Social media scheduling

Managing Twitter and Instagram profiles takes up a lot of time. Usually time you don’t have to spare.

Even if you’ve only got 100 followers and rarely see more than a spam comment, these scheduling tools are essential for building your audience and filling your profiles with content they’ll want to look at.

Manage all your social profiles from the Buffer dashboard. It will schedule and post for you, and make it easier to talk to your audience.

Who’s it for?

Small businesses with any kind of social media following, big or small.

Good bits

• Post whenever you want, even if you’re busy.
• See how well all your posts do in one place. It’s far easier to see general engagement when you don’t have to switch between platforms.
• Schedule content from both your phone and desktop.

Not so good bits

• The cheapest paid account has a bit of a rubbish free trial. It’s too short to get familiar with it.

Free-o-meter

3/5

Prices: Plans range from $15 – $199 per month.

The free account lets you can manage 3 social profiles and schedule 10 posts a month. Try the Pro account free for 7 days, and the others free for 14 days.

Just like Buffer, this is one of the most popular social media scheduling tools. Hootsuite gives you the ability to schedule posts, monitor hashtags, and manage all your accounts in one place.

Who’s it for?

Small businesses and freelancers managing their social media accounts solo.

Good bits

• Stay active on your social channels 24 hours a day.
• Track engagement on each social account.
• Keep track of relevant hashtags, keywords, and conversations.

Not so good bits

• There are fewer paid plans to choose from compared to Buffer. You might end up overpaying for things you don’t need.

Free-o-meter

4/5

Prices: Plans cost £25 and £99 a month.

You can manage 3 social accounts and schedule 30 posts a month for free (that’s better than Buffer!) The £25 plan should be plenty for most freelancers and small businesses, and you can try it free for 30 days.

Concentrate purely on Instagram engagement with Later’s visual content scheduler. It’s smart, simple, and has pricing to suit both individuals and small businesses.

Who’s it for?

Small businesses and freelancers focusing mainly on building their Instagram audience.

Good bits

• Easily schedule a catalogue of Instagram posts with the visual calendar.
• Interact with comments and organise hashtags you’re monitoring.
• Smart analytics tools show you the best time to post, who’s engaging with your posts, and how your follower count is growing.

Not so good bits

• You can still use Later to post to Twitter and Facebook, but the analytics aren’t great.

Free-o-meter

4/5

Prices: Plans cost $9-$49 a month.

The free version includes 1 social profile and 30-50 scheduled posts per platform.