Best Social Media Schedulers

Social Media Schedulers Guide

Social media schedulers are digital tools that allow individuals, businesses, and organizations to plan, create, and schedule their social media posts in advance. These tools have become increasingly popular due to the growing importance of maintaining a consistent online presence across various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and more.

The primary function of a social media scheduler is to automate the process of posting content on social media. This means that instead of manually logging into each account and posting content at specific times throughout the day or week, users can simply set up all their posts at once and let the scheduler handle the rest. This not only saves time but also ensures that posts go live at optimal times for engagement.

One key feature of most social media schedulers is the ability to manage multiple accounts from one central dashboard. This is particularly useful for businesses or individuals who maintain a presence on several different platforms. Instead of having to switch between different sites or apps to post content or check analytics, everything can be done from one place.

Another important aspect of these tools is their ability to provide insights into post performance. Many schedulers come with built-in analytics tools that track likes, shares, comments, retweets and other forms of engagement. These metrics can help users understand what type of content resonates best with their audience so they can tailor future posts accordingly.

In addition to scheduling posts and tracking performance metrics, some social media schedulers also offer features like content curation and collaboration tools. Content curation features allow users to find relevant content from other sources that they can share with their audience. Collaboration tools enable teams to work together on creating and scheduling posts which is especially useful for larger organizations where multiple people may be involved in managing social media accounts.

While there are many benefits associated with using a social media scheduler, it's important for users to remember that these tools should not replace genuine interaction with followers. Social media is about building relationships and engaging with others, so while schedulers can help with the logistical side of things, they can't replicate the human touch. Users should still make an effort to respond to comments, participate in discussions and generally be active participants on their social media platforms.

In terms of cost, social media schedulers range from free to premium pricing depending on the features offered. Some popular social media scheduling tools include Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Later among others. Each tool has its own unique set of features and benefits so it's important for users to do their research and choose a scheduler that best fits their needs.

Social media schedulers are powerful tools that can help individuals and businesses streamline their social media management process. They offer a range of features including post scheduling, multi-account management, analytics tracking, content curation and collaboration tools. However, while these tools can save time and provide valuable insights into post performance, they should not replace genuine engagement with followers.

Features Provided by Social Media Schedulers

These tools come with a variety of features designed to streamline the process of managing multiple social media accounts. Here are some key features provided by these schedulers:

1. Post Scheduling: This is the primary feature of any social media scheduler. It allows users to plan their posts ahead of time and schedule them for automatic posting at specific times. This feature is particularly useful for maintaining a consistent online presence without having to manually post content every day.
2. Multi-Platform Support: Most social media schedulers support multiple platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. This means you can manage all your social media accounts from one place instead of logging into each platform separately.
3. Content Calendar: A content calendar provides an overview of all scheduled posts across different platforms in a calendar format. It helps users visualize their content strategy and make necessary adjustments.
4. Bulk Uploads: Some schedulers allow users to upload and schedule multiple posts at once. This is especially helpful when planning a campaign or when you have a lot of content to share within a short period.
5. Analytics & Reporting: Social media schedulers often include analytics features that track the performance of your posts across different platforms. They provide insights on metrics like engagement rate, reach, likes, shares, comments, etc., which can help improve your social media strategy.
6. Collaboration Tools: If you work with a team on your social media management tasks, collaboration tools can be very beneficial. These features may include task assignment options, approval workflows before posting content or shared access to the scheduler without sharing login credentials.
7. Content Curation & Discovery: Some scheduling tools also offer features that help find relevant content based on keywords or topics related to your industry or interests. This can save time in content creation and ensure you're sharing valuable information with your audience.
8. Social Listening: Social listening features allow users to monitor mentions of their brand, competitors, or specific keywords across social media platforms. This can help businesses respond quickly to customer inquiries or complaints, track their online reputation, and stay ahead of industry trends.
9. Post Recycling: Some schedulers have a feature that allows for the automatic recycling of evergreen content (content that remains relevant over time). This ensures that great content continues to get exposure even after its initial post date.
10. Direct Publishing: For platforms like Instagram that traditionally required mobile posting, some schedulers offer direct publishing features. This means you can schedule posts directly from your desktop without needing a mobile device.
11. User Interface: A good social media scheduler should have an intuitive user interface making it easy for users to navigate through the platform and use its features effectively.
12. Customer Support: Reliable customer support is crucial when using any tool for business purposes. Most social media schedulers provide support via email, live chat or phone calls to assist users with any issues they may encounter while using the tool.

