard
- Team coordination and client reporting
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest + more
Standout Capability
Hootsuite offers robust tools for social listening, client reporting, and team management – perfect for agencies.
Pricing
- Free – Manage 3 profiles, 1 user
- Team ($129/month) – 20 profiles, 5 users
- Business ($599/month) – Unlimited profiles, 20 users
Ideal For
Digital marketing agencies and large brands who need team collaboration tools to manage multiple clients and social profiles.
Website
4. Sprout Social
Key Features
- Smart Inbox to manage conversations
- Comprehensive social analytics
- Easy scheduling with calendar view
- Monitoring tools for tracking brand mentions
- Workflow tools for team collaboration
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest + more
Standout Capability
Robust analytics and listening tools for understanding social conversations and benchmarking performance.
Pricing
- Standard ($99/month) – 5 profiles, 1 user
- Professional ($149/month) – 10 profiles, 3 users
- Advanced ($249/month) – 15 profiles, 5 users
- Custom packages available
Ideal For
Mid-sized businesses and organizations that need to manage multiple social profiles efficiently and measure success.
Website
5. Sendible
Key Features
- Content calendar with bulk scheduling
- Platform-specific post editing
- In-depth analytics dashboards
- Unified inbox for messages
- Team workflows and permissions
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business, Pinterest
Standout Capability
Makes it very easy to customize content for each platform before scheduling. Offers one of the most analytics capabilities.
Pricing
- Starter ($29/month) – 1 User, 3 profiles
- Standard ($89/month) – 3 users, 10 profiles
- Pro ($399/month) – 12 users, 25 profiles
- Custom packages available
Ideal For
Solopreneurs, small businesses, and content creators needing an affordable but powerful scheduling and analytics solution.
Website
6. Agorapulse
Key Features
- Unified inbox for messages
- Queue scheduling for always-on posting
- Powerful social listening and monitoring
- Customizable reports on KPIs
- Team member permissions and workflow
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn + more
Standout Capability
Agorapulse shines when it comes to listening and understanding brand conversations happening on social media.
Pricing
- Team ($79/month) – 5 profiles, 3 users
- Business ($149/month) – 15 profiles, 5 users
- Enterprise ($299/month) – 25 profiles, 10 users
Ideal For
Small to mid-sized businesses looking for social listening capabilities alongside scheduling and team workflows.
Website
7. SocialPilot
Key Features
- Bulk image and video uploader
- Calendar view for scheduling
- Hashtag recommendations
- Posting queue for reordering
- Team member permissions
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube
Standout Capability
Makes it very easy to upload and schedule image and video content in bulk to multiple profiles.
Pricing
- Free – 1 user, 1 profile
- Team ($49/month) – 5 users, 10 profiles
- Agency ($99/month) – 15 users, 25 profiles
Ideal For
Solopreneurs, individuals, and startups needing an affordable scheduling solution for multimedia content.
Website
8. Loomly
Key Features
- Media library for storing assets
- Real-time social listening
- Engagement analytics
- Team member collaborations
- Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube
Standout Capability
Loomly makes team collaboration seamless with features like project management, asset library, annotations, and revisions.
Pricing
- Team ($29/month) – 1 user, 5 profiles
- Agency ($79/month) – 5 users, 15 profiles
- Business ($159/month) – 15 users, 30 profiles
- Enterprise (Custom)
Ideal For
Agencies and organizations that need social media management workflows for multiple team members and clients.
Website
9. MeetEdgar
Key Features
- Library for repurposing old content
- Customizable publishing schedules
- Posting Queue to reorder
- Contrarian content alerts
- Real-time analytics
Networks Supported
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram
Standout Capability
MeetEdgar makes repurposing and recycling old evergreen content easy with its centralized library.
Pricing
- Solo ($19/month) – 1 user, 5 profiles
- Team ($49/month) – 3 users, 10 profiles
Ideal For
Bloggers, content creators, solopreneurs, and startups who want to easily recycle and repurpose existing content.
Website
10. CoSchedule
Key Features
- Drag-and-drop calendar scheduling
- SEO optimization for social posts
- Template library for consistent branding
- Integrations with blog CMS tools
- Team workflow customization
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business
Standout Capability
CoSchedule seamlessly connects your blogging and social publishing workflows under one platform.
Pricing
- Marketing Calendar ($29/month)
- Marketing Suite (Custom)
Ideal For
Bloggers, content marketers, and creators who want to integrate their blogging and social media scheduling.
Website
11. Crowdfire
Key Features
- Content curation from RSS feeds
- Bulk multimedia scheduling
- Hashtag/caption recommendations
- Audience analysis and tracking
- Unified inbox for mentions
Networks Supported
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube
Standout Capability
Crowdfire makes it easy to discover and share new content while managing your profiles.
Pricing
- Free – Limited use
- Plus ($8/month) – 1 user, 5 profiles
- Premium ($40/month) – 1 user, 15 profiles
Ideal For
Individuals and startups looking for an affordable tool to schedule content while discovering shareable content.
Website
12. Later
Key Features
- Visual scheduling calendar
- Posting queue with drag-and-drop
- Comment moderation tools
- Private media library
- Hashtag/caption recommendations
Networks Supported
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok
Standout Capability
Later offers the best capabilities for visually scheduling Instagram posts.
Pricing
- Free – Schedule up to 30 posts
- Basic ($8/month) – 1 User, 1 Social Profile
- Pro ($16/month) – 3 Profiles
- Business ($28/month) – 10 Profiles
Ideal For
Instagram marketers, content creators, photographers, and solopreneurs who need a powerful but affordable Instagram scheduling tool.
Website
Key Takeaways
- Investing in a social media scheduling tool can help save countless hours compared to manually posting and analyzing social content.
- Consider aspects like supported networks, posting features, analytics, pricing tiers, user experience, and customer support when selecting a tool.
- Leading tools like Circleboom, Buffer, and Hootsuite make it easy to execute a robust social media strategy.
- Affordable tools like Later, Crowdfire, and SocialPilot offer great capabilities for solo users and startups.
- All-in-one platforms like Loomly and CoSchedule help streamline team workflows for agencies and organizations.
- Test out free trials before committing to find the scheduling tool that best matches your needs and budget.
concluson
An effective social media strategy is crucial for modern businesses, creators, and marketers. Social media scheduling tools make executing this strategy easier.
Whether you need a full-featured management platform or just a straightforward scheduler, solutions exist to meet your needs. Testing trials allow you to experience the interface and capabilities first-hand.
Investing some time in researching and selecting the right scheduling tool can pay off tremendously in the hours saved and success achieved for your brand. Use this guide to shortlist options matching your use case and start optimizing your social media presence today.
