In the digital age, social media has become a vital platform for small businesses to connect with their target audience and expand their reach. However, managing multiple social media accounts can be overwhelming without the right tools. That’s where social media management tools for small businesses come in. These specialized tools offer a range of features and functionalities designed to streamline your social media efforts, save time, and maximize your online presence. In this blog, we will explore the importance of social media management tools for small businesses, highlight key features to look for, and provide recommendations for top tools to help you enhance your social media strategy. Get ready to unlock the potential of social media management tools to take your small businesses to new heights in the digital realm.
What is Social media management?
Social media management refers to strategically planning, creating, scheduling, publishing, and analyzing content across various social media platforms. It involves managing and monitoring an organization’s or individual’s presence on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Social media management aims to engage with the target audience effectively, build brand awareness, drive website traffic, foster customer relationships, and achieve marketing objectives. It includes activities like developing a social media strategy, creating engaging content, scheduling posts at optimal times, monitoring comments and messages, responding to inquiries, tracking analytics and performance metrics, and adapting strategies based on insights.
Social media management tools often streamline these tasks, providing content scheduling, listening, analytics, and reporting features. These tools help businesses and individuals efficiently manage their social media presence, optimize their content strategy, and measure the impact of their social media efforts.
Also read : Social Media Management Services for Small Businesses: A Complete Guide
Work of Social media management tools for small businesses:
Here is a step-by-step breakdown of how social media management tools work:
Account Setup:
The first step is to create an account with your chosen social media management tool. This typically involves signing up with your email address and creating a password.
Social Media Account Integration:
Once your account is set up, you must connect your social media accounts to the management tool. This is done by authorizing the tool to access your social media profiles. You can connect multiple accounts from different platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Content Creation:
After integrating your accounts, you can start creating content for your social media posts. Social media management tools provide various features to compose and design posts, including text, images, videos, and links. You can also access libraries of stock images or upload your media files.
Scheduling:
Once your content is ready, you can schedule the posts for publishing. Social media management tools allow you to set specific dates and times for your posts to be published on each connected platform. This lets you plan your social media calendar and ensure consistent posting.
Automation:
Many social media management tools offer automation features. This includes the ability to automatically repost or recycle your content at predefined intervals, saving you time and effort in manually scheduling repetitive posts.
Monitoring and Engagement:
Social media management tools provide features for monitoring your social media accounts. You can track your audience’s mentions, comments, and messages, allowing you to respond promptly and engage with your followers. These tools often provide notifications or consolidated inboxes to streamline your communication.
Analytics and Reporting:
Social media management tools offer analytics and reporting features to measure the performance of your social media efforts. You can access data on metrics such as reach, engagement, follower growth, click-through rates, and more. This data helps you understand the effectiveness of your strategies and make informed decisions for future campaigns.
Collaboration:
Some social media management tools support collaboration among team members. You can assign roles and permissions, delegate tasks, and streamline your social media workflow. This is particularly useful for businesses or agencies with multiple team members working on social media campaigns.
Integration with Other Tools:
Many social media management tools integrate with other marketing tools and platforms. This allows you to connect your social media efforts with email marketing, CRM systems, content management systems, and other tools for a cohesive marketing strategy.
By following these steps, social media management tools help individuals and businesses streamline their social media activities, save time, enhance engagement, and achieve their marketing goals more effectively.
Best Social Media Management Tools for Small Businesses
SocialPilot
SocialPilot is a comprehensive social media management tool designed to streamline the process of managing and scheduling social media content. It offers various features to help businesses and agencies plan, publish, and analyze their social media presence effectively.
Features:
- Post Scheduling
- Social Media Analytics
- Content Curation
- Team Collaboration
- Client Management
Use:
SocialPilot is ideal for businesses, agencies, and social media marketers who need a reliable and user-friendly solution to streamline their social media management. It caters to users who want to schedule posts, curate content, analyze performance, collaborate with teams, and efficiently manage client accounts.
Price
SocialPilot subscription costs $25.50/month (billed annually) and allows you to connect 10 social media accounts.