Social media schedulers are equipped with numerous features designed to make managing multiple social media accounts easier and more efficient. By understanding these features and how they work, businesses can leverage them to enhance their online presence and engage more effectively with their audience.

Different Types of Social Media Schedulers

1. Single Platform Schedulers: These are social media schedulers that focus on one specific platform, such as Facebook or Twitter. They allow users to schedule posts in advance for that particular platform only.
2. Multi-Platform Schedulers: These schedulers allow users to manage and schedule posts across multiple social media platforms from a single dashboard. This type of scheduler is ideal for businesses or individuals who have a presence on several social media sites.
3. Content Curation Schedulers: These schedulers not only allow you to schedule your posts but also help you find relevant content to share with your audience. They often include features like content discovery tools, RSS feed integration, and suggestions based on trending topics or keywords.
4. Visual Content Schedulers: These are designed specifically for scheduling visual content like images and videos across various platforms. They often include features like image editing tools, filters, and templates to create visually appealing posts.
5. Team Collaboration Schedulers: These schedulers are designed for teams managing a company's social media accounts together. They typically include features like task assignment, approval workflows, and team communication tools to streamline the process of creating and scheduling posts.
6. Analytics-Based Schedulers: These types of schedulers provide detailed analytics about your social media performance along with the scheduling feature. They help you understand which types of content perform best, what times are most effective for posting, and how your audience is engaging with your content.
7. Auto-Scheduling Tools: Some schedulers offer auto-scheduling features where the tool automatically determines the best time to post based on when your audience is most active online.
8. Social Listening Schedulers: In addition to scheduling posts, these tools monitor mentions of your brand or chosen keywords across different platforms so you can respond promptly and engage with your audience effectively.
9. Social Media Calendar Tools: These schedulers provide an overview of all scheduled posts in a calendar format allowing users to visualize their content strategy and ensure a consistent posting schedule.
10. Social Media Contest Schedulers: These schedulers allow users to plan, schedule, and manage social media contests or giveaways across multiple platforms.
11. User-Generated Content Schedulers: These tools help businesses curate and schedule user-generated content, which is any form of content created by users or customers about a brand or product.
12. Social Media Ad Schedulers: These schedulers are designed specifically for scheduling paid social media advertisements across various platforms. They often include features like ad performance tracking and budget management tools.
13. Influencer Collaboration Schedulers: These schedulers are designed to facilitate collaboration between brands and influencers, allowing them to plan, schedule, and track the performance of influencer marketing campaigns.
14. Customer Service Schedulers: Some social media schedulers also include customer service features that allow businesses to respond to customer inquiries or complaints directly from the scheduler platform.
15. Mobile-Based Schedulers: These are mobile applications that allow users to schedule social media posts on-the-go from their smartphones or tablets.
16. Desktop-Based Schedulers: These are tools that need to be installed on a computer for scheduling posts on different social media platforms.
17. Cloud-Based Schedulers: These schedulers operate entirely online without the need for any software installation, allowing users to access their dashboard from anywhere with an internet connection.

