Social media is one of the most powerful platforms for increasing your product’s popularity. Individuals dedicate an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes daily to social media. When you sum this commitment from the age of 16 up to the average life expectancy of 70, it adds up to a staggering 5.7 years! It’s beyond obvious then, that you need to prioritize social media in your advertising strategy. But it’s impractical to monitor every platform individually and track every post and trend. Social media management tools are a solution to this problem. In this article, I will provide an in-depth comparison of four popular tools: Hootsuite vs Sprout Social vs Buffer vs Later.
Hootsuite vs Sprout Social vs Buffer vs Later: An Introduction To Social Media Management Tools
First, a quick glance at what all these social media management tools offer:
Hootsuite
Hootsuite assists teams in managing their social media game across a bunch of networks – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, and YouTube. It also plays a matchmaker for teams from multiple business units, ensuring everyone’s on the same messaging wavelength.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social provides actionable insights from your social media use so you can take concrete actions to improve your social media strategy. It has an user-friendly onboarding experience and also effortlessly blends into your existing tech lineup, all thanks to its partnership with Salesforce and other social network integrations.
Buffer
Buffer is your go-to social media maestro for scheduling posts, keeping tabs on your content’s performance, and taming the social media account chaos. Buffer lets you line up your posts across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, making the whole social media management gig a breeze.
Later
Later stands as a specialized marketing platform, with a primary focus on elevating visual social media strategies, especially for Instagram. Although its reach extends to other platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, Later shines brightest with its Instagram-centric features.
Users are empowered to meticulously plan and schedule posts, organize a repository for photos and videos, and conduct analyses of content performance. A standout attribute is Later’s visual content calendar tool, allowing users to curate and preview the aesthetics of their social media feeds before the posts make their public debut.
Having offered a concise glimpse into Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, and Later, let’s now delve into a more detailed exploration of each platform.
A Detailed Review and Comparison Between Hootsuite vs Sprout Social vs Buffer vs Later
Let’s understand the differences between all these social media management tools in depth:
Hootsuite
Let’s look at the features, pros, cons and pricing of Hootsuite:
Key Features:
- Efficiently plan and schedule content across various social media platforms.
- Access to comprehensive social media analytics tools for insights into your social media performance.
- Facilitates seamless collaboration among team members for coordinated social media management.
- Easily integrates with design platforms, CRM tools, project management platforms, and more.
Pros:
- Supports a wide range of social platforms allowing you to manage content across a diverse array of social platforms.
- Efficiently handle multiple social media accounts from a single platform.
- Enhanced security features with two-factor authentication.
- Hootlet is a great bookmark plug-in for easy content sharing across the web. It sits on your browser toolbar, providing quick access. When you find something online to share, click the Hootlet button. The app shortens the URL with Ow.ly and adds a snippet of text to your social media message.
Cons:
- Navigating Hootsuite can be a bit daunting, especially for those new to the world of social media management tools. The platform boasts a multitude of features, and mastering them all may require some time and patience.
- The pricing may be prohibitive for small businesses or startups with budget constraints.
- Hootsuite’s customer service is only available during Eastern business hours. Additionally, detailed information about customer support is provided exclusively for the Enterprise and Business plans. Hootsuite pages also do not explicitly outline the available customer support options for each plan.
Pricing:
- The price of the Hootsuite Professional plan is $99/month, with a 30-day free trial.
- The Hootsuite Team plan – the most popular package – is for $249/month, also offering a 30-day free trial.
- The Hootsuite Business plan starts at $739/month.
- Enterprise Businesses plan lets you contact Hootsuite for a customized quote tailored to enterprise needs.
Bottom Line on Hootsuite:
Hootsuite is an excellent solution for data-driven marketing teams seeking effective content organization, data collection, and informed strategy decisions. Ideal for businesses with in-house marketing teams aiming to boost efficiency, save time, and get value for their investment. However, if you seek a straightforward content scheduler or agency account management, Hootsuite might not be the ideal fit for your needs.
Sprout Social
Let’s look at the features, pros, cons and pricing of Sprout Social:
Key Features:
- Gain insights into your social media performance with comprehensive analytics.
- Strategically plan and publish content across diverse teams for effective collaboration.
- Smart Inbox centralizes communications from all social platforms for streamlined interaction.
- Review Management Feature monitors and manages business reviews across platforms like Google Play, Facebook, Google My Business, TripAdvisor, and Glassdoor.
Pros:
- Sprout Social’s social listening tool utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to explore various social networks, enabling users to discover and comprehend topics of interest, emerging trends, and more.
- Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox simplifies message management by allowing users to view and respond to all incoming messages across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, TikTok, and LinkedIn. This feature saves businesses time and ensures prompt responses, ultimately helping them stay on top of their communication game.
Cons:
- One significant aspect of Sprout Social is its higher cost, particularly when compared to several other top tools in the market that come at a fraction of the price. With plans starting at $249 per month, it’s worth noting that Sprout Social doesn’t provide a free version, unlike many of its competitors offering comparable features.
Pricing:
- The Sprout Social Standard plan is priced at $249/month, with each additional user priced at $199/month.
- Sprout Social’s Professional plan is priced at $399/month, with each additional user costing $299/month.
