If you’re a social media manager, you know how difficult it can be to juggle multiple projects and tasks. There are just so many moving parts in managing a brand’s social media presence, and keeping track of everything can get overwhelming pretty fast. But it doesn’t have to be that way! All companies have an opportunity to increase their social media presence, but first, they need to have the right tools to manage social media projects and tasks.
Best Project Management Software for Social Media Companies
Buffer – Great for Starting Out
Buffer helps social media managers get their social marketing on track. The software allows for automatic post scheduling, scheduling among multiple social platforms, and various types of analytics so managers can see which content is resonating with customers.
Buffer helps managers by taking away the worries of manual daily posting by providing easy post scheduling. This tool enables managers to put most of the focus on content.
Asana – Manage Tasks
Now, who on the social team will be responsible for finding content, scheduling it daily, and producing analytics reports? This is where Asana comes in. This program is an online team collaboration tool that allows managers to regulate workflow management and task assignments.
Managers can assign tasks and related sub-duties to team members and include information and documents workers need to accomplish it. Asana is a one-stop shop productivity tool.
Deskaway – Asana with a bit more customization
While Asana is pretty comfortable to jump onto, Deskaway is a little more nuanced, but its customizations may be what social media marketers are looking for.
Deskaway is an online collaboration tool made with small businesses in mind. The features are custom-made, and users can even increase their tool usage depending on what features they’re looking for. Managers can not only assign tasks, but they can also monitor time spent on projects, timelines, and how employees are progressing throughout the day.
Coschedule – A dynamic editorial and social media calendar
Coschedule shines as an interactive social media calendar. This program does the usual: scheduling social media posts, tracking analytics, and facilitating collaboration. However, users can also use a calendar view to schedule (via drag and drop) and plan both social media and blog posts.
Coschedule allows marketing managers to plan out their whole social media project schedule on a master calendar that other team members can view. The program also has integrations with WordPress.
Sprout Social – Turn social media success into real business value
Sprout Social is for savvy social media marketers who are ready to use the results of social media activity to create tangible ROIs.
Sprout Social lets social media marketers track their brands, manage content, schedule posts, and produce reports from analytics. Marketers can look forward to having all their business’ social analytics stored in one place, and they also can re-post content that performed well from the platform.
Bonus Tool: nTask – Task management plus other organizational tools
nTask is a free tool for individuals and teams looking for a visual, easy-yet-informative way to keep track of tasks, projects, timesheets, and more. It offers 7 modules built natively inside the tool that take care of important functions such as task management, project planning and reporting, meetings, risk management, bug and issue tracking and more.
It is easy for social media marketing managers to become overwhelmed, especially if they are working with a smaller team for a small business. However, with the right tools and project management strategies, marketers can hope to turn a social media presence into increased conversions.
Best social media software
Sprout Social
We chose Sprout Social as our best overall due to the platform’s usability, publishing features, and analytics across all major social media platforms. This provider also offers one of the longest free trials in the business.
Pros
- Excellent user dashboard lets you manage your social networks in one place
- Utilize Social Media Optimization tools
- Analytics and reports help you manage your user engagement and return on investment (ROI)
- Scheduling tools make creating posts a breeze
- Free 30-day trial
Cons
- Expensive standard plan
- Limits to how many social profiles you can manage
We chose Sprout Social as the best option for businesses based on the array of scheduling tools and analytics they offer, their mobile app for iOS and Android, and their paid promotion tools to help you expertly boost Meta posts. One major benefit with Sprout Social is a 30-day free trial with any of their plans. If you’re unsure of the value of this software, this free trial gives you a full month to try it out.
This software currently supports all the major social media platforms, including Meta, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, making it an excellent choice for all-in-one management. There are three paid plans to choose from:
- Standard: $89 per month
- Professional: $149 per month
- Advanced: $249 per month.
