social media management platform top 3 comparison
Recent statistics show that about 3.196 billion people, 53.6% of the total world population, use Social Media actively. These figures imply that half of the world can be reached online via social media platforms. It is no wonder that most businesses leverage various social media platforms to reach their potential and existing customers.
With the advent and prevalence of the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses have stayed afloat by working remotely. However, managing many social media accounts and maintaining a solid online presence is not an easy feat. This is where Social media management platforms come in.
Social media management platforms are helping businesses efficiently (and more conveniently) execute social marketing strategies. There are many benefits of using Social Media Management. With Social media management platforms, you can:
- Improve your brand’s online visibility.
- Manage and improve your online business reputation.
- Improve your brand’s organizational skills with the aid of scheduling and content management tools.
- Easily collect and report essential data.
- Manage multiple social media accounts.
- Improve customer engagement.
- Save time.
The advantages of investing in social media management software are worth considering. Businesses are using numerous social media management platforms across the globe. However, this article discusses and compares 3 of the best (in our opinion) social media management software for small businesses. The features, advantages and disadvantages of Hootsuite, Zoho and Publer are focal points in this article. You will also learn about what to consider when selecting a social media management software.
| Hootsuite | Zoho Social | Publer.io |
|---|---|---|
| Best Analytics | Best in All-in-One | Best Value |
| Rating: 8.8/10 | Rating: 9.1/10 | 9.2/10 |
| Price: Very High | Price: Moderate | Price: Low |
| Hootsuite Features Link | Zoho Pricing Link | Publer Plan Link |
platform REVIEWs
ZOHO SOCIAL
Features
- Bulk Scheduler.
- Publishing Calendar.
- Repeat post.
- Automated publishing.
- Conversion Tracking.
- Content management.
- Post Scheduling.
- Multi-account management.
- Keyword filtering.
- Social Analytics and reporting.
Description
One of the 40+ products from Zoho, The Zoho Social, is a social media management platform designed to help businesses manage their social media presence. This all-in-one platform has virtually all that organizations would need for social media marketing and product promotion.
This tool has superb automated social analytical features, allowing you to analyze your performance and highlights areas to improve on. Moreso, with the Zoho Social media management software, you can monitor revenue that accrues to your organization through social media marketing. It allows collaborative team use such that team members can easily manage brands through their social media accounts. Its automated publishing feature and scheduler will help you post content consistently. You can schedule many posts on various social media accounts for a long duration. With Zoho Social, you can monitor conversations on many social media accounts and respond quickly to your audience. It also integrates CRM for lead generation.
PROS
- It is easy to use.
- It has user-friendly interfaces.
- It allows multiple users collaboration.
- Its pause post feature gives users the flexibility of abruptly pausing posts.
CONS
- It does not have a visual planning tool.
- Although it allows you to monitor your mentions, it lacks social listening features.
- Its calendar view does not support viewing a published post.
- Its analytics and reporting capabilities are not as good as some of its competitors.
- It doesn’t support the latest social media channels, but a lack of Pinterest integration is the most noticeable.
PRICING
Zoho Social pricing starts at $13 per month for a Standard Plan, $38 per month for a Professional Plan. The Standard Plan allows one team member to manage one brand (7 social media accounts). The Professional Plan provides for a maximum of one team member as well. If you want to add more team members using either plan, it will incur more cost. Or you can jump up to the Premium Plan at $50 per month.
There is, of course, a free trial.
Hootsuite
Features
- Contact and content management.
- Supports multiple account management.
- Supports keyword filtering.
- Analytics and reporting.
- Automated publishing.
- Bulk scheduler.
- Social listening.
- Customer targeting.
DESCRIPTION
Created in 2008 by Ryan Holmes, Hootsuite is a popular social media management product that has been around for quite some time. This social media management platform can be used to manage several social networks and accounts. It connects to more than twenty social networks, including Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. Also, if you choose the free version and need to post to Google My Business (now Google Business Profile), you can add it as a network for free as an App.
It is notable for its detailed social analytics feature, which allows you to analyze trends and customize reports. These reports help to identify the growth rate of your social profile.
Its bulk scheduling feature allows you to post many contents simultaneously.
Hootsuite helps to attract customers by suggesting content that could be of interest.
Hootsuite has a live chat available around the clock with support in English, Japanese, German, Portuguese, Italian, and French.
PROS
- It offers excellent analytics to monitor the performance and trends of a post.
- Excellent monitoring of mentions, hashtags and competitor accounts.
- It works well to launch campaigns.
- Good technical support.
- It integrates many other social media platforms.
- It allows for collaborative use by team members.
- Used to publish posts across several channels at a single click.
CONS
- Limited features are available on its free plan.
- The team plan is quite expensive.