Agorapulse
Agorapulse is a robust social media management tool that provides a comprehensive solution for businesses and agencies to manage their social media presence effectively. It offers a wide range of features to simplify the process of scheduling, engaging, and analyzing social media content.
Features:
- Post Scheduling and Publishing
- Social Media Inbox
- Content Queue
- Social Media Analytics
- Team Collaboration
- Social Media Monitoring
- CRM Integration
- Competitor Analysis
- Ad Management
- Customizable Reports
Use:
Agorapulse is designed for businesses and agencies looking to streamline their social media management efforts. It is an ideal tool for scheduling and publishing content, engaging with the audience through the social media inbox, analyzing performance metrics, collaborating with team members, monitoring social media mentions, integrating with CRM systems, conducting competitor analysis, managing social media ads, and generating customizable reports to measure social media ROI.
Price:
Agorapulse offers plans for small businesses starting at $99/month when billed monthly and $79 when billed annually. This plan provides ten social profiles, two team members, up to 300 active ads monitoring, and email support.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a widely recognized social media management platform that empowers businesses and individuals to manage their social media presence effectively. It offers comprehensive features and tools to simplify social media management and drive impactful results.
Features:
- Social Media Scheduling
- Social Media Listening
- Social Media Analytics
- Team Collaboration
- Content Curation
Use:
Hootsuite is designed for businesses, marketers, and social media managers who want to streamline their social media management efforts. It allows users to schedule and publish social media content, monitor conversations and mentions, analyze campaign performance, collaborate with team members, and curate relevant and engaging content. With Hootsuite, users can efficiently manage their social media activities and drive audience engagement and growth.
Price:
A Hootsuite subscription starts at $49/month and offers 10 social media profiles for one user with unlimited scheduling, bulk scheduling, analytics, and a 30-day trial.
Buffer
Buffer is a user-friendly and efficient social media management platform trusted by small businesses and individual creators to drive meaningful engagement and results on social media.
Features:
- Post Scheduling
- Content Planning
- Analytics and Insights
- Team Collaboration
- Social Media Integration
Use:
Buffer is designed for businesses and individual content creators who want to streamline their social media management efforts. It is used to schedule and publish social media posts, plan and organize content, analyze campaign performance, collaborate with team members, and integrate with various social media platforms. With Buffer, users can effectively manage their social media presence, engage with their audience, and achieve their marketing goals.
Price:
Buffer offers a free trial and a free version for individuals. Small businesses can start with Buffer at $99/month and get 25 social accounts, all the individual plan features, RSS feeds, link shortening, tracking, calendar, and 2000 scheduled posts for each account.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a comprehensive social media management platform trusted by businesses and agencies to streamline their social media efforts. It offers a range of powerful features and tools to help users effectively manage, analyze, and optimize their social media presence.
Features:
- Social Media Scheduling
- Social Media Monitoring
- Social Media Analytics
- Team Collaboration
- Content Planning and Publishing
Use:
Sprout Social is used by businesses and agencies to schedule and publish social media content efficiently, monitor social media conversations and mentions, analyze performance metrics, collaborate with team members, and plan content calendars. The platform helps users enhance their social media strategy, engage with their audience, and drive meaningful results.
Also read : The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Scheduling
Lately
It is a dynamic social media management platform that simplifies creating, scheduling, and analyzing social media content. It offers innovative features and capabilities to help businesses and marketers optimize their social media presence.
Features:
- Content Creation and Curation
- Post Scheduling and Automation
- Analytics and Performance Tracking
- Team Collaboration and Approval Workflows
- Hashtag and Keyword Monitoring
Use:
It has been designed for businesses and marketers who want to streamline their social media management. It enables users to create and curate engaging content, schedule posts for optimal timing, automate repetitive tasks, track performance metrics, collaborate with team members, and monitor relevant hashtags and keywords. Users can save time and effort while effectively managing their social media presence to drive engagement and achieve their marketing goals.
Price:
Lately offers a subscription at $200/month and includes all the necessary tools for marketers associated with small and medium businesses.
eClincher
eClincher is a powerful social media management platform that helps businesses and marketers streamline their social media efforts. It provides comprehensive features and tools to manage, analyze, and optimize social media presence across multiple platforms.
