Introduction

At present businesses utilise a series of marketing channels to reach the target audience. Besides marketing campaigns are focused on community building that involves repetitive and time-consuming activities. As a result, social media marketers are constantly looking for alternative ways of maximizing engagement without investing a lot of time. Luckily there are a series of social media scheduling tool that can help in saving the day.

These tools are designed to streamline marketing activities and not just scheduling posts. With the help of the right set of tools the overall social media management process becomes a lot more efficient. Marketers get more time to focus on content quality and build connections with the target customer base. The below section will help in understanding different social media scheduling tools that can help in saving time and making the most of marketing efforts.

Understanding the Need for Social Media Scheduling Tool?

A social media scheduling tool is essentially software that helps in the visuals in scheduling social posts across channels. These platforms are always on hence marketers can leverage these tools to keep their campaigns running. Scheduling social media posts ahead of time gives the brand as well as the marketing team the opportunity to take a strategic action plan to beat the competition.

Also Read | Social Media Advertising Strategies: Mastering the Art of Digital Engagement

Must-Have Features in Social Media Scheduling Tool

At present social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook allow businesses to schedule posts using their integrated content planners. However, a manual approach for each of the social media platforms is not very effective especially when a brand is managing multiple accounts and platforms. More and more marketers are now relying on social media scheduling tools for their work. Following are some of the must-have features to look for:

a) Content Calendar for Planning and Organising Posts

A very busy creature but equally useful. The posting calendar forms the base of any social media scheduling tool. Visual planning helps marketers gain a clear understanding of the content plan and keep track of the campaign. It gives them a timeline that is beneficial for eliminating gaps or overlapping.

Besides integration of modern AI tools enhances the capabilities of social media scheduling. With AI integration marketers can evaluate content trends and provide more accurate suggestions to the target audience. Some tools feature tags or labelled for categorising different forms of content.

b) Workflow Approval and Automatic Posting

Social media marketers no longer make use of visuals and email posts for customising the workflow. Approvals are an important part of marketing campaigns regardless of the segment. Therefore it is best to look for planning tools that feature multilayered approval and automated publishing mode.

c) Platform Integration

Platform integration is another not were the feature of social media scheduling tools. Small businesses typically focus on specific social media platforms. Integrating with some of the prominent social media channels is sufficient for the purpose. However, bigger brands or marketing agencies are likely to look for multiple options as they cater to the needs of a larger audience.

d) Collaboration with Internal and External Feedback

Collaboration is an important part of defining a social media strategy. Scheduling tool helps in creating content with the team both internally and externally. Besides marketing teams can help save time by walking simultaneously on the dashboard, suggesting edits, shading feedback and other vital stats. Another notable feature is external sharing. It is specifically helpful for marketing agencies dealing with multiple clients.

Top Social Media Scheduling tools to consider in 2024

1. ManagePlus

ManagePlus is certainly the top recommendation when it comes to social media scheduling. This automation saas tool comes loaded with a host of robust content creation and publishing features.

Unlike other marketing platforms, it is programmed well to do the tasks effortlessly. The social media streaming and profile analytics are accurate along with excellent publishing features.

Business owners can leverage the content curation tools to fill out their calendars quickly. There are distinct categories for content which the user can queue separately. In the next stage, the platform will automatically select posts from specific categories based on the time and date, and publish them on social media. Marketers have the option of topping up every category with new posts as necessary.

Marketing agencies will certainly appreciate the content approval workflow of ManagePlus. There are options to add multiple layers to the account for faster and easier collaboration. Posts coming from other users can be left with feedback and mentions before going live.It also comes with an AI content generation feature that streamlines the marketing process.

2. Sendible

This social media scheduling tooll is specifically designed for large-scale applications. It is an excellent choice for growing companies that wish to keep their expenses low without compromising on quality.

Sendible social media scheduling tool has all the necessary features that one would expect from it. Users can design right and schedule posts with native integration of interactive graphic elements. Also, there are options for customizing posts for different social networks through custom mentions and image resizing without leaving the application.

Users also have the option of scheduling posts visually or keeping them as part of the content queues. The tool also facilitates real-time tracking of posts to get a complete overview of the campaigns. It also features some noteworthy social media management functions such as replying listening and reporting. Users also get the support of content duration for generating new post ideas.

The best part of Sendible is that the subscription cost comes down with the increasing number of profiles and users. Besides users also have the option to create separate dashboards for every client. This feature is particularly beneficial for agencies working with different brands from one account.

3. Agorapulse

Another prominent automation saas tool in this list is Agorapulse. This tool is specifically designed to keep it to the needs of social media managers and agencies. With a large user base, the tool comes with a complete suite of reporting capabilities and collaboration features. It is not just a schedule-in tool as it also provides a host of other useful features like reporting, social media monitoring, and a unified inbox.

The integrated AI writing assistant is also beneficial for enhancing posts with powerful AI features. Other notable features of Agorapulse include a seamless publishing calendar, real-time collaboration and automatic rescheduling. Overall the interface is clean and easy to understand. One major drawback of this platform is the pricing configuration. As a result, it becomes super expensive for large-scale applications.

Also Read | Social Media Marketing ROI: 12 Tried and Tested Strategies

4. Pallyy

Marketers consider Pallyy as one of the best-suited tools for social media scheduling. A brand that leverages platforms like TikTok or Instagram can certainly benefit from this tool. One of the noteworthy features of Pallyy is workflow scheduling for visual content. It provides a drag-and-drop interface for creating a feeling social media post. Also, the user gets to visually plan and preview the look of the Instagram feed after finishing.

Besides the planning and scheduling function, it also comes with a unified social inbox. Using this feature users can reply to all incoming comments mentions DM and reviews using a single dashboard.

5. Metricool

Metricool is a popular social media scheduling tool that comes with a host of additional features and functions. Some of its note-worthy features include social inbox, analytics, and more.

Unlike other social media marketing tools, it is compatible with most social media platforms. The integrated drag-and-drop planner makes the automation saas tool suitable for scheduling posts and developing a content calendar. Some of the notable features of this planet include auto list, scheduling, one-click paid promotion, the best time for post-discovery, AI writer, media Bank, Canva integration, link shortener, etc. Metricool is an excellent tool to help businesses with post-scheduling and publishing.

It is also suitable for analysing social media metrics, competitor analysis and more. Brands can also use it for managing their inbox and replying to messages and comments. Also, it allows the inclusion of links in the bio page and report generation. The best part the pricing structure is quite pocket friendly which is great value for money for businesses of all sizes.

6. Iconosquare

Over 20000 marketers are using Iconosquare for social media scheduling.  Iconosquare is compatible with all the prominent social networks and provides an introductive interface. Specifically, the content calendar is very easy to understand and use for different platforms.

Another notable feature is the integrated conversation tool that allows users to read manage and respond to comments and messages on all channels through a single dashboard. Iconosquare also comes with a listening tool to keep track of the competitors and brand performance.

Conclusion

The above section lists some of the best social media scheduling tool available. Each one of the tools is designed to deliver rate performance. So it is entirely on the usage preference and requirements of the user to determine which is the best.  Marketers looking for the best tool overall can consider using ManagePlus. It comes loaded with great functionality and a scheduling interface. The AI features are unique and allow the creation of complete marketing strategies along with post ideas. Considering the fast-evolving nature of the web having one such automation saas tool on board is critical to keep social media marketing strategies on point.