Advantages of Using Social Media Schedulers

These tools provide a range of advantages that can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of social media marketing efforts. Here are some key advantages:

1. Time Management: One of the most significant benefits of using a social media scheduler is the ability to save time. Instead of having to log into each platform individually throughout the day to post content, users can set aside a specific block of time to create and schedule all their posts for the week or month ahead.
2. Consistency: Consistency is crucial in maintaining an active presence on social media. With a scheduler, you can ensure that your posts go live at regular intervals without fail, even if you're busy with other tasks or away from your desk.
3. Optimal Posting Times: Social media schedulers allow users to post at times when their audience is most active online, increasing engagement rates. This feature is particularly useful as optimal posting times often fall outside standard business hours.
4. Cross-Platform Scheduling: Most schedulers support multiple platforms, allowing users to manage all their social media accounts from one place. This not only saves time but also ensures a consistent brand voice across different channels.
5. Content Planning: Schedulers often come with calendar features that help visualize your content strategy over weeks or months. This makes it easier to plan campaigns, balance different types of content, and avoid last-minute scrambles for material.
6. Performance Tracking: Many scheduling tools include analytics features that track the performance of your posts across different platforms over time. This data can be invaluable in refining your strategy and understanding what kind of content resonates with your audience.
7. Team Collaboration: If you work with a team on your social media efforts, schedulers make collaboration easier by providing shared access to accounts and drafts without sharing sensitive login information. Some tools also allow for task assignment and approval workflows.
8. Crisis Management: In case of a PR crisis or negative event, having a scheduler allows you to pause all scheduled posts quickly. This prevents potentially tone-deaf content from going live while you're dealing with the situation.
9. Evergreen Content Recycling: Some social media schedulers have features that allow you to recycle evergreen content (content that remains relevant over time). This can help fill gaps in your schedule and ensure your best content gets seen by new followers.
10. Competitor Analysis: Certain scheduling tools offer features that let you monitor competitor accounts and industry keywords. This can provide valuable insights into what strategies are working for others in your field, which you can then incorporate into your own approach.

Types of Users That Use Social Media Schedulers

• Small Business Owners: These individuals use social media schedulers to manage their business's online presence. They may not have a dedicated marketing team, so they rely on these tools to ensure consistent posting and engagement with their audience.
• Marketing Professionals: These users work in the field of marketing and use social media schedulers as part of their job. They often manage multiple accounts across various platforms and need a way to streamline their tasks.
• Social Media Managers: These professionals are responsible for managing an organization's social media profiles. They use schedulers to plan content ahead of time, track performance metrics, and engage with followers.
• Bloggers/Influencers: Bloggers and influencers use social media schedulers to maintain a regular posting schedule, which is crucial for building and maintaining an engaged following. This also allows them more time to focus on creating high-quality content.
• Non-profit Organizations: Non-profits use social media schedulers to share updates about their cause, promote events or fundraisers, and engage with supporters. This helps them maximize their reach without spending too much time on social media management.
• Freelancers: Freelance writers, graphic designers, photographers, etc., utilize these tools to maintain a professional online presence and showcase their work regularly without having to manually post every day.
• Educational Institutions: Schools, colleges, universities use social media scheduling tools for sharing important updates, news or events with students or parents. It helps them keep everyone informed in a timely manner.
• Public Figures/Politicians: Public figures like politicians or celebrities often have busy schedules that don't allow them the luxury of time for regular manual postings. Social media schedulers help them stay connected with their followers consistently.
• Digital Marketing Agencies: Such agencies handle multiple clients' social media accounts at once. Schedulers help them organize posts for each client efficiently while ensuring that no deadlines are missed.
• eCommerce Businesses: These businesses use social media schedulers to promote their products, announce sales or discounts, and engage with customers. It helps them drive traffic to their online stores and increase sales.
• News/Media Outlets: News organizations use these tools to schedule posts about breaking news, updates, or feature stories across different time zones without having to manually post at odd hours.
• Event Planners: Event planners use social media schedulers to promote upcoming events, share event highlights, and engage with attendees. This allows them to focus more on the logistics of planning the event itself.
• Healthcare Providers: Hospitals, clinics or individual practitioners utilize these tools for sharing health tips, appointment reminders or important health news with their patients or general public.
• Restaurants/Cafes/Bars: These establishments use social media schedulers for promoting special deals, new menu items or events. It helps them attract more customers and keep regular ones engaged.
• Real Estate Agents/Agencies: They use these tools for showcasing properties available for sale/rent, sharing market trends or providing home buying/selling tips. This helps them attract potential buyers/sellers and stay top-of-mind in a competitive market.
• Travel Agencies/Tour Operators: These businesses utilize social media scheduling tools for sharing attractive travel packages, customer testimonials or travel tips which can help boost bookings.
• Fitness Trainers/Gyms: Fitness professionals use these tools for sharing workout videos/tips, client progress stories or class schedules which can help attract new clients and motivate existing ones.