Features:
- Social Media Scheduling and Publishing
- Social Media Monitoring and Engagement
- Analytics and Reporting
- Content Creation and Curation
- Team Collaboration and Approval Workflows
Use:
eClincher is utilized by businesses and marketers to efficiently schedule and publish social media content, monitor and engage with their audience, analyze performance metrics, curate and create engaging content, and collaborate with team members. The platform allows users to manage their social media presence effectively, drive engagement, and achieve their marketing objectives.
Price:
eClincher’s premier plan is priced at $119/month, with which you can connect about 20 social media profiles and add up to 3 of your team members
Sendible
Sendible is a comprehensive social media management tool for agencies and businesses with multiple clients. It offers a range of features and capabilities to streamline social media management, enhance collaboration, and deliver effective results.
Features:
- Social Media Scheduling and Publishing
- Social Media Monitoring and Listening
- Analytics and Performance Tracking
- Content Creation and Curation
- Team Collaboration and Client Management
Use:
Agencies and businesses use Sendible with multiple clients to schedule and publish social media content efficiently, monitor social media conversations, track performance metrics, curate and create engaging content, and collaborate with team members. The platform’s client management feature allows users to manage and cater to the needs of their clients effectively, ensuring seamless communication and streamlined workflows. With Sendible, businesses can enhance their social media presence, engage their audience, and drive meaningful results for their clients.
Price:
Sendible’s most popular plan is priced at $199/month, with which you can connect up to 49 social media profiles and add up to 7 of your team members with access to building 35 custom reports.
CoSchedule
CoSchedule is a leading marketing calendar and social media management tool designed to streamline and optimize marketing workflows. It offers various features and functionalities to help businesses and marketers easily plan, execute, and analyze their marketing campaigns.
Features:
- Marketing Calendar and Project Management
- Social Media Scheduling and Publishing
- Content Planning and Collaboration
- Analytics and Performance Tracking
- Task Management and Team Collaboration
Use:
CoSchedule is utilized by businesses and marketers to effectively manage their marketing calendars, plan and schedule social media content, collaborate on content creation and distribution, track campaign performance, and streamline team workflows. The platform’s centralized approach allows users to stay organized, improve productivity, and gain valuable insights into their marketing efforts. With CoSchedule, businesses can enhance their marketing strategies, ensure timely execution, and drive better results.
Price:
CoSchedule is a bit expensive when it comes to pricing. In their Marketing Calendar plan, you can connect only up to 10 social media profiles with 10 team members at $39/month. If you are an agency with multiple clients, you’d have to opt for their Marketing Suite to manage all in one place.
ContentStudio
ContentStudio is a powerful content marketing and social media management platform that offers a wide range of features to streamline content creation, curation, and distribution. It provides users with comprehensive tools to manage their social media presence effectively, discover engaging content, and drive audience engagement.
Features:
- Content Discovery and Curation
- Social Media Scheduling and Publishing
- Content Planning and Editorial Calendar
- Analytics and Performance Tracking
- Team Collaboration and Workflow Management
Use:
ContentStudio is used by marketers, content creators, and social media managers to simplify their content marketing efforts. The platform enables users to discover trending content from various sources, curate posts, schedule and publish content across multiple social media platforms, and analyze their performance. The platform facilitates collaboration among team members, streamlining content workflows and improving productivity. With ContentStudio, businesses can manage their content strategy, boost audience engagement, and drive targeted traffic to their website or social media channels.
Later
Later is a popular social media management tool that specializes in Instagram marketing. It provides users various features and functionalities to plan, schedule, and analyze their Instagram content effectively. Later aims to simplify managing and publishing visually appealing posts on Instagram.
Features:
- Visual Content Planner
- Post Scheduling
- Instagram Analytics
- User-Generated Content
- Linkin. bio
Use:
Businesses, influencers, and social media managers focus on Instagram as their primary marketing channel. It helps users save time by planning and scheduling their Instagram content in advance, ensuring consistent posting and engagement with their audience. With Later’s analytics, users can analyze their Instagram performance and make data-driven decisions to optimize their strategies, such as user-generated Content and Linkin. Bio enhances the effectiveness of Instagram marketing campaigns.
