It’s a social media scheduling tool that works with Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. The best part about Later is that it’s free for up to 30 scheduled posts per month. If you’re posting once a day, this is really good news. Apr 13, 2017 Social media has become universally ubiquitous these days. Top social media sites register their monthly users in the billions. The disruption in modern communication that this phenomenon has caused is pushing more and more public and private organizations to utilize these services to reach out to the public.
With 2019 upon us, whether it be eating more vegetables or finally using that overpriced gym membership, you’re probably in full goal-setting mode. New Year’s resolutions are meant to be broken, right?
Perhaps when it comes to personal goals, but for marketing goals, now is the time to tackle your strategy with full-force.
Organization is one of the keys to success in marketing, so if you are not managing your social platforms, or, if you're an agency, managing your clients' social media accounts, with a social media management tool, that needs to change today!
Not only will using a social media management tool make your life substantially easier, it doesn’t need to go through rounds of budgeting approval – because there are many robust free tools out there to help you accomplish all of your social marketing goals in 2019.
Social management platforms will help you manage multiple social profiles in one place, schedule posts in advance, run contests, track analytics across platforms, and the list goes on. These tools really are game changers for your social strategy!
And lucky for you, I’ve rounded up a list of the seven best free social media management tools to incorporate into your 2019 strategy, starting with my personal favorite, Hootsuite!
#1: Hootsuite
Hootsuite has a special place in my heart, likely because it’s the first social media management platform that I used at my very first job as a Marketing Assistant. At the time, I was managing the company’s social strategy before social advertising had really taken off. I can still remember the hours upon hours I would spend putting together a posting content calendar and setting reminders for myself to tweet at certain times. This was until I discovered Hootsuite and my life as a frantic Twitter bird instantly changed.
So what does the Hootsuite free plan include? This option is decently robust with the ability to:
- Manage 3 social profiles in one place
- Schedule 30 posts in advance
- Generate leads with social contests
Macos Social Media Scheduler Software Windows 10
The free plan also includes basic analytics for tracking followers and various growth and content statistics and two RSS feed integrations. Not too shabby!
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#2: Buffer
Next up is Buffer. Similar to Hootsuite, Buffer has been in the social media management space for quite some time, and they are a respectable platform that allows you to manage multiple social profiles with ease.
With many overlapping features to Hootsuite, some of my favorite Buffer features include the ability to easily schedule content while browsing the web with their Chrome extensions. Buffer also suggests the perfect moments to post based on follower activity – pretty neat!
While there are a variety of options for larger organizations and agencies, the free plan just may suit your social media management needs. Buffer’s free plan includes the ability to manage three social profiles, schedule up to ten posts, utilize their browser extensions and mobile apps (iOS and android) feature, create and schedule content using their image creator and GIF/video uploader, and shorten and track links.
#3: TweetDeck
If Twitter is the bread and butter of your social media strategy, then TweetDeck is likely the best social management platform for you! TweetDeck will allow Twitter birds to use custom timelines, create and manage Twitter lists and searches, and add team accounts. It is also free for Twitter users!
While TweetDeck may not be the all-in-one platform you’re searching for, it is the perfect tool for social marketers managing multiple Twitter accounts where these live conversations are critical for business success.
#4: SocialOomph
Not only do I love the name of SocialOomph, I’m quite impressed by the wide range of features they offer for multiple platforms – ranging from the typical features like scheduling and analytics, to some interesting ones like keeping your DM Twitter Inbox clean to help with increasing followers. They definitely offer a wide variety of unique features for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest management, as well as the ability to manage and schedule blog posts.
While SocialOomph does indeed have a free plan, the features are limited and mostly lean towards Twitter management. On the free plan you can do things like schedule tweets, track keywords, shorten URL’s, and manage up to five Twitter accounts, but some of the more sophisticated features require a paid plan. If you’re looking to manage multiple social platforms aside from Twitter you will need to pay to play.
#5: Friends+Me
Friends+Me is another prime player in the social media management tools family. While Friends+Me puts the highest emphasis on Google Plus features, many other social platforms are supported. Friends+Me appears to get rave reviews from users, and has a beautifully designed website with plans available based on the size of your business. And yes, there is a free plan!
While the free plan is not super robust, it still allows for two queues (which is a destination to publish posts), the ability to schedule five posts per queue at one time, link shortening, browser extensions, an integration with Zapier, as well as standard support. The free plan can also be used for a variety of social platforms like Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Tumblr.