Sprout Social says its Professional plan is most popular since it lets you manage up to 10 social media accounts in one place. It also comes with an all-in-one social box, social content calendar, response rate and time analysis reports, analysis tools for Twitter hashtags, and plenty more valuable tools. With any of their plans, you also get a mobile app to manage your social media accounts on the go.
The Standard plan includes many of the features of the Professional plan, yet you can only manage up to five social profiles if you choose this option, among other reduced features.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite earns high rankings for its tracking tools and analytics. This software lets you analyze trends and engagement in real-time. Their analytics tools extend to both regular posting and social media ads.
Pros
- Professional plans start at just $49 per month
- Free plan available
- Connects with 20+ social networks
- 30-day trial available
Cons
- Some analytics reports are at an additional cost
- Plans can be costly if you have a lot of social profiles or spend a considerable sum on ads each month
- Free plans have limited tools
Hootsuite made our ranking as best for analytics because they offer some of the most comprehensive analytics and social media tracking tools on the market today, including customizable reports and team productivity reporting.
While paying more for detailed analytics and reporting can cause the cost of Hootsuite to swell, having access to this information can be crucial for businesses that rely on social media for the bulk of their marketing efforts.
Hootsuite has four paid options:
- Professional: $49 per month
- Team: $129 per month
- Business: $739 per month
- Enterprise: Varies (it’s for larger or more complex institutions)
The starter Professional plan can be a good option for small businesses because it allows you to manage 10 social profiles in one place. You also get unlimited scheduling, although you’re limited to one user. The Team plan is available for up to three users, and you can manage up to 20 social profiles in one place.
Note that all plans from Hootsuite come with unlimited scheduled messages, unlimited auto-scheduling, a publishing calendar, a social inbox, and plenty of other tools. You can also try two of Hootsuite’s four plans free for 30 days, which is a major benefit if you prefer to try before you buy.
Zoho
Zoho stands out as an all-in-one tool consumers can use to run the social aspects of their business in one place while managing their email, projects, accounting, and webinars.
Pros
- Zoho offers a CRM product that lets you manage your email, projects, accounting, and more under one umbrella
- You can integrate their social media management platform, which works with all major social media networks
- Social media planning for individuals starts at $10 per month
- A free edition with limited features is available with an option to upgrade
Cons
- Plans for agencies start at $230 per month, which is on the expensive side
- Plans for individuals and businesses only include one to three team members, with more users requiring an additional monthly spend
Zoho made our ranking as the best all-in-one tool based on the CRM product they offer in addition to social media management software. You can utilize Zoho to store and manage your email, create and oversee products, and take care of accounting all in one place. Zoho also offers comprehensive social media management software you can buy separately or integrate for full all-in-one management.
When it comes to their social media management software, Zoho offers three plans for businesses:
- Standard: $10 per month
- Professional: $30 per month
- Premium: $40 per month
Each plan lets you publish and schedule posts across multiple platforms, access summary reports and analytics, and access a Bitly integration & URL shortener. The Standard and Professional plans are limited to one brand and one team member, but both plans let you add additional team members or social channels for an additional cost.
A free plan with limited functionality is also available. With the free plan, you get access for one team member and brand and the ability to publish multiple posts in one place. Zoho also offers social media software for agencies that manage at least 10 different brands under their business umbrella.
MeetEdgar
MeetEdgar stands out due to its automation and scheduling features. They even offer continuous posting, which means they will automatically curate and reshare relevant posts on your social media accounts.
Pros
- Excellent automation and scheduling features let you set your social media and forget it
- Analytics for engagement and response
- Free trial offered
Cons
- Only integrates with Meta, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram
- Most affordable plan only lets you work with three networks
- No central inbox for messages or managing comments
MeetEdgar wins for best automation because they are set up to help time-strapped businesses automate their accounts. This software lets you generate posts using a browser extension, set up category-based scheduling that saves you time and effort, and executes continuous posting that ensures you’re constantly engaging your audience.
With MeetEdgar, you also get access to an unlimited content library, which the platform will shuffle and schedule on your behalf. You can also set up your account to automatically upload your newest content and use an automatic link shortener that helps you save space when you share your content on social media.