Price:
Later offers an entirely free plan making it the best social media management tool. Besides this, their advanced plan is priced at $40/month, where one can manage up to 6 social media profiles with 6 team members.
MavSocial
MavSocial is a social media management tool that focuses on visual content marketing. It offers a range of features to help businesses and marketers streamline their social media efforts, with a particular emphasis on visual content creation and management.
Features:
- Visual Content Management
- Social Media Scheduling
- Social Inbox
- Social Analytics
- Collaboration and Approval Workflow
Use:
MavSocial caters to those seeking efficient tools to manage and schedule visual posts across social media platforms. The social inbox and analytics features help monitor engagement and analyze the effectiveness of visual content marketing. MavSocial’s collaboration and approval features also benefit teams working together on social media campaigns.
Price:
MavSocial’s pro plan is priced at $78/month, with which you can connect up to 30 social media profiles and add 3 team members. If you opt for an annual plan, it will cost you $65/month.
Tailwind
Tailwind is a social media management tool designed specifically for Pinterest and Instagram. It helps users streamline their social media efforts and maximize their performance on these platforms.
Features:
- Visual Content Planner
- Smart Scheduling
- Hashtag Suggestions
- Content Discovery
- Analytics and Reporting
Use:
Tailwind is used by businesses, marketers, and content creators who want to manage and grow their presence on Pinterest and Instagram effectively. It allows users to plan and schedule their posts, discover relevant content, optimize their posting schedule, and track the performance of their pins and posts. Tailwind helps users save time, enhance their content strategy, and maximize engagement on Pinterest and Instagram.
Price:
The advanced Tailwind plan for 2 users is priced at $39.9/month, with which you can connect 2 Pinterest and 2 Instagram accounts and schedule to publish about 10000 posts/month.
Zoho
Zoho is a comprehensive social media management tool for small businesses and agencies to manage their social media presence efficiently. With a range of powerful features, Zoho simplifies the process of scheduling, publishing, and analyzing social media content.
Features:
- Social Media Scheduling
- Content Calendar
- Social Media Listening
- Analytics and Reporting
- Team Collaboration
- Publishing Queue
- Content Curation
- CRM Integration
- Automation
Use:
Zoho Social is used by businesses and agencies to streamline their social media management processes. It provides the necessary tools for scheduling and publishing posts, monitoring social media conversations, analyzing campaign performance, collaborating with team members, curating content, integrating with CRM systems, and automating various social media tasks. By leveraging Zoho Social, businesses can effectively manage their social media presence, engage with their audience, and drive meaningful results from their social media efforts.
Price:
Zoho Social introduced a new premium plan priced at $65/month, with which you can manage up to 8 social media profiles and add 3 team members. Zoho Social also offers a free plan making it one of the best free social media management tools.
MeetEdgar
MeetEdgar is a social media scheduling tool designed to help users streamline their marketing efforts. With a range of features, MeetEdgar simplifies the process of scheduling and automating social media posts.
Features:
- Social Media Scheduling
- Content Categorization
- Automated Posting
- Variations
- RSS Feed Integration
- Queue Management
- Analytics and Reporting
- Team Collaboration
- Browser Extension
Use:
MeetEdgar is used by individuals and businesses to save time and effort in managing their social media presence. It allows users to schedule and automate social media posts, recycle evergreen content, analyze post-performance, collaborate with team members, and streamline their marketing workflows. By leveraging MeetEdgar, users can maintain an active social media presence, engage with their audience, and drive traffic to their website or business.
Price:
MeetEdgar is priced at a flat $49/month, with which you can do social media account management of 25 accounts and 1000 weekly automation.
Salesforce
Salesforce Social Studio is a comprehensive social media management platform that helps businesses effectively manage their social media presence. It offers a range of powerful features and tools to streamline social media activities, engage with audiences, and measure social media performance.
Features:
- Social Media Monitoring
- Publishing and Scheduling
- Content Creation
- Social Listening
- Team Collaboration
- Social Analytics
- Audience Engagement
- Advertising Management
- Influencer Management
Use:
Businesses of all sizes use Salesforce Social Studio to manage their social media presence effectively, engage with their audience, and measure the impact of their social media activities. It is particularly beneficial for marketing teams, social media managers, and agencies that need a robust platform to manage multiple social media channels, analyze data, and drive meaningful engagement with their target audience.
