- Zoho Social: Best for individual creators
- Buffer: Best on a budget
- Hootsuite: Best for many platforms
- SocialPilot: Best for TikTok
- Sprout Social: Best for analytics
Updated: Aug 4, 2024, 7:39pm
Today, a social media marketing campaign is a crucial component of any content marketing strategy. Posting to several accounts multiple times a day, however, can be time-consuming. Smart social media marketing managers use social media management software to schedule content and automate posting. Social media management tools can allow users to publish, monitor and manage all their social media networks from one dashboard.
Save time and improve the effectiveness of your social campaigns with the best social media management software in our comprehensive guide. Forbes Advisor has reviewed more than a dozen companies and ranked them by value, features and customer ratings to bring you the best options on the market.
- Top Social Media Management Software (2024)
- Zoho Social
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- SocialPilot
- Sprout Social
- Forbes Advisor Ratings
- What Is Social Media Management Software?
- How To Choose the Best Social Media Management Tools
- What Does Social Media Management Software Cost?
- Methodology
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Forbes Advisor Ratings
Company | Forbes Advisor Rating | Pricing | Free Option | Supported Platforms | LEARN MORE | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zoho Social | ![]() |
4.6 | ![]() |
$10 to $40 per month, billed annually | Yes | Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile | View More | ||
Buffer | ![]() |
4.5 | ![]() |
$6 to $120 per month per channel | Yes | Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn | View More | ||
Hootsuite | ![]() |
4.5 | ![]() |
$99 to $249 per month, billed annually | No | Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn and more | Learn More | On Hootsuite's Website | |
SocialPilot | ![]() |
4.2 | ![]() |
$25.50 to $170 per month, billed annually | 14-day trial | Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, TikTok | View More | ||
Sprout Social | ![]() |
4.0 | ![]() |
$249 to $499 per month, billed annually | 30-day trial | Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more | Learn More | On Sprout Social's Website |
Methodology
Posting great content is just part of a cohesive social media marketing plan. Marketers must also be able to interpret the results of marketing campaigns. More advanced software plans should include features that analyze results of individual posts, suggest Twitter hashtags, track relevant social conversations and gain real-time insights from social media to make business decisions.
To choose the best social media management software for this article’s ranking, Forbes Advisor compared each company based on important factors that include ease of use, cost and fees, customer support and features and functionality. We ranked each company on these factors based on a rating system, with the highest score being five out of five stars.
Here’s what we looked at to compile the rankings in each category:
- Ease of use: First and foremost, we looked for social media management software that are easy to use and navigate.
- Cost and fees: Social media management software with free versions were given preference in our ranking, although free trials also influenced our views. Plans with high ongoing costs were included if the features and functions provided a good value in return.
- Customer support: We looked at companies and compared them based on their customer support options, including whether clients have access to live customer support.
- Features and functionality: Finally, we compared social media management software companies based on their functions and features, giving preference to programs with the best features and tools for their ideal client base.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the best social media management tools?
Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Buffer are three of the top social media management tools on the market today. Hootsuite is ideal for all companies that use all social media channels while Sprout Social has great analytics features. Buffer is a great option for companies looking for an affordable social media management software.
What is the purpose of social media management software tools?
Social media management software allows users to post content in advance to various social media accounts from a single user interface (UI). Additional features, such as analytics tools, brand awareness campaign tools and communication tools, are also available, depending on the software company and plan.
Why are social media management tools important?
Social media management tools allow marketing managers, small business owners and content creators to save time by scheduling social media posts in advance to multiple accounts, view top-level metrics and generate viable leads from social media.
What types of social media tools are there?
Social media is always evolving as are the social media tools companies can use to streamline their social media workflow. New social media tools include content curation tools, social media scheduling apps, content creation tools and social media analytics tools.
How do I manage multiple social media accounts?
Managing multiple social media accounts does not have to be overwhelming. Social media management software, such as Hootsuite and Sprout Social, make managing multiple accounts easy with content creation calendars, features that help automate postings and chatbots to respond to messages.
How do I manage a business social media account?
To manage a business social media account properly, you must understand the company’s brand, its target audience and its business goals for the social media account. Then, create a monthly and yearly content calendar to help achieve those business goals, post engaging content and analyze the social media metrics to determine if your content is helping you meet your business goals.
What is community management in social media?
Community management is using social media to build an active online community to foster brand loyalists. Managing an online community requires constant monitoring of social media channels, engagement with customers, prospects and influencers and measuring feedback.
Best for TikTok
SocialPilot
Pricing
$25.50 to $170
per month, billed annually
Free Option
14-day trial
Supported Platforms
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, TikTok
$25.50 to $170
per month, billed annually
14-day trial
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, TikTok
SocialPilot is one of the most cost-effective social media marketing tools of the bunch. For social media managers who oversee a large number of social media accounts from one interface, SocialPilot is an affordable option. Its Small Team tier allows three users to post on 20 social media accounts for $42.50 per month (billed annually) as opposed to Hootsuite’s Team plan that allows three users to post to 20 accounts for $249 a month or Sprout Social’s Professional plan that allows a user to post to unlimited accounts for $399 per month.
In addition to integrating with all the classic social networks, SocialPilot is one of the few that integrates with TikTok. The popular video-sharing platform has more than 800 million active users. Tapping into that audience is a great way to market your brand to a new audience.
Other notable features of this platform include a drag-and-drop social media calendar that simplifies the process of reordering posts and a feature that curates a list of previous posts to repost.
Who should use it:
SocialPilot was the first social media management software to enable users to link their TikTok accounts.