MeetEdgar offers two main plans:
- Eddie: $29.99 per month or $299 per year
- Edgar: $49.99 per month or $499 per year
Both plans offer similar tools, although the Eddie plan only lets you integrate with five social media accounts. The more expensive plan also offers 1,000 recurring scheduling time slots per week versus just 10 with the Eddie plan. Either way, you can try MeetEdgar for free for seven days.
Loomly
Loomly is our top pick for large team collaboration due to its comprehensive plans for teams of up to 30 people. All plans also come with core features such as audience targeting, post preview, automated publishing, analytics, and more.
Pros
- Try it out free for 15 days
- Base plans start at just $26 per month
- Manage and share all your social assets in one place
- Real-time optimization of posts
Cons
- Plans for large teams can be costly
- Companies with large ad spend may have to upgrade to a more expensive plan regardless of their team size
Loomly is an excellent option for large teams that want to collaborate on a social media strategy. While their base plan is only accessible for up to two users, their top-tier plan for businesses can include up to 30.
Core plans from Loomly include the following:
- Base: $26 per month (2 users)
- Standard: $59 per month (6 users)
- Advanced: $129 per month (14 users)
- Premium: $269 per month (30 users)
- Enterprise: Price available upon request
This pricing is only available if you pay for a year of management upfront; you’ll pay more if you want to pay for your plan monthly. As you compare options, you’ll also note that each tier of management software has a cap for ad spend, so you will have to use the Premium plan if your business spends $5,000 or more on ads with Meta.
All plans from Loomly let you post unlimited content and come with core features like audience targeting, automated publishing, post sponsoring, interaction tracking, and basic analytics. You’ll also get chat and email customer service with each of their plans. A 15-day free trial is also available regardless of which tier of coverage you want to try out.
Sendible
We chose Sendible as best for integration based on the sheer number of platforms you can use it with. As a Sendible customer, you can integrate with Meta, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google My Business (GMB), YouTube, WordPress, Canva, Google Analytics, Google Drive, and so much more. In total, Sendible allows you to integrate with 17 different platforms or tools.
Pros
- More integration options than some other providers
- Useful social media dashboard lets you monitor your social game in one place
- Starter plans start at $29 per month
- You can save 15% if you pay for a year of management upfront
- 14-day free trial available
Cons
- Basic plans are for one user only
- No free option available
Sendible earned the top spot in our ranking in terms of integration since it lets you sync with all the top social media networks and popular tools like Canva, Google Analytics, and more. This lets you manage almost all aspects of your social media strategy in one place, saving you time along the way.
Sendible offers four plans for companies of different sizes:
- Creator: $29 per month
- Traction: $89 per month
- Scale: $199 per month
- Expansion: $399 per month
However, you do have to pay for a year of software access to secure these low prices, or you’ll pay about 15% more for your plan on a monthly basis.
All plans from Sendible include at least 10 queues, content publishing, workflow tools, bulk scheduling, keyword tools, and an inbox for engagement and monitoring. However, more expensive plans include more queues and users, and the ability to include a larger number of social profiles for management purposes.
The good news is that all social media management plans from Sendible offer a 14-day free trial. You can also cancel at any time.
Buffer
Buffer scored well in our ranking because their plans start at just $5 per month. You can try any Buffer plan free for 14 days, and there’s a free plan for one user that lets you access three social channels and create 10 scheduled posts.
Pros
- Plans start at $5 per month
- Free 14-day trial available
- Free plan available
- Works for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
Cons
- Doesn’t integrate with as many major platforms as competitors
- Free plan limited to three social profiles
Buffer is the best budget option for small businesses with few employees that want to manage social media without a pricey management plan. They offer a free plan that lets one user access three social channels. For an extra $5 per month, a Team Pack upgrade allows for unlimited social channels and unlimited users.
