Social media marketing has become integral to any business’s digital marketing strategy.
However, managing multiple social media accounts and creating engaging content can be time-consuming and overwhelming. This is where a social media scheduling tool comes in.
Businesses can save time and increase their productivity by automating creating and scheduling social media posts.
Overview of the Benefits
The benefits of using a social media scheduling tool are numerous. These tools help businesses:
- Save time by automating the process of creating and scheduling posts
- Increase productivity by allowing firms to focus on other essential tasks
- Ensure consistency in their social media presence
- Provide better analytics and reporting to track the success of their social media strategy
- Allow for more time for engagement and interaction with followers
What is a Social Media Scheduling Tool?
A social media scheduling tool is software that allows businesses to schedule their social media posts in advance. These tools enable companies to plan their social media content and create a content calendar. They can then design their posts to be published at specific times, ensuring their social media presence is consistent and engaging.
How It Differs from Social Media Management Tools
It’s important to note that social media scheduling tools differ from social media management tools.
While social media scheduling tools allow businesses to schedule their posts in advance, social media management tools offer features like social listening, engagement, and customer service management. Social media scheduling tools focus on scheduling and automating social media posts.
The Benefits of Using a Social Media Scheduling Tool
Improved Efficiency
By using a social media publishing tool, businesses can save time and increase efficiency. Rather than manually creating and scheduling posts, companies can plan their social media content and schedule their posts to be published at specific times. This frees up time for businesses to focus on other essential tasks.
Increased Productivity
Social media scheduling tools can help businesses increase their productivity by streamlining the creation and scheduling of social media content. Companies can create and schedule posts more efficiently with a content calendar and a means to automate scheduling.
Consistency
Social media scheduling tools ensure that businesses have a consistent social media presence. Planning their social media content and scheduling their posts to be published at specific times. Companies can ensure that their followers always have fresh, engaging content to interact with.
Better Analytics and Reporting
Social media scheduling tools offer better analytics and reporting than manually scheduling posts. These tools provide insights into the success of social media campaigns, enabling businesses to adjust their strategies accordingly. By tracking engagement, reach, and other metrics, companies can improve the effectiveness of their social media presence.
More Time for Engagement and Interaction
Automating, creating and scheduling social media posts gives businesses more time to engage and interact with their followers. This can lead to increased engagement and a more loyal customer base.
Choosing the Right Social Media Scheduling Tool
Considerations when Selecting a Tool
When selecting a social media scheduling tool, businesses should consider several factors, including:
- Price
- Ease of use
- Customisation options
- Integrations with other tools
- Customer support
Must-Have Features
The must-have features of a social media scheduling tool include:
- The ability to schedule posts in advance
- The ability to post to multiple social media platforms
- Analytics and reporting features
- Customisation options
The Best Social Media Scheduling Tools
Buffer
Buffer is one of the most popular social media scheduling tools on the market and for a good reason. With Buffer, you can easily schedule posts to multiple social media accounts, collaborate with team members, and analyse your performance with detailed analytics. Its user-friendly interface and wide range of features make it a favourite among businesses of all sizes.
Features and Pricing: Buffer* offers a free plan with basic scheduling features for up to three social media channels. Paid plans start at $18/month for three channels and offer more advanced features like engagement tools and access to detailed analytics.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Wide range of features
- Affordable pricing
- Excellent customer support
Cons:
- Limited customisation options
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is another popular social media scheduling tool that offers a range of features for businesses of all sizes. With Hootsuite, you can schedule posts to multiple social media accounts, monitor your brand’s reputation, and collaborate with team members. Hootsuite also offers a range of integrations with other tools, such as Canva and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Features and Pricing: Hootsuite* no longer offers a free plan. Paid plans start at $89/month for one user and ten social accounts.
Pros:
- Wide range of features
- Excellent customer support
- Range of integrations with other tools
Cons:
- Higher pricing compared to other tools
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is another highly regarded social media scheduling tool offering comprehensive features for businesses of all sizes. The platform provides advanced scheduling capabilities, including simultaneously scheduling content for multiple profiles and platforms. It also provides a range of features for social media management, including social listening, engagement, and analytics tools.
Features and pricing: Sprout Social* offers three pricing plans, ranging from $249 to $499 for one user per month. Additional users require additional payment. Its features include social media scheduling, publishing and analytics, social listening, message automation, and customer engagement tools.
Pros:
- Offers advanced scheduling capabilities
- A comprehensive set of social media management tools
- Robust analytics and reporting features
- User-friendly interface
Cons:
- It can be expensive for smaller businesses
CoSchedule
CoSchedule is a popular social media scheduling tool designed to help businesses manage their entire marketing strategy in one place. In addition to social media scheduling, it offers content planning, task management, and collaboration features.
Features and pricing: CoSchedule offers two standard pricing plans*, free to $39 per month, depending on your desired features. Its features include social media scheduling, content planning and creation, task management, and team collaboration tools.
Pros:
- Offers comprehensive social media marketing management tools
- User-friendly interface
- Strong integration with other marketing tools
Cons:
- It can be expensive for smaller businesses
CadaSocialMedia
CadaSocialMedia is a newer social media scheduling tool quickly gaining popularity for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features. The platform offers advanced scheduling capabilities, including simultaneously scheduling content for multiple profiles and platforms. It also provides a range of features for social media management, including analytics tools and a social inbox for managing messages.