- Sprout Social’s Advanced plan is priced at $499/month, with each additional user at $349/month.
- Sprout Social Enterprise offers customized enterprise solutions. Contact the company for a quote.
Bottom Line on Sprout Social
Sprout Social serves two primary purposes. Firstly, it stands out as a top-tier solution for businesses heavily reliant on social media for marketing and advertising. It offers a centralized platform for monitoring and managing all social channels seamlessly.
Secondly, it proves to be a valuable solution for marketing agencies specializing in social media management. With features tailored for managing social campaigns, running ads, and optimizing accounts, Sprout Social supports agencies in delivering effective and streamlined services.
Buffer
Let’s look at the features, pros, cons and pricing of Buffer:
Key Features
Buffer offers a suite of features designed to streamline and enhance your social media management experience. Some key features include:
- Efficiently plan your social media content with advanced scheduling options, allowing you to organize posts on a weekly or monthly calendar view.
- Gain a comprehensive overview of your content strategy by viewing all scheduled posts in a convenient calendar format. This aids in better planning and coordination.
- Utilize Buffer’s image creation tools, Pablo and Remix, to craft visually appealing content directly within the platform.
- Enhance teamwork by collaborating seamlessly within Buffer, facilitating coordinated efforts in content creation and scheduling.
Pros
- Buffer’s user-friendly interface ensures a smooth and straightforward user experience.
- Improve content tracking by tagging posts according to campaigns, enhancing organizational efficiency.
- Easily import content from diverse sources such as spreadsheets, Dropbox, Google Drive, and others for a hassle-free workflow.
Cons
- Users cannot directly manage or respond to comments or messages on their posts within the Buffer platform.
- Various restrictions on video content, including duration and supported formats, may hinder businesses heavily relying on video marketing.
Pricing
- Buffer offers a free plan. It is suitable for individuals or businesses starting with social media, allowing connection to up to 3 channels.
- Buffer’s Essentials plan ($6/month) is geared towards professionals, offering publishing, engagement, and analytics tools for one channel. Additional channels cost $6/month each.
- The Buffer Team plan ($12/month) is ideal for unlimited users seeking collaboration, priced at $12/month for one channel, with each additional channel costing $12/month.
- Buffer’s Agency Plan ($120/month) is tailored for marketing agencies with ten or more channels, with each additional channel beyond ten costing $6/month.
Bottom Line on Buffer
Buffer fulfills basic business needs, providing scheduling and simple analytics. However, for a more comprehensive solution, consider exploring alternative tools that offer a broader range of features tailored to advanced social media management requirements.
Later
Let’s look at the features, pros, cons and pricing of Later:
Key Features
Later offers a range of features to simplify and enhance your social media management, with a particular emphasis on visual content. Here are some key features:
- Easily upload and organize your media assets in bulk, streamlining the content management process.
- Optimize your posting strategy with advanced scheduling options, including a “best time to post” feature for increased engagement.
- Leverage content creation tools within Later to enhance the visual appeal of your posts.
- Simplify the captioning process with Later’s feature to generate captions specifically tailored for Instagram.
Pros
- Later excels in managing and automating visual content, making it an excellent choice for Instagram marketing where visuals are paramount.
- Enhance your Instagram strategy with Later’s Link-in.bio feature, providing a valuable link-sharing solution.
- Visual Planner feature allows users to preview how posts will appear on their feed before publishing, ensuring a consistent aesthetic.
- Discover new hashtags effortlessly with Later’s built-in Instagram Hashtag Suggestions tool.
Cons
- Later’s primary focus is on Instagram. While it supports Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, certain features are exclusive to Instagram.
- Later offers limited social interaction functionality. Users cannot directly respond to comments or messages on their posts within the Later platform.
Pricing
- Starter plan is priced at $16.67/month and is ideal for individuals. It provides one social set and one user.
- Growth plan is priced at $30/month and is suited for small teams, providing three social sets and three users.
- Enterprise plan, priced at $53.33/month, is tailored for teams with multiple brands.
Bottom Line on Later
Later excels in visual content planning, especially for Instagram. However, if you require a comprehensive platform for managing extensive, multi-platform, social media, you may need to explore other options.
The Final Verdict: Hootsuite vs Sprout Social vs Buffer vs Later
Ultimately, deciding the ideal social media management tool between Hootsuite vs Sprout Social vs Buffer vs Later, for your business hinges on factors such as organizational size, social media goals, budget considerations, and individual preferences in terms of design and functionality.
Here’s a quick recap of all these tools:
- Hootsuite emerges as the go-to platform for larger organizations, offering robust features such as advanced analytics, comprehensive team management, and superior conversation management capabilities.
- Sprout Social is undoubtedly a high-quality platform. However, the relatively high cost may be a limiting factor for small businesses on a tight budget. It may not offer the best value for those with a modest social media following or businesses operating in industries where a strong social media presence may not be as crucial.
- Buffer caters to small businesses and individuals starting with social media, providing a simple and clean interface for straightforward content scheduling.
- Later stands out for creators and small organizations emphasizing visual content, especially on Instagram, with features like the visual planner and Instagram hashtag suggestions.
Of course, the choice between Hootsuite vs Sprout Social vs Buffer vs Later depends on the unique needs and preferences of users. But here’s all that they offer.
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