Having an online presence on social media can be very tasking, from planning content to communicating to your existing and potential customers, keeping up with your sales, and coming up with strategies to boost engagement. It a lot, especially if you're a small business with limited employees to distribute that kind of workload. That why social media management tools are here to make your online experience easier when dealing with your business platforms on social media. Here are our top 5 must-haves on what your small business might need right now!
First up, we have Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a leading social media dashboard that gives users the ability to schedule posts across various social media platforms with a few clicks. It is said to be one of the biggest social media management tools used by over 18 million people and by many organizations including BTS. So, it no surprise why it tops our list! Hootsuite goes a step further in building your relationship with your potential customers by creating a feature that brings comments from all your various social media platforms onto your Hootsuite dashboard. This allows you to reply and view comments easier and faster. This tool has other features such as social analytics to view content that bringing in engagement, features to work with team members, and many more. Finally, depending on your budget, it can get a little pricey with plans ranging from $29 to $599 a month.
Next, Sprout Social. Sprout Social comes in second as they have various plans depending on what level you'll like for your business but they specifically have a plan tailored for small businesses. Like Hootsuite, they have all the features on creating content that automatically posts content, team collaborations, and much more. Many small businesses have acclaimed Sprout Social for their work according to their 4.7-star rating on Glassdoor to show how well they can change the success story of your business. But with such high reviews and ratings, the prices are also very costly. The lowest plan starts from $89 and goes up to $249, which is billed annually. So, with Sprout Social, you might want to take a minute to decide if buying a plan is worth breaking the bank for, but with their reviews, we're sure you'll be getting the most bang for your buck.
Then, we have Buffer. Here we're talking about social media management on a budget. With offers from a free plan to $15 a month and upwards, Buffer offers pretty much the same thing as Sprout Social and Hootsuite but cheaper. Now, what unique about Buffer is that it is compatible with mobiles. You can manage your small business on the go without having limited functions that you might see on a desktop. So whether you're in the middle of lunch, taking a bus ride home, or without your desktop, Buffer has a robust mobile experience for you to take advantage of.
Likewise, Everypost is another app that advantages small businesses on a budget. They have a free plan similar to Buffer, but their paid plans start as low as $9.99. Unlike the first three, this tool doesn't have much access to one of the Big 3's of social media, Instagram. It also has access to more outdated platforms such as Flickr and Google+. But, if Instagram is a top priority, we suggest not going for this tool and settling for the top three, giving access to the popular social media platforms your business is on.
Finally, we have Sprinklr. This tool is more for small businesses with a robust clientele because, unlike other tools, Sprinklr focuses more on sales along with other features. They are unique with their unifying marketing and sales activities on one platform and well-known successful companies such as L'Oreal, McDonald's, and many more. This has to be the most costly tool as plans start from 60,000 a year, so it not for a business that not getting many customers.