How Much Do Social Media Schedulers Cost?

The cost of these schedulers can vary greatly depending on the features they offer, the number of social media profiles you need to manage, and whether you're looking for a personal or business solution.

At the lower end of the spectrum, there are free options available. These often come with limitations such as a restricted number of posts you can schedule per month or only allowing you to manage one or two social media profiles. Examples include Hootsuite's free plan which allows scheduling up to 30 messages in advance across three social profiles, or Buffer's free plan which lets you manage three social accounts and schedule up to ten posts per account.

For more advanced features and capabilities, most social media schedulers offer paid plans. For instance, Hootsuite's Professional plan costs $49 per month and allows scheduling unlimited messages across 10 different profiles. Similarly, Buffer's Pro plan is priced at $15 per month offering management of eight social accounts and scheduling up to 100 posts per account.

There are also premium solutions designed for larger businesses or agencies managing multiple client accounts. These plans typically offer advanced analytics, team collaboration features, bulk scheduling capabilities among others. For example, Sprout Social's Advanced plan costs $249 per user/month providing all-inclusive social management for large teams while Sendible’s Large plan is priced at $299/month catering specifically to agencies handling large volumes of content.

In addition to monthly subscriptions, some platforms also offer annual plans which can provide significant savings if you're willing to commit long-term. For instance, Agorapulse offers an annual Medium Plan at $79/month (billed annually) compared to its monthly rate of $99/month.

It’s important to note that prices can vary greatly depending on the platform and the specific needs of your business. Some platforms may also offer custom pricing for enterprise-level solutions. Therefore, it's crucial to thoroughly research and compare different options to find a social media scheduler that fits your budget and meets your specific requirements.

Social media schedulers can range from being free to costing several hundred dollars per month. The cost largely depends on the number of social profiles you need to manage, the volume of content you plan to schedule, and the advanced features you require such as analytics or team collaboration tools.

What Software Do Social Media Schedulers Integrate With?

Social media schedulers can integrate with a variety of software types to enhance their functionality and streamline the process of managing social media content. 

Content management systems (CMS), for instance, can be integrated to allow users to create, edit, and publish content directly from the CMS to various social media platforms. This integration simplifies the process of sharing blog posts or website updates on social media.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is another type that can integrate with social media schedulers. This allows businesses to track customer interactions across different social media platforms and schedule posts based on these interactions.

Email marketing software can also be integrated with social media schedulers. This enables businesses to coordinate their email marketing campaigns with their social media posts, ensuring a consistent message across all platforms.

Analytics tools are another type of software that can be integrated with social media schedulers. These tools provide insights into how well the scheduled posts are performing in terms of engagement, reach, and conversions.

Project management tools can also work in tandem with social media schedulers. They help teams collaborate on creating and scheduling posts, assigning tasks related to social media management, and tracking progress.

Graphic design software can integrate with these schedulers as well. This allows users to create visually appealing graphics for their posts right within the scheduler platform itself before scheduling them for publication.

What Are the Trends Relating to Social Media Schedulers?

