“We don’t have the budget for that.”
Unfortunately, we’ve all said that at some point. Budget restrictions govern all companies, but for startups and small businesses, they can really pinch.
However, this doesn’t mean your business has to sacrifice a successful social media marketing strategy or bust your budget. You can do more with fewer capital resources by taking advantage of free tools to help manage your social media accounts.
From social media account management to content creation tools, marketing teams can benefit from software and apps designed to facilitate social media marketing.
We’ve crafted a list of the eight best free social media management tools you can use to schedule posts, engage with followers, and measure your social media analytics. Let’s dive in!
Note: These tools were found during our online research while writing this article.
1. Bitly
For social media posts to make an impact, every character needs to count. Bitly’s link shortener tool gives marketers a way to crop those long, unwieldy links into attractive, branded ones that are just begging to be clicked on.
But that’s just the start—there are numerous ways to leverage Bitly’s Free plan. It offers 10 links and two QR Codes per month, a Link-in-bio page, five custom back-halves, PNG & JPEG QR Code download formats, and a UTM Builder.
Link shortening and management
Grab that long, unfriendly link you want to use in your social media posts and paste it into Bitly’s link management tool. In seconds, you’ll have an attractive, branded short link to add to your post.
Link-in-bio
Make it easy for your audience to take the next step toward learning more about your product and doing business with you. Design a small, dynamic Bitly Link-in-bio page, add your links, and share it across your social media profiles.
Key features
- Create up to 10 short links every month that you can use across your marketing channels.
- Increase trust and transparency by adding descriptive words to the back half of up to five of your links each month. For example: bit.ly/free_management_tools
- Access pre-designed themes and custom colors for your Link-in-bio page to align with your company’s branding.
- Use Bitly’s seamless integrations to connect it with the tools you already use.
- Download and work from the Bitly mobile app for greater convenience (available for Android and iOS).
The next plan up, the Core plan, costs just $8/month and gives you 10 times as many short links and 100 custom back halves every month. Plus, you gain access to more helpful analytics to measure performance.
2. Buffer
Streamline your workflow with this social media management platform, so you can get more done in less time. Buffer’s robust free version comes with tons of tools to help you level up your social media marketing.
Manage your strategy by connecting up to three social media channels, scheduling posts, and shuffling posts to add variety to your feeds. Plus, Buffer’s AI assistant can help you generate content ideas, create new content, and repurpose old content.
Key features
- Connect up to three of your Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Mastodon, YouTube, Google, or Pinterest social media profiles.
- Leverage the scheduling tool to automate posting of up to 30 posts.
- Brainstorm, create, and repurpose content in seconds with Buffer’s AI tool.
- Log and store up to 100 ideas in a central location for future use.
- Choose eye-catching custom thumbnails for your video posts.
The next step up on Buffer, the Essentials plan, costs $6/month/channel. It lets you schedule unlimited posts and opens up tools you can use for engaging with your audience and managing your social media metrics.
3. Canva
Social media content needs more than text to be effective. You’ve got to have powerful visual content to make a memorable impact on your audience. That’s where Canva comes in.
Canva is touted as the best graphic design tool for non-designers, and it lives up to the hype. Its user-friendly, feature-rich platform is chock-full of quality and functionality.
A free account gives users access to a media library and plenty of templates to design brandable, professional-looking graphics.
Key features
- Pick from over a million images and graphics to design the look and feel you need for your posts.
- Easily drag and drop QR Codes into your designs using the Bitly and Canva integration.
- Start with a pre-built template to save time and streamline your work.
- Make team collaboration a snap by inviting others into the system to add their ideas.
- Drag-and-drop text sections, graphics, and artwork to easily edit and design unique visuals.
- Access 5GB of cloud storage to organize your work.
4. CoSchedule
This tool makes our list because of its ability to help marketing teams get and stay organized.
The free plan includes the CoSchedule social media calendar, the ability to share posts across multiple social media channels, and a way to schedule posts to go out at peak times.
Key features
- Connect up to two social media profiles from Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Instagram.
- Use AI for content creation that resonates with your social media audience (and saves time).
- Easily move posts to publish at new dates and times with the drag-and-drop feature.
- Import the past 100 messages (or the last 60 days of messages) when you add a new social media profile.
The step above the free version, the Social Calendar plan, costs $19 per user/month. In addition to the free features, this plan supports five social media profiles, provides bulk scheduling, automates recurring posts, and generates easy-to-read analytics reports.
5. Postly
Powering your social media efforts with this easy-to-use tool can help you enjoy positive results, fast. Postly gives you a way to schedule posts across the most popular social media channels, set recurring posts, and monitor key metrics to weigh your campaign’s performance.
Key features
- Generate high-quality content quickly with the tool’s AI Writer and AI Image Generator and Editor.
- Schedule evergreen content to post in advance, so you’re on top of key trends and holidays.
- Monitor your social media results to know where you can improve.
- Brainstorm with your team on drafts and approve posts together.
6. Later
Collaborate with team members to plan and organize your social media campaigns with Later. Its free version gives small businesses and solopreneurs the tools they need to create a consistent, dynamic posting schedule full of high-quality content.
Key features
- Post photos, videos, and Reels to craft a more interesting, engaging feed.
- Schedule up to five posts per platform per month with the social media scheduling tool.
- Search for relevant hashtags to leverage your posts’ reach.
- Take advantage of unlimited media storage.
If you want to further improve your social media strategy and take advantage of all the features Later offers, you can sign up for a 14-day free trial. From there, you can subscribe to the lowest-tier plan, the Growth subscription, for $40/month.
7. Crowdfire
Marketers can energize their feeds and attract a following through careful content curation. So Crowdfire earns a place on our list of best free social media management software platforms because of its exceptional content curation features.
Find relevant articles from all over the web to enrich your content marketing and expand your brand’s reach.
Key features
- Crowdfire helps you scour the internet to curate articles and images relevant to your message.
- Link and post to up to three accounts from your social media network.
- Schedule up to 10 posts per account with the social media content scheduling feature.
- Automatically tailor and preview each post by social media channel before adding it to the content calendar.
- The Chrome extension lets you share articles without having to open Crowdfire.
Users can move up to the Plus plan for $7.48/month. This version offers two more social media connections (for five total), an RSS feed connection, and 90 days of advanced analytics.
8. Tailwind
Focusing on visual platforms (like Instagram and Pinterest) is a breeze with this marketing tool. Tailwind’s Free Forever version lets you connect your social media profiles, post, and access helpful analytics.
Key features
- Connect Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook accounts seamlessly to make social media management quick and easy.
- Create 20 post designs per month.
- Join five Tailwind communities to engage with like-minded people and expand your reach.
- Create the content you need with 10 ghostwriter credits per month.
Upgrading to the Tailwind Pro plan costs $12.99/month. You’ll receive more post designs, more ghostwriter credits, and an advanced analytics tool.
Elevate your social media marketing efforts with Bitly
Building a solid social media toolbox doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Maximize your efforts by starting with free plans that offer tons of functionality and helpful features. From there, you can scale your favorite platforms as you grow and need more in-depth features to maintain your digital marketing success.
Bitly can help you create branded short links with custom back halves to inspire trust and encourage interaction. Track link performance to understand which social media channels your audience is on, which influencers resonate best, and the types of content your audience likes most.
Energizing your entire marketing strategy starts with attractive, convenient short links. Sign up for Bitly’s Free plan today and level up your social media marketing!
