Social media has become a compelling form of advertising. It is winning the race against all other current marketing strategies. Picking the right social media tools for small business can help you be more efficient.
The average person spends about two hours daily on social networking sites. That’s enough time to generate new customers with little but focused effort.
If you own a small enterprise, you likely don’t have the luxury of spending hours setting up your social media strategy. Our friends at a social media Chicago SEO team researched the best social media tools for small business that will help you create a workflow so you can focus on growing your company!
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Social Media Tools for Small Business
As you evaluate the top social media tools for small business, keep your social media plan in mind. Check out our example for inspiration:
Let’s dive right in to learn about the tools that can help you.
1. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one of the top-rated social media tools, and it’s been around for years. It is often praised because the analytics allow you to see what’s going on with engagement and trends in real time. At the same time, their posting software will help ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.
Even though a free plan is available, you will only get the full analytics report if you go for the $49 version. On the other hand, the biggest shortcoming of Hootsuite is the seemingly endless list of add-ons you’ll need to pay for specific analytics reports and additional accounts.
But with its steep price for one of the multiple profile subscriptions and its additional perks, you get an abundance of capabilities, such as a publishing calendar, a social inbox, unlimited planned messages, and unlimited auto-scheduling.
Hootsuite also offers a 30-day free trial of two of its four programs.
2. MeetEdgar
At first sight, MeetEdgar seems to be the ultimate solution for any small business looking to automate their social media marketing. With one tool, you can easily schedule posts and create content across multiple channels. They say – schedule it and forget about it! So we had to inspect.
One major pro of MeetEdgar is that the analytics provide in-depth details on engagement rates, response time, etc., which helps you make more informed decisions for future posts. In addition, you can start with the Edgar Lite plan (just $19 per month) and then upgrade later if required. Pretty cheap!
However, for us, their slogan doesn’t stand when you consider the app only works for Meta, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram. Plus, the most affordable plan will connect you with only three platforms. And you don’t get a central inbox to manage comments or messages in one place. So that was a shortcoming, in our opinion. However, it might just be perfect for you! Of course, your social media strategy will depend on your budget, ambitions, and preferred social media platforms.
An experienced social media agency can help you quickly make this choice, so don’t hesitate to reach out, and let’s see how we can help you save time and money.
3. Loomly
Loomly is an app that will take your group collaboration to the next level. With features like audience targeting, post preview, and automated posting, it promises to integrate several platforms, tools, and teams into one efficient structure.
While their base plan only allows you two users, higher-tier packages can be employed by companies and organizations with up 30 people!
Some pros and cons we’d like to emphasize for any small businesses looking to improve their social media operation:
The first obvious advantage is that you can try Loomly for free for 15 days. The second is that base plans start at just $26 per month. The cherry on top – they allow real-time optimization and easy sharing of all your social assets. You get the bang for your buck.
Unfortunately, large-scale plans can be expensive. And, businesses with significant ad spending may need to change to a more expensive plan, regardless of the number of employees working with the social media tools.
4. Buffer
Buffer is the perfect social media management solution for those looking to save money. It’s not entirely essential, but neither is it overflowing with features. For example, you can store up to 2,000 posts in the app, though this is not a monthly or yearly limit of posts you can publish—just a storage issue.
If you’re looking for a simple way of engaging with your audience, Buffer might be the best option. Even if it’s not feature-rich or capable of creating endless streams of posts – its free tier is an affordable way to get your foot through the door of social media tools.
5. Zoho Social
Zoho Social is the ideal choice for a small business wishing to maximize its social media presence. The main appeal of Zoho is that it provides top-tier value for your money; it has a generous free plan, and its most affordable premium tier is only $10 per month.
Furthermore, its low price does not mean you will miss out on critical features. For example, the free plan can schedule as many posts across up to seven profiles. However, suppose you want to track analytics. In that case, you’ll have to purchase Zoho Analytics, as many of its advanced features are restricted to higher tiers, which are nevertheless remarkably affordable at $10, $25, or $37.50 a month.
Pick Your Social Media Tool
You can’t become a marketing expert without playing your cards well and picking the right tools. Bottom line, there are many different social media tools for small business, and each one has its unique features that can boost your campaigns and brand in different ways.
A great social media agency will analyze your target audience preferences and inform you on market trends, thus enabling you to make more informed decisions.
