Many content marketers earmark a healthy chunk of their efforts for creating and managing their social media strategy, and with good reason. Savvy social media management reaps all kinds of rewards, from building market credibility to strengthening brand recognition and connecting with buyers.
But it’s not easy.
Laying out a content calendar, scheduling posts, using relevant hashtags, and digging through social media analytics to measure your results can be overwhelming. Tools that automate processes, streamline workflows, and save valuable time help you see more return on investment (ROI).
That’s why using the right social media management platform is crucial.
We’ve cut through the noisy market to identify 10 of the best social media management software tools available. Let’s dive in!
Note: These tools were found during our online research while writing this article.
1. Bitly
Short links, QR Codes, and Link-in-bio pages from Bitly deliver way more than a broad visual appeal. They also allow marketers to track how their audience engages with their content. By using them in social media posts, you can see which channels create the most buzz and which types of content your buyers want to see.
Link management
Customizable, branded domains inspire trust and make you memorable by using your company name, or a rendition of it, directly in the shortened URL. Instead of nonsensical links built with random letters and numbers, customized links become a sleek, professional-looking part of your buyer experience.
Link-in-bio
Help your audience find your best content and make it easier to take action with Link-in bio pages. You can customize them with your company’s colors and logo, or use preset shapes, to increase your visibility on your social media accounts.
Additional features and capabilities
- Organize, manage, and track the performance of all your links from a centralized location.
- Create and manage links from anywhere with the Bitly mobile app.
- Access real-time analytics from one of the market’s best link trackers to gather information like geographic data, clicks, highest-performing influencers, and top referring channels.
- Take advantage of Bitly’s API to integrate with many other digital marketing tools.
- Track organic shares to get an accurate picture of your content’s reach.
Pricing
Customers can save up to 34% when they pay annually. Plans include:
- Free
- Core: $8/month
- Growth: $29/month
- Premium: $199/month
- Enterprise: Custom-quoted
2. Hootsuite
For marketers wanting a lot of functionality, Hootsuite fits the bill as an end-to-end social media management tool. And, with its long list of integrations with other popular software, it fits seamlessly into every tech stack.
Features and capabilities
- Use the social media scheduling feature to post during the times when buyers are actively engaged.
- Map out campaigns and fill content calendar gaps by reviewing the posting schedule.
- Streamline your messages into a single inbox, so you can listen and respond quickly.
- Eyeball your competition, monitor trends, and stay on top of what is being said about your brand with the social listening feature.
Pricing
- Free 30-day trial
- Professional: $99/month
- Team: $249/month
- Business: $739/month
- Enterprise: Custom-quoted
3. Buffer
This tool made our list because it’s packed with functionality that saves time and increases audience engagement. Add in its 24/7 stellar customer support, and you can’t miss with this social media management software.
Features and capabilities
- Work from a single dashboard to plan and publish posts across every one of your social media channels.
- Upload and share videos on TikTok, Shorts, and Reels.
- Read and reply to comments directly from the dashboard to increase follower engagement.
- Create analytic reports for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to measure posts, audience demographics, and paid vs. organic results.
- Quickly generate ideas and repurpose content with the Buffer AI Assistant feature.
Pricing
- Free
- Essentials: $6/month for one channel
- Team: $12/month for one channel
- Agency: $120/month for 10 channels
4. Sprout Social
With its user-friendly interface and a rich array of features, Sprout Social earns its place on our list.
Features and capabilities
- Manage your network easily and increase your brand’s social media presence with Sprout Social’s publishing, scheduling, and reporting capabilities.
- Use the customizable reporting feature to assess social media data and evaluate performance.
- Identify thought leaders and influencers who you can partner with to boost your reach.
- Gain a full understanding of industry trends and opportunities with proprietary AI technology.
Pricing
- 30-day free trial
- Standard: $249/month, plus $199/month for each additional user
- Professional: $399/month, plus $299/month for each additional user
- Advanced: $499/month, plus $349/month for each additional user
- Enterprise: Custom-quoted
5. Agorapulse
Another powerhouse tool that lets team members operate more productively is Agorapulse. This platform is a robust solution for managing every aspect of your social media marketing campaigns.
Features and capabilities
- Quickly optimize and schedule content across all the major social platforms to maximize its performance.
- Increase team collaboration by assigning content, sharing notes, tracking action items, and approving polished posts that will resonate with your target audience.
- Manage organic and paid posts, messages, and mentions in a centralized social inbox.
- Measure ROI by tracking leads, traffic, and sales coming from your social media marketing strategy. (Integrate with Google Analytics for even more helpful intel).
