TGL Tested: Our Takes on Social Media Scheduling Platforms
ICYMI: TGL Tested is our series exploring the newest and trendiest digital marketing tools for tasks, including skills such as video editing, email marketing, and website design. We’ve tested them so you don’t have to, leaving you in the know of what’s worth trying and what can be ignored.
This week we’re diving into social media scheduling platforms, and why/how we use them. Here at TGL, each team member has a unique work style tailored to our roles and our client’s goals, so our usage and experiences with different platforms vary.
Before we get started, check out our previous blog “Is It Great To Automate?” for a more in-depth look at whether post automation is for you.
Loomly
Loomly simplifies post-scheduling, making it a great choice when first starting to experiment with post-automation. What makes Loomly different from other scheduling tools is its ability to create a custom social network, allowing you to schedule posts to almost any platform you can think of. It covers the essentials like scheduling, a multi-service inbox, and basic analytics.
Loomly offers a 15-day free trial for any of its plans and is generally a cheaper option. Its base plan starts at $32/month and includes two users and ten social accounts. For bigger teams, we’d suggest the standard plan for $60/month, which includes six users and 20 social accounts.
Pros:
Schedule posts to practically any social site through Loomly's use of Zapier (which is an automation tool used to connect apps and sites)
User-friendly dashboard setup of all scheduling tools such as a personalized calendar, post updates (scheduled, drafted, published, etc), post ideas, and more
Cost efficient
Cons:
Unfortunately, this platform lacks analytics features. We suggest using a separate tool to check the analytics of your posts like using the platform's in-house analytics feature
Tested by: Boss Lady, Katie Stanton
“We have used it in the past because of its collaborative features and it has great calendaring features. It's also cheaper than some other options, and pretty user-friendly. Loomly made it easier to review and approve mock-ups of social content for others to post; it also has a good system for posting across multiple social channels all at once. But it doesn't offer a ton of benefit as far as analytics; the numbers are pretty simple, and I might use another tool for data. I would recommend it for a team that needs to collaborate across the same social media accounts, but it can take a little while to learn all of its features. It can serve as a decent editorial calendar for social posts, too, for a team that needs to plan and approve content together.”
Sprout Social
Sprout Social offers many helpful features to streamline social media management, making posting and monitoring your content easier. You’re able to schedule posts to a variety of platforms ranging from Facebook to TikTok (here is a full list of posting capabilities). On top of post-scheduling, Sprout also offers detailed analytics viewing.
Sprout not only allows you to schedule standard posts, but you’re also able to include links to your posts, which some other scheduling platforms don’t have as a feature. As for what you wish to post, you’re able to create, import, and publish assets from platforms like Canva and Google Drive.
You can try out Sprout with a 30-day free trial, but keep in mind that if you end up enjoying Sprout and want to implement it into your team's social strategy, it leans more toward the pricier side. Its base plan, which gives you 5 social profiles, starts at $199/month per user. Their most popular plan is the standard (at $299/month), which gives you unlimited social profiles.
Pros:
Includes a range of valuable features beyond scheduling, including comment moderation, brand keyword tracking, and messaging
You can schedule a post up to 180 days in advance
Centralized social media inbox
Cons:
Expensive
No free plan is available
Tested by: Boss Lady, Katie Stanton
“Sprout is usually my go-to, but for a team that needs a slightly more affordable option, Loomly is a solid choice.”
Tested by: Senior Project Manager, Renee Tate
“Sprout Social is my favorite! I love the reporting they have, and their platform is super easy to use. You can connect up to 5 platforms and manage all your social media within one platform. It's amazing. The price point is on the higher end, so again, it is not entirely feasible for a small business or organization. However, it's worth the investment.”
Tested by: Consultant, Erin Mishkin
“My go-to is Sprout - It's easy to schedule multiple clients and multiple platforms in one place, and they have a robust reporting feature. Instead of having fixed dates, you can select the range you want and it will have a comparison to the previous year.”
Buffer
Buffer is a user-friendly social media management tool that schedules and manages posts across multiple platforms, offering customization options and analytics. It's favored by marketing departments, freelancers, and nonprofits for its ease of use, scheduling features, and affordability.
Buffer's posting network is limited, but it still includes major platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
You can use Buffer's free plan to plan and publish posts, build a landing page, and have an AI assistant. For the addition of basic analytics and engagement tools, you can upgrade to the Essential plan for $6/month.
Pros:
Buffer has a free plan for individual users or small teams just getting their start
As for their Essential, Team, and Agency plans, all are reasonably priced ranging from free to $120/month
Cons:
Basic overview of analytics that mainly shows just impressions, page views, reach, likes, and comments
Not able to schedule posts with tags or hashtags
Limits how many posts you can schedule per platform
Tested by: Senior Project Manager, Renee Tate
“My favorite free option is Buffer. It gets the job done and is simple. You won't get a ton of reporting, and you can only schedule 10 posts per platform at a time. But for a small team getting started with scheduling, that is enough.”
In-House Tools
Using a comprehensive tool to schedule posts across different platforms can save time, but it can also be expensive. If you only use one or two platforms, it may be more cost-effective to use their built-in scheduling tools.
Here are some platforms that you may not have known have a scheduling feature and how to use them:
Tested by: Media Monitoring Specialist Aaron Maisler
“Something I generally try to do is use the platform's internal scheduler if possible. It adds a little extra work, but I have a suspicion that keeping your content within the app/platform might help with the algorithm. For example, both YouTube and TikTok have pretty decent schedulers, so I usually just roll with that.”
In general, whether you decide to schedule your posts directly through a platform or use one of the third-party tools listed above, it’s great to know when you should be posting. Here you can find Hootsuite's extremely helpful guide on the best time to post overall as well as on specific platforms such as Facebook or Instagram.
If you're curious about the TGL team and what we do or want to get more familiar with the voices behind these suggestions, check out our team page. And let us know in the comments below what other tools we should try!