What is a Social Media Scheduling Tool?
You ask one hundred social media managers what the best social media scheduling tool is and you get at least 20-25 different answers!
We always state that
the best tool is the one you’ll use
meaning that many of us have an arsenal of tools in our back pocket so to speak, but we go back to a few good ones we love, for specific reasons.
Ask a social media manager about hashtag tools, and you’ll have a list an arm long.
Inquire about social media analytic tools and again, you’d have a pretty long list.
The same goes for social media scheduling tools.
In fact, that list is so long, we wrote about them.
What Can a Social Media Scheduling Tool Do For Your Business?
A social media scheduling tool does one thing really well.
Scheduling tools free up time!
Time = Money
Using a scheduling tool will not just reduce time spend on a task. A social media scheduling tool also reduces stress, redundancy, second-guessing and human mistakes.
By planning out content, getting clients to approve the content before publishing and then scheduling said content, the chance of spelling and grammatical errors is reduced as well.
Are you convinced yet?
In a previous article, we wrote about the best scheduling tool available to a social media manager.
You can find many options of available tools, but the question remains; how can you find the best social media scheduling tool for your (very specific) needs?
How To Find The Best Scheduling Tool for Your Business Model
In order to find the best scheduling tool for your business model – to serve your social media management clients – we’ve compiled a list of features and options to consider when comparing tools.
There are so many choices! How is one social media manager to choose?
Before you sign up for free trials and test a few tools, we recommend you prioritize the following questions as they apply to your business.
Consider:
1) Cost
- Cost of the tool per month and per year.
- Discount for paying up front?
- What ‘tiers’ or ‘levels’ are offered and how much does each level cost?
2) Social Media Platforms
- What social media platforms does this tool post to?
- Can this tool post to groups?
3) Total Number of Accounts
- The number of accounts, per membership level.
- Max number of accounts before the price goes to the next level.
- Is there an enterprise level with unlimited accounts?
4) Features and Functions
- Is bulk uploading an option?
- May evergreen post be repeated and/or looped?
- Is there a power scheduling feature?
- Does this tool offer group schedules?
- Accessibility to evergreen industry content?
5) Team Access
- Is it available, and is it free?
- If not free, what is the cost per added person?
- What is the total cost for unlimited team access?
6) Reporting and Analytics
- Simple reporting options and in what format?
- Can files be exported?
- What format will exported files be in?
- How much data is released?
7) Free Trial
- 7 day
- 14 day
- 30 day
- no trial
8) Demo and Customer Service
- How easy is it to set up a free demo?
- How quickly can you get support?
- What platform does this tool offer customer service on?
- Do they respond to email inquiries?
9) Industry Reputation
- Have you ever heard of this tool?
- Do you know anyone using this tool?
- How many users use this tool?
- What do online reviews say about this tool?
10) Mobile Friendly
- Is there an app?
- Android, Apple, or both?
The Social Media Scheduling Tool Infographic
For your convenience, we’ve created an infographic to go along with this article.
‘What social media scheduling tool to use” seems to be the most FAQ in our industry! We hope this helps you narrow down your search!
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I am a Certified Social Media Manager, Strategist, International Keynote Speaker, Organic Specialist and Agile marketer! Blogging is my creative outlet. Running, hiking and skiing are how I recharge. You’ll recognize me on stage and online by my always present orange glasses, a nod to my Dutch heritage.