- The bulk scheduling feature cannot be paused.
- Poor management of social inbox.
- It is costly to get some add-ons.
PRICING
It has a free trial that lasts for 30 days. Its free plan allows for the management of only two social media profiles.
The professional plan costs $49 per month. This plan allows for the management of 10 social media profiles with only one user.
It has a team plan which costs $129 per month. It allows for three users and the management of 20 social media profiles.
Its business plan starts at $599 per month. It covers about 50 media profiles.
Note: Oddly, this Canadian-based company posts all pricing in USD.
publer
Features
- Content management (in a nice calendar)
- Analytics and reporting
- Image and text editing
- Post suggestions for each day of the month
- Posts and publishes scheduling
- Supports multiple account management
- Allows for video posts.
- Activity dashboard.
- Publishing automation.
- Social media monitoring.
- Available in more than 14 languages.
DESCRIPTION
Publer is suited to small, mid-sized businesses and regular users who want to manage their social media accounts productively and at a low budget. Publer makes it easy for companies to engage in social media marketing and promote their services. It allows for an unlimited number of users and time of usage. It helps in creating and publishing original content with features that schedule posting time. It will enable for posting content across many social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and others. It offers templates and suggestions to allow users to develop content consistently.
Publer integrates other social media applications. It is available in Germany, Dutch, Portuguese, Ukrainian, French, Spanish, English, and Russian.
It has calendar management that enables the user to have a holistic view of scheduled events.
PROS
- Versatile
- Simple to use
- User-friendly interface.
- You can view scheduled posts.
- It provides 24/7 customer support.
- It is available in different languages.
- Easy to customize
- Its primary package is free.
CONS
- No step-by-step video guide for beginners.
- It only provides basic statistics without detailed information about publications.
- It does not support work uploading images at a single click.
PRICING
It has a free trial that lasts for seven days after registration. The free plans give you access to social networks like Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Slack, Facebook, WordPress and Telegram.
The professional plan starts at $19 per month. It allows connection to WhatsApp, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, WordPress, Slack, Telegram and GMB business accounts.
What to consider in selecting a social media management software
There are many social media management platforms used by businesses today. However, choosing one from so many excellent social media management tools can be taxing. Different tools have their own unique features, but there is no perfect tool to meet everyone’s expectations. Here are some criteria to consider before picking a social media management tool.
Available features
Social media management products have free and paid features. Define the features that are essential to your business. Find out if you would have to pay for the features that you do not use. You also need to consider the size of your business and the features that would support scaling in the event of sudden growth.
If you want team members to use the tool, ensure that tool has features that support team collaboration. Use a tool that allows you to set limits, access and permission levels with ease.
Security and accountability:
Research and inquire about third-party policies of the product you are considering if you are handling sensitive details.
Check out the security features provided by the tool to avoid instances of data breaches. Ensure that the selected tool is secure before using it to access your social media accounts.
Integration:
Select a product that allows integration with other products. You might need to passes data between social media tools. Ensure that the product you select supports integration or will enable you to create your integration.
Price:
The cost involved in using a social media management product is a criterion to consider before settling on it. Check the flexibility of the product’s payment plan. Some products offer a monthly payment structure, while some offer annual payment plans.
Also, you need to check if the pricing would change if you need to add more team members, social media accounts and updates.
User Experience:
When selecting a management software, you have to consider its user experience. Is it easy to use? Do you or your team require training before being able to use the software?
A social media management tool that is not user-friendly would leave you and your team confused before you can get the hang of it. Imagine the time and energy that would be wasted in the process.
Analytics and reporting:
Some social media software does not have insightful social analytics and reporting features. This translates into investing extra time and effort before analyzing data. Some Softwares have advanced analytic and reporting features that give detailed reports. These reporting features can be used to compile relevant data that can help you in decision-making. Information on the trends, demographic and content engagement of your audience can be inferred from analytics tools.
Defining the quantifiable metrics you need to monitor and report would help you choose a social media management product that best meets your needs.
Final verdict
Managing your brand’s social media presence across various social media accounts can be very tasking. However, with the aid of social media management tools like Zoho Social, Hootsuite and Publer, you can create, schedule, publish posts across many social media networks. Other benefits of these platforms include social listening, customer targeting, and engagement to help users attract customers and improve their online presence. The best part is that these features are automated, thereby saving the time and energy of users.
Zoho social is our best all-in-one social media management tool. A good middle-road, if you need some CRM integration and a clean interface for all of your social media publishing.
For low-budget users and agencies, a Publer is an ideal choice due to the free subscription and you never need to worry about another cost again for social media content management? This is what we use and although it might not have all the bells and whistles that Hootsuite offers, we are quite happy using it at Oi Marketing.
Hootsuite offers the best in analytics and reporting.