- Use the mobile app on Android or iOS to schedule content from anywhere.
Pricing
- 30-day free trial
- Free: One user and three social media accounts
- Standard: $49 per user, per month
- Professional: $79 per user, per month
- Advanced: $119 per user, per month
- Custom: Quoted on an individual basis
6. Sendible
If you run a marketing agency, this tool should be high on your list. Built specifically to handle multiple clients, you can use customization to bring them in, manage their social media accounts, and report on campaign performance.
Features and capabilities
- Use bulk scheduling to plan out a month’s worth of content, complete with hashtags, in a fraction of the time it would take to do it manually.
- Avoid sharing passwords with clients but still have the ability to let them view and approve material.
- Leverage automated reports to see which posts performed best and fuel higher-performing future campaigns.
- Create a new revenue stream by white-labeling the platform.
- Save time with pre-built templates for many processes, so you don’t have to develop them from scratch.
- Enjoy the scalable pricing structure so you can grow your agency as fast as you need to, without worrying about outgrowing the platform.
Pricing
- 14-day free trial for all paid plans
- Creator: $29/month
- Traction: $89/month
- White Label: $240/month
- Custom: Quoted by sales
7. SocialPilot
Sleekly designed without sacrificing all the features a business may need to handle its social media management, this software seems to have it all. Its lower-level plans are perfect for small businesses, while larger companies and marketing agencies can tap into the power they need via the upper tiers.
Features and capabilities
- Use the scheduling tool for setting up to 500 posts at once across multiple platforms.
- Stay on top of your strategy with a complete view of your current and future posts with a drag-and-drop social media calendar.
- Gather detailed metrics across platforms and compile them into a crisp, straightforward report.
- Collaborate with team members and stay up-to-date on approvals with real-time notifications.
Pricing
- 14-day free trial on all paid plans
- Professional: $20.50/month
- Small Team: $42.50/month
- Agency: $85/month
- Agency+: $170/month
8. Zoho Social
If a friendly user interface in a powerful system sounds good to you, you’ll want to check out what Zoho Social provides.
Features and capabilities
- Monitor your targeted keywords, hashtags, and product reviews to discover your audience’s true opinions about your brand.
- Analyze in-depth performance data from your social media content, like clicks and positive and negative feedback.
- Take advantage of collaboration tools to help your team talk about posts, plan future campaigns, and analyze custom-built reports.
- Energize your content creation efforts and increase your posting efficiency with Zia-AI Assistant.
Pricing
- 15-day free trial
- For businesses:
- Standard: $10/month
- Professional: $30/month
- Premium: $40/month
- Standard: $10/month
- For agencies:
- Agency: $230/month
- Agency Plus: $330/month
- Agency: $230/month
9. MeetEdgar
Marketers needing a simple way to consistently post relevant content on their social media profiles should add MeetEdgar to their shortlist of tools.
Features and capabilities
- Refresh evergreen content with the repurposing tool (instead of struggling with editing or rewriting).
- Test and track the types of content your target audience responds to best.
- Manage and schedule content in advance from a single dashboard.
- Use the analytics tool to pinpoint the highest-performing content so you know what to focus on to grow your business.
Pricing
- Eddie Annual: $24.91/month
- Edgar Annual: $41.58/month
10. Loomly
As a one-stop-shop social media management tool, Loomly gives marketers a way to create and post high-quality content, save time with automation, and gather the analytics they need to measure their success.
Features and capabilities
- Get inspired to create on-the-nose social content by Loomly’s post ideas based on trending topics, RSS feeds, date-related events, and more.
- Store and organize visual content, links, notes, and post templates safely in the Library.
- Keep tabs on campaign performance with the real-time analytics feature.
- Foster stronger team interactions with collaboration, the commenting system, and sharing mockups.
Pricing
- Base: $26/month
- Standard: $59/month
- Advanced: $129/month
- Premium: $269/month
- Enterprise: Custom-quoted
Bolster your social media strategy with Bitly
Focusing on the best marketing tools and techniques helps build a strong foundation to facilitate your social media marketing strategy. Using them to accomplish your goals can help you build better processes, save time, and enjoy greater ROI than trying to handle it manually.
This list gets you started on the ones that can help you with planning, posting, reviewing, and measuring your marketing efforts across your social accounts. Of course, the ultimate decision depends on your company and specific needs.
For a powerful way to create more impactful links that engage your audience and give you valuable data, turn to Bitly. As a leading link shortening tool, it also provides you with so many more features that assist in managing your social media efficiently for the long term.
