3 Tools to Help You Save Time With Social Media
When I talk to people who own their own businesses, I often hear the same things over and over again:
-Social media is so time-consuming.
-I don’t have the time to spend on Facebook or Instagram.
-I can never think of what to post.
-I’ll get on a good streak with my posting, but then I get busy and stop doing it.
If you’ve ever heard those statements leaving your lips, this post is for you.
Today I’m going to introduce you to three, easy-to-use and affordable scheduling tools you can use to automate your social media marketing. Using a scheduling tool will help you save time and keep you consistently posting great content!
Want to see a side-by-side comparison of these three tools? Click here to download my scheduling tools comparison grid.
Buffer
Buffer is actually the first scheduling tool I used when I got started in my career. I still think it is easier to use and more intuitive than the other two on this list (though Hootsuite and Loomly aren’t hard at all) so I often recommend it to newbies.
What Sets it Apart:
I really like the drag-and-drop capability of Buffer. I also like that you can preset the times you want to post at and you can quickly rearrange the order your content just by dragging your posts around. Also if you mess up and accidentally put the wrong post on the wrong social network, you can easily drag it back to the right one.
Click Here to Learn More About Buffer
Hootsuite
I use Hootsuite currently to manage my clients’ accounts and my own. I also used Hootsuite and Buffer simultaneously for a long time at my previous job so I got to see the developments between the two platforms in real time. I do think Hootsuite is kind of a step up from Buffer as the tab system is fantastic, but maybe not intuitive when you first start using the platform.
What Sets it Apart:
I for one, LOVE the tab system. I like being able to create a tab for each client and organize all of their social media accounts under that tab so I can see what I’m doing across platforms at a glance. It also helps me stay focused on just one client at a time by “hiding” the rest of the clients from my view.
I also like that you have a lot of options for monitoring inside Hootsuite. You can do more than just see your scheduled and posted content. Each of the social networks offers a range of options of what you can see and monitor inside your Hootsuite dashboard like private messages, mentions, etc.
Click Here to Learn More About Hootsuite
Loomly
Loomly is the newest social media scheduling tool I got to try out and I really like it as well! I may even switch to this one down the road. The Loomly interface feels very fresh and modern and they’ve really done a good job with the branding. Loomly also has a few really neat features that help it stand out from the crowd.
What Sets it Apart:
There are two really fantastic features of Loomly that are missing from Hootsuite and Buffer. The first is that Loomly gives you more options for your content other than just scheduling it. You can save posts as drafts and mark them as pending review, approved, and requires edits, which is fantastic if you are working with more than one person to manage content.
The second feature I really like about Loomly is that when you schedule a post across platforms, once it’s scheduled, it still hangs together as a “unit”. What I mean by that is that Loomly makes it really easy to move in between the Facebook version or the Twitter version of the same post and make changes. And you can make changes for each platform before you schedule the post! On Hootsuite and Buffer, even if you created a single post to be distributed across platforms, you have to schedule it (basically save it) and then go back and make your changes. That results in a lot of extra clicking and potential time wasting. This is especially apparent when you inevitably make a mistake.
Click Here to Learn More About Loomly
Whichever platform you choose, make sure to utilize the free trial to see if you like the functionality! WIt’s important that you go with something you like and that actually makes your life easier.
Ready to save time managing your social media? Click here to download my side-by-side comparison of Hootsuite, Buffer, and Loomly. For each, I’ve compared the most basic paid plan which should be more than enough for most of you! But each platform offers a number of different options so be sure to visit their website if you don’t see what you’re looking for.
And if you’re really ready to save time with social media and want to take it off your plate entirely, contact me about our social media management packages!