Either way, you can use a 14-day trial to get started, and all plans let you directly schedule posts on the platform. Other core benefits of Buffer’s plans include a posting scheduling tool, a link shortener tool, and optimization tools for hashtags, tags, and mentions across platforms. All plans also come with a browser extension, access to a mobile app, two-factor authentication, social media and email support, and access to the Buffer community.
SocialPilot
We believe SocialPilot is best for small teams since their Small Team plan allows up to three users. By contrast, many competing software programs only allow one user on their more affordable plans.
Pros
- Most affordable plan is $25.50 per month
- Discount available if you pay for one year of usage upfront
- 14-day free trial available
- Manage a minimum of 10 social media accounts with any plan
Cons
- Must pay for a year upfront for lowest pricing
- Basic plans don’t include as many tools or features
SocialPilot is the best option for businesses that want access to affordable social media software for more than one user. Their Small Team plan lets up to three users have access for just $42.50 per month.
In total, four plans are available:
- Small Team: $42.50 per month (20 social media accounts; 3 users)
- Studio: $85.00 per month (30 social media accounts; 6 users)
- Agency: $106.25 per month (50 social media accounts; 9 users)
Remember that to access this special pricing, you have to pay for a year of access upfront after your 14-day trial.
All plans from SocialPilot come with features like unlimited scheduling, bulk scheduling, access to social media analytics, a browser extension, and customer support. Higher-tier plans from SocialPilot let you have more users, oversee more social accounts, manage more Facebook ad accounts, and gain access to special features like client management tools.
What Is Social Media Management Software?
Social media management software is crucial for businesses that want an effective social media marketing strategy. After all, social media is now used by more businesses than ever as a way to curate and engage with clients while spreading messaging about their products and services.
However, social media management programs also help businesses save time and money. Where you would otherwise have to manage each social media platform separately, social media management platforms let you create and schedule posts across multiple platforms in one place.
You can also access valuable engagement tools like idea generation, analytics, and integration with other software you use. Social media management software can even help you manage and reply to comments, gather user information for sales funnels, and target specific audiences with online ads to boost sales.
Best social media management tools 2022
1. Buffer
Price: Forever free plan. Paid plans start at $6 per month per channel with a 14-day free trial.
Description: Buffer is an intuitive, streamlined social media management platform trusted by small businesses and individuals to help drive meaningful engagement and results on social media.
We have a suite of products that support publishing, engagement, analytics, simple landing pages, and team collaboration. Our products are carefully considered and highly refined in order to help social media marketers and teams work more efficiently and effectively.
Unique value: What we’ve heard from our customers is that they love how clean and intuitive our tools are, how friendly and timely our customer support is, and how helpful our content is.
Want an independent Buffer review? Here’s what our G2 and Capterra reviews say.
2. Hootsuite
Price: Limited Free plan. Paid plans start at $49 per month, with a 30-day free trial.
Description: Hootsuite, probably the biggest social media management tool, is used by over 18 million people and more than eight hundred Fortune 1000 companies. There’s a good reason for their success: it’s an all-in-one platform that allows you to curate and schedule content, measure your social ROI, run social media ads, and more.
Unique value: Being such a comprehensive platform, there are several things that people love about Hootsuite: being able to monitor multiple accounts and keywords, connect with over 35 social networks, and bulk-schedule social media posts.
3. Sprout Social
Price: Paid plans start at $89 per user per month with a 30-day free trial
Description: Similar to Hootsuite, Sprout Social combines several social media tools into one platform — from social media scheduling to monitoring, to reporting.
Sprout Social is one of the few social media management tools that provides customer relationship management (CRM) features. Having a complete profile of your customers help you serve them better and build stronger relationships with them.
Unique value: The most common praise I’ve heard about Sprout Social is its amazing reports. Many social media managers found the reports so great and beautiful that they would download and send them to their managers or clients without editing them.
4. Agora Pulse
Price: Free. Paid plans start at $99 per month.
Description: Like the social media management platforms mentioned above, