Social Media Schedulers: Which One Is Right For You?

One of the most popular topics in the history of social media management is social media schedulers.

In fact, the single-most asked question in our Social Media Managers Facebook group is which scheduling tool should I use? Which is the best?

If you’ve come to this blog post, you’re likely asking yourself that very question. And I’ve set out to help you find the answer.

I’ve spent the last several weeks surveying our 50k+ Facebook group members, talking with colleagues, and researching various schedulers to help you decide what the right social media scheduler is for you. Let’s dive in.

Why Do You Need A Social Media Scheduler?

Before we get to which social media scheduler to use, let’s talk about WHY you need a scheduling tool.

Here are some common reasons why social media professionals opt for using a scheduler:

• You can set it and forget it
• It saves you time
• You can post to multiple platforms at once
• It helps to keep you organized, especially with multiple clients
• It keeps you focused, rather than scrolling on social media
• You can analyze your results in one place

What To Ask When Looking For A Scheduler?

So, you know why you want to add a social media scheduler to your business. Now, what should you be asking yourself when evaluating schedulers? There are so many different scheduling tools on the market these days, it can be hard to know what exactly to prioritize when comparing and contrasting different tools.

Here are 5 basic questions to ask yourself when looking for a social media scheduler:

1. Can I afford it? – This is the first question you should ask yourself when looking at schedulers. Where you’re at in your business is going to factor into what you can afford to pay. If you’re just starting out in social media management, you may not want to spend the big bucks on a platform that has all of the shiny bells and whistles.
2. Does it publish to multiple platforms? – Being able to publish posts to multiple platforms with just a few clicks is going to save you an enormous amount of time. When evaluating schedulers, make sure that the scheduler is able to publish to all of the different platforms that you use for your clients.
3. Does it have analytics and reporting? – The range of analytic and reporting features available varies from scheduler to scheduler. Having the data all in one place instead of having to gather it from each social media platform yourself is very helpful for reporting to clients. Take some time to check out what the analytics are like on each of the schedulers and what will be most helpful for you and your clients.
4. What is the approval process like? – Most clients want to see and approve posts before they are published. Scheduling tools with built-in approval processes is another way to save you time and eliminate an extra step from your day-to-day procedures. This can make your life and your clients’ lives easier.
5. Can I use this tool all day? – This is an important, but easily overlooked question. If you’re going to be investing your time into a tool and incorporating it into your workflow, you want to make sure it’s a tool that you genuinely enjoy using. If it’s giving you a headache or frustrating you while using it and not making your life any easier, then it defeats the purpose of having a scheduler in the first place.

How Much Should I Pay For A Social Media Scheduler?

The answer to this question is simple — pay what you can afford.

Take a look at what you can afford, set a budget for yourself, and then find a tool within that budget.

If your client is already using a scheduling tool, you may consider using their platform to save money for your business. Sure, there will be a learning period if it’s a tool you’re not already familiar with, but you can view it as an opportunity to upskill.

Another way to save money on a social media scheduler is to incorporate the costs of the tool into your monthly rates. Determine how much the tool costs, divide it amongst the number of clients you have, and adjust your rates accordingly.

A social media scheduler should ultimately be a return on investment. Using a scheduler should free up your time and allow you the opportunity to make more money for yourself, not put you out of pocket each month with an expensive tool that’s out of budget.

What Is The Best Social Media Scheduler?

By asking yourself these questions and setting a budget, you should now have a clear idea of which features and price points to consider when shopping for social media schedulers.

So, which schedulers are the best? We asked our Social Media Managers community of 50,000+ members what their favorite scheduling tool is, and we’re sharing the results with you!

We hope this helps in your search for finding the right scheduler for you. Please note that none of this information is sponsored, there are no affiliate links in this article, and this data came directly from our community of social media managers.

Drumroll, please…

The Top Ten Social Media Schedulers voted for by our Social Media Managers Community are:

1. Creator Studio/Meta Business Suite
2. Later
3. Hootsuite
4. Sprout Social
5. Buffer
6. Agorapulse
7. Loomly
8. SocialPilot
9. Metricool
10. HeyOrca!

Taking a closer look at the Top 5 Results, I’ve broken the pros and cons of each platform down for you here:

Meta’s Creator Studio ranked number one out of all the scheduling tools. One of the biggest perks of Creator Studio is that it’s entirely free and is automatically integrated with the Meta platform. However, the downside of using this is that it’s only available for Facebook and Instagram.

Later and Hootsuite have both been around for quite some time and have plenty of excellent features to offer, but a con is that you have to pay extra for things like unlimited posts and analytic reports. Buffer is very easy to use, but it’s lacking in some areas like monitoring your clients’ mentions within the platform. I contacted Sprout Social and asked what they wanted to be known for as a social media scheduler and they said, “the scheduler that does everything” — which is quite accurate. They have most, if not all, features you could need in a scheduler, but they are on the pricey side.

Picking Your Social Media Scheduler

All of the schedulers listed here are great options. What you’ll discover when looking at social media schedulers is that there’s no one-size-fits-all tool. Everyone’s needs are different based on their clientele and their business.

Choose the tool that suits your business right now, weighing the affordability versus the features you’d like to have. Make a list of everything you need to use for the clients you have now. Go into the schedulers and test out these features. Sign up for a trial period before committing, check out their user interface and what their support team is like.

It may be trial and error at first, but by answering the questions here and testing out different schedulers, you’ll soon have a clear answer for what you need in a scheduling tool and what the best scheduler option is for you.

Calling All Female Disruptors!

Looking to step up your game and take action in 2023?

Our very own Kate Buck Jr. is speaking at the 2nd annual Female Disruptors Virtual Summit on January 18, 2023 and we’d love for you to join!

Your ticket gets you immediate access to more than 40 sessions from last year’s Female Disruptors event, including the 2022 Women in the Metaverse, with a keynote message from Cathy Hackl.

This year’s summit will have a dedicated track, Women in the Metaverse, to advance your knowledge with actionable advice on how to level up in the Metaverse, NFTs, Web3, and Crypto.

But this event is not just about the Metaverse. It’s for female entrepreneurs and professionals who want to empower and be empowered.

Let’s level up…together.