Price:
Salesforce Social Studio offers personalized plans, so there is no standard pricing as of now. You can contact their sales team for a quick estimation.
HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing software that includes powerful social media management tools. It allows businesses to manage their social media presence, engage with their audience, and measure the impact of their social media efforts.
Features:
- Social Media Publishing
- Social Media Monitoring
- Social Media Analytics
- Social Listening
- Social Inbox
- Social Automation
- Social Reporting
- Social CRM Integration
Use:
HubSpot’s social media management tools are designed to help businesses effectively manage their social media presence, engage with their audience, and drive results. Whether a small business or a large enterprise, HubSpot provides the tools and insights you need to succeed in your social media marketing efforts.
Sprinklr
Sprinklr is an enterprise-level social media management platform designed to help businesses manage their social media presence effectively. With many features and capabilities, Sprinklr allows users to streamline their social media activities and engage with their audience more efficiently. Some key features of Sprinklr include:
Features
- Social Media Listening
- Social Media Publishing
- Social Media Engagement
- Social Media Analytics
- Social Media Advertising
- Social Media Customer Care
- Social Media Collaboration
Use:
Large enterprises use Sprinklr to manage their social media presence and deliver seamless customer experiences across multiple channels. It’s robust features and comprehensive functionality make it a valuable tool for businesses looking to optimize their social media strategies and drive meaningful engagement with their audience.
Price:
Pricing of Sprinklr has yet to be opened as they offer customized plans per the team size and needs. Sprinklr also has no free trial subscription as of now.
SocialHub
SocialHub is a versatile social media management platform designed to streamline and enhance your presence. Its user-friendly interface and powerful features simplify social media management and enable you to engage with your audience more effectively.
Features:
- Social Media Monitoring
- Content Scheduling
- Social Analytics
- Team Collaboration
- Social Media Publishing
- Customer Engagement
- Social Listening
- Social Media Reporting
- Influencer Management
- Social Media Automation
Use:
SocialHub is ideal for businesses and digital marketing agencies that want to manage and optimize their social media activities efficiently. It helps you monitor social media conversations, schedule and publish content, analyze performance data, collaborate with team members, and engage with your audience meaningfully. Whether a small business or a large enterprise, SocialHub provides the tools to effectively manage your social media presence and drive meaningful results.
Price:
SocialHub pricing starts from $99 per month for a single user. You can request a demo before making the final call.
SocialFlow
SocialFlow is a comprehensive social media management platform that empowers businesses to maximize their social media impact. With its advanced algorithms and data-driven approach, SocialFlow helps you optimize your social media strategy, enhance audience engagement, and drive meaningful results.
Features:
- Social Media Scheduling
- Content Optimization
- Audience Targeting
- Real-Time Analytics
- Social Media Publishing
- Performance Tracking
- Trending Topic Analysis
- Automated Campaign Management
- Influencer Identification
- Customizable Reporting
Use:
SocialFlow is designed for businesses of all sizes and industries that want to amplify their social media presence and reach. It lets you schedule and publish content optimally, leverage audience targeting to reach the right people, analyze real-time data to make data-driven decisions and optimize your social media campaigns for maximum impact. With its powerful features and insights, SocialFlow helps you navigate the dynamic world of social media and achieve your marketing objectives.
Price:
SocialFlow doesn’t provide any free trial. You can contact the team directly for a quick product tour and customized setup if interested.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Social Media Management Tools for Small Businesses offer a game-changing solution to streamline social media efforts and optimize online presence. With their various features and functionalities, these tools empower small businesses to manage multiple social media accounts efficiently, schedule posts, analyze performance, engage with their audience, and stay ahead of trends. By harnessing the power of these tools, small businesses can level the playing field, establish a strong online presence, drive brand awareness, and achieve their marketing goals. Embrace the power of Social Media Management Tools for Small Businesses and unlock the full potential of social media to propel your business to new heights in the digital realm.