Features and pricing: CadaSocialMedia* offers three pricing plans, ranging from $19 to $59 per month (discounts if paid yearly), depending on your desired features. Its features include social media scheduling, referral marketing, publishing and analytics, automation, and customer engagement tools.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Affordable pricing options
- A comprehensive set of social media management tools
- A Referal marketing feature to generate leads
Cons:
- No social listening feature
Later
Later is a social media scheduling tool specifically designed for Instagram. However, it now also supports scheduling for other social media platforms. Its features include an intuitive drag-and-drop calendar, the ability to schedule posts and stories, and various analytics tools.
Features and pricing: Later* offers four pricing plans, ranging from $18 to $80 per month, depending on your desired features. Its features include Instagram scheduling, visual content planning, analytics, and hashtag suggestions.
Pros:
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Affordable pricing options
- Robust analytics and reporting features
Cons:
- Limited scheduling capabilities for some social media platforms
How to Get Started With a Social Media Scheduling Tool
Setting up Your account
The first step to using a social media scheduling tool is to sign up for an account with your chosen provider. Most providers offer a free trial period or a free version with limited features, which is an excellent way to test the platform and see if it meets your needs.
Connecting Your Social Media Accounts
Once you’ve signed up for an account, the next step is to connect your social media accounts to the platform. This typically involves authorising the platform to access your social media accounts, which is a simple process that can usually be completed in a few clicks.
Creating and Scheduling Content
Once your accounts are connected, you can begin creating and scheduling your social media content.
Tips for Maximising the Effectiveness of Your Social Media Scheduling Tool
Once you have chosen the right social media scheduling tool for your business, you can use a few top tips and tricks to maximise its effectiveness. Here are three key strategies you can use to get the most out of your tool:
Creating a Content Calendar
Creating a content calendar helps you plan your social media content, ensuring that you are posting high-quality, engaging content consistently. A content calendar is a schedule that outlines the specific content that you plan to post on social media for a given period, typically a week, a month or a quarter. With a content calendar, you can organise your content by theme, topic, or platform and ensure that your posts align with your overall social media strategy.
Experimenting With Different Posting Times
Different social media platforms have other peak engagement times. Experimenting with different posting times can help you determine the best time to post content for maximum engagement. You can use your social media scheduling tool to test other posting times and track engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares to see which times work best for your audience.
A/B Testing
A/B testing involves creating different post versions, like images or headlines, and testing them to see which version performs better. A/B testing can help you identify which types of content resonate with your audience and refine your social media strategy accordingly. You can use your social media scheduling tool to schedule and track A/B tests and use the results to optimise your content for maximum engagement.
Using these tips, you can optimise your social media scheduling tool to improve your overall social media strategy and grow your business online.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Social Media Scheduling Tools
As with any new tool or technology, having questions or running into issues is common when using social media scheduling tools. Here are some answers to common questions and troubleshooting tips:
How Far in Advance Should I Schedule My Social Media Posts?
It’s best to schedule your social media posts at least a week in advance, but some businesses may prepare content for up to a month. However, remember that it’s essential to stay flexible and adjust your content strategy based on current events or trending topics.
How Often Should I Post on Social Media?
Your social media posting frequency will depend on your business goals and audience preferences. However, as a general rule, it’s recommended to post on Facebook at least once daily, Twitter at least three times daily, and Instagram at least once daily.
How Can I Make Sure My Scheduled Posts Look Good on Each Platform?
Each social media platform has its own unique image dimensions and formatting guidelines. Check these guidelines before scheduling your posts to ensure your images and videos look their best.
How Can I Ensure That My Scheduled Posts Will Reach My Target Audience?
Experiment with different posting times to see what times of day and days of the week result in the most engagement from your target audience. You can also use analytics tools provided by your scheduling tool to track engagement metrics and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you encounter any issues or have trouble with your social media scheduling tool, here are some troubleshooting tips to consider:
- Check your internet connection. A slow or unstable internet connection can cause scheduling errors
- Make sure your social media accounts are properly connected. Double-check that you have authorised your social media accounts within the scheduling tool and that your login credentials are correct
- Review your content calendar. If your scheduled posts aren’t performing as well as you’d like, review your content calendar to ensure your posts are engaging and relevant to your target audience
- Contact customer support. If you still have issues with your social media scheduling tool, contact the provider’s customer support team for further assistance
Final Thoughts
Social media scheduling tools are valuable for businesses looking to streamline their social media presence. They provide increased efficiency, productivity, consistency, better analytics and reporting, and more time for engagement and interaction. When choosing a tool, it’s essential to consider your business needs and select one that offers the must-have features and customisation options that align with those needs.
Based on our analysis, Cada Social Media is most businesses’ best social media scheduling tool. Its intuitive interface, extensive integrations, and affordable pricing offer robust features that make social media scheduling and publishing easy and effective.
Suppose you want to grow your social media presence and improve your strategy. In that case, we recommend trying out a social media scheduling tool today. With various tools available on the market, there’s sure to be one that meets your business’s unique needs. So, get started with a free trial and see how social media scheduling can help your business.
*Prices as of April 2023