• Increased Automation: As technology advances, the automation features of social media schedulers are becoming more sophisticated. These applications can now automatically post content at the optimal times to maximize user engagement.
• Integration with Analytics Tools: Many schedulers offer integration with analytics tools, enabling users to track the performance of their posts. This trend allows users to continually refine their strategy based on data-driven insights.
• Multi-Platform Scheduling: The most popular schedulers now support a wide range of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. This makes it easier for businesses to maintain a consistent brand image across different channels.
• Personalized Content Delivery: Some schedulers are equipped with AI that analyzes users' behavior to determine the best time and type of content to deliver. This trend is helping businesses connect with their audience on a more personal level.
• Bulk Scheduling: Businesses are increasingly turning to tools that allow bulk scheduling of posts. This saves time and resources, allowing them to focus on creating high-quality content rather than manual posting.
• Mobile-Friendly Schedulers: With the increasing use of mobile devices, there's a rising demand for mobile-friendly scheduling tools. Users want the flexibility to schedule posts while on-the-go.
• Visual Calendar View: More social media schedulers are incorporating visual calendar views into their interfaces. This feature helps users visualize their content plan and makes it easier to identify any gaps or overlaps in scheduling.
• Evergreen Content Recycling: Some schedulers can automatically recycle evergreen content (content that remains relevant over a long period). This ensures such content gains maximum exposure without additional effort from the user.
• Social Listening Integration: A growing trend is the integration of social listening tools into scheduling platforms. These tools monitor online conversations about specific topics or brands, providing valuable insights that can inform content strategy.
• Direct Publishing Options: Instagram has opened its API to allow direct posting from third-party apps, and other platforms are expected to follow suit. This trend towards direct publishing simplifies the scheduling process and reduces the risk of errors.
• Collaboration Features: As teams become more distributed, schedulers with collaboration features are gaining popularity. These tools allow multiple users to contribute to a single content calendar, facilitating remote teamwork.
• AI-Powered Suggestions: Some social media schedulers offer AI-powered suggestions for the best times to post, optimal frequency, and even content ideas based on past performance and audience engagement patterns.
• Affordable Options for Small Businesses: An emerging trend is the rise of affordable or even free scheduling tools aimed at small businesses or individual entrepreneurs. These tools often offer basic functionalities that meet the needs of these smaller entities.
• Integration with Content Creation Tools: The trend of integrating with content creation tools like Canva or Adobe Spark allows users to not only schedule but also create visually appealing posts within the same platform.
• Security Features: With increasing concerns over data privacy and security, more advanced security measures such as two-factor authentication and encryption are being incorporated into social media scheduling tools.

How To Pick the Right Social Media Scheduler

Selecting the right social media scheduler can be a game-changer for your business or personal brand. It can help you save time, stay organized, and ensure that your content reaches your audience at the most optimal times. Here's how to choose the right one:

1. Identify Your Needs: The first step is to identify what you need from a social media scheduler. Do you need it for multiple accounts? Do you want analytics reports? Do you need it to schedule posts on specific platforms only or all of them?
2. Research Options: Once you know what you're looking for, start researching different options. Some popular ones include Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, and Later.
3. Check Platform Compatibility: Ensure that the scheduler supports all the social media platforms that you use. Some schedulers may not support less popular platforms.
4. Evaluate Features: Look at the features each scheduler offers and see if they align with your needs. This could include bulk scheduling, visual calendars, collaboration tools for teams, etc.
5. Consider Usability: The tool should be easy to use and intuitive so that it doesn't add more work to your plate.
6. Look at Pricing: Compare pricing plans of different schedulers and see which one fits within your budget while still meeting all your needs.
7. Read Reviews: Check out reviews from other users online to get an idea of their experiences with the tool.
8. Test It Out: Most schedulers offer free trials or demo versions so take advantage of this and test out a few before making a decision.
9. Analyze Reporting Capabilities: If analytics are important to you, make sure the tool provides detailed reports about post performance and audience engagement.
10. Customer Support: Lastly, consider their customer service reputation because if something goes wrong or if there's something you don't understand about using the tool, good customer support will be invaluable.

Remember, the best social media scheduler for you depends on your specific needs and goals. Take your time to do thorough research before making a decision. Use the comparison engine on this page to help you compare social media schedulers by their features, prices, user reviews, and more.