Pinterest and Instagram are supported as well, but you will need to upgrade. Plans range from $7.50 to $216 depending on if you decide to utilize monthly or annual billing.
#6: Followerwonk
Followerwonk is definitely not your tradition social media management tool when it comes to scheduling posts, but it is an effective tool when it comes to understanding your audience at a much deeper level. Followerwonk allows you to dig deep into Twitter bios and compare various accounts to find the most relevant influencers. With this tool, you can analyze your current followers – by location, bio, accounts they follow, and more – and contrast relationships with competitors. This will help you improve your social content by matching your activities with gains and losses of followers.
This tool is definitely worth exploring, because having a lot of followers is meaningless if these followers are not relevant and actually engaging with your brand. Luckily, Followerwonk offers a free account, as well! Like many of the others on this list, the free account does come with several limitations, but you will still be able to connect one profile, view authority rankings, see followers and their locations, see when followers are active, and access several other details to further analyze your social audience. If you are interested in more capabilities their plans are still decently affordable ranging from $29 to $79 per month.
#7: Zoho Social
Whether you’re a growing business or an agency, Zoho Social will help you manage multiple profiles, research relevant keywords, work with team members, and of course schedule posts from one dashboard.
Zoho Social has many of the same tools and features that the other platforms have, but they also have Facebook lead ads, advanced reporting features, a SocialShare browser plugin, and CRM integrations. Zoho Social caters to agencies as well so marketers have the choice of choosing between the business or agency plans. Pricing for the paid plans ranges from $8.33 to $125+ for larger agencies. Zoho Social’s free plan allows you to manage 1 brand, and includes the URL shortener and SocialShare browser plugin.
I know, I know there are a lot of options here! Luckily, they all have free plans so you can experiment and find the platform that works best for your social strategy. At the end of the day you can’t go wrong moving onto a social media management tool – it will likely save you time, grow your social presence, and possibly even make you some money!
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
Maintaining a constant social media presence can be difficult, especially for busy entrepreneurs looking to stay in touch with their communities. Luckily, there are plenty of tools out there to help ease the burden. One of the most useful functionalities for a social management tool is the ability to schedule updates.
Here is a list of 11 free services for scheduling social media updates, either across multiple social platforms or just for Twitter.
At the end of the list, you'll also find a quick note on 11 paid services that you may be interested in investigating, as well. If your service of choice, free or paid, isn't in this post, let us know in the comments.
Free Multi-Platform Services
If you or your company have an extensive online presence across multiple social platforms, you should check out some of the following services that allow for scheduling social media updates across multiple platforms.
1. Hootsuite
Hootsuite has a broad range of apps, including their web-based original, mobile apps (iPhone and Android), desktop apps (Windows, Mac and Linux) and add-ons for Firefox and Chrome, all with the power to schedule updates.
Social Platforms: The desktop and web-based apps allow you to schedule to Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn, Ping.fm, WordPress, MySpace, and Foursquare, while the mobile apps are limited to Twitter and Facebook.
2. LaterBro
On the sign-in screen, you can log in using either your Twitter or Facebook information. After choosing your time zone, you can either start scheduling updates or add more social accounts. You can add multiple Twitter accounts and are limited to one Facebook account.
When scheduling an update, you can choose which accounts the update should be posted on and when. If you schedule a particular update to multiple accounts, they appear separately in the queue, so that you can edit them individually. For Facebook, you can mark posts as recurring daily, every other day, weekly, every other week, monthly or annually.
Social Media Content Scheduler
Social Platforms: Twitter and Facebook
3. CoTweet
CoTweet is an enterprise-grade tool for monitoring a brand's Twitter accounts and engaging with customers. One of the many features is the ability to schedule tweets by time and date. CoTweet can also be configured to send updates to Ping.fm. The Ping.fm configuration allows you to send updates to any of the social platforms that your Ping.fm account is hooked up to.
Social Platforms: Twitter and Ping.fm
4. Twaitter
After logging in with your Twitter information, choosing your time zone, and providing an e-mail address, you're on your way to scheduling tweets with Twaitter, soon to be called Gremln. Scheduled tweets appear in a queue and can be edited or deleted prior to being sent.
Twaitter has a built-in URL shortener and spell checker, and also boasts the abilities to translate tweets, save drafts and mark tweets as recurring. You can also connect your Ping.fm account to Twaitter and begin scheduling updates on that platform, too.
Social Platforms: Twitter and Ping.fm
Free Services for Twitter Only
For the Twitterati members out there who focus their efforts on Twitter, dismissing all other social platforms, the following seven services may be of particular interest. Whether your goal is to keep your Twitter followers updated on your social life, feed them with the hottest news in your industry or inform them of upcoming marketing programs, these free services will help you schedule each tweet accordingly.
5. FutureTweets
FutureTweets allows you to sign in using Twitter OAuth. Choose your time zone and get to tweeting.
Oddly, FutureTweets gives you the choice to 'flip' your tweet upside down and in reverse. Why you would want to do this, I'm not so sure, but strangely they offer the option.
I enjoy the analog clock they provide, if only for its campy feel — the user experience behind manually choosing a time on an old-fashioned clock isn't so swell. In that case, you can just type in a time and date.
6. Tweetsqueue
Tweetsqueue puts an emphasis on frequency. Although currently in closed beta, you can request an invite, and after gaining access, simply sign in using your Twitter account, choose your time zone and set your tweet frequency (e.g. every 45 minutes). This queuing system allows for a constant flow of tweets at a predetermined interval.
7. Dynamic Tweets
Dynamic Tweets allows you to schedule tweets in advance by the hour or for a specific time and date. The most unique feature in Dynamic Tweets is the option to upload a CSV file of planned tweets, including information for the time, date, Twitter account, tweet and optional tracking code. This could be useful for companies that have massive lists of scheduled tweets planned.
8. Taweet
What's happening in the future? That's the question that Taweet asks of users, as opposed to Twitter's default, 'What's happening?'
The purpose of Taweet is to allow users to schedule future tweets in coordination with events they are planning on participating in. When scheduling, you have the option to share a tweet that announces your future tweet. For example, on July 30th, I planned to be at Chelsea Piers Date Night. As you can see in the example above, I scheduled the tweet and shared it with my followers in case anyone was interested in joining me — killing two birds with one stone, I suppose. If you'd rather not share the future tweet at the time of scheduling, you can deselect the 'Share Now' button.
From the Taweet platform, you and other users can comment on future tweets. This can be useful for planning and coordinating.
9. Tweet-U-Later
Tweet-U-Later has three main options: Scheduling a tweet, scheduling a private message (known as a Direct Message on Twitter), and scheduling tweets via e-mail.
When scheduling a tweet, you choose the time, date, time zone, message, and whether you'd like the tweet to be a recurring message. Pending tweets appear in a queue, where you can edit or delete them.
To schedule tweets via e-mail, you are given a Tweet-U-Later e-mail address. In order to successfully schedule a tweet via e-mail, you must follow this format: 'Your message goes here;YYYY-MM-DD@HH:MM.' This option seems extremely susceptible to human error, so be careful if you plan on using it.
10. TweetSched
TweetSched is a desktop app, available as a free download, that allows you to schedule your tweets by date and time. The simple interface includes a text box, add button and queue where you can edit and delete pending tweets.
11. Twuffer
You can easily sign onto Twuffer using your Twitter username and password. After setting your time zone, preferred time and date formats, and whether you'd like your tweets shown on Twuffer's homepage, you can begin scheduling tweets. There are two lists of tweets, the queue for scheduled tweets and the list of sent tweets.
Unfortunately, you can't edit your tweets once they are queued. The only option for defunct tweets is deleting and starting from scratch.
Not Free
For the record, there are also a lot of services out there with various pricing plans. This post was dedicated to free services, but if you're interested in checking out a whole slew of options, check out Objective Marketer, SocialTALK, Vitrue, AMP, Postling, Sendible, Buzzom Premium, Media Funnel, Converse, SocialOomph and Social Tomorrow. Some of these services have freemium models, with limited-usability free versions.
Social management tools are growing in popularity, and scheduling social updates is just one of the great features that many of these tool come packaged with. If you've tested some of the services in this list or you currently use a service that wasn't mentioned, let us know in the comments.
More Social Media Resources from Mashable
- Top 20 Sites to Improve Your Twitter Experience - HOW TO: Put Facebook’s “Like” Button on Any Website - A Look Back at the Last 5 Years in Social Media - 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Social Media Identity - 10 Fascinating Facebook Facts
[img credit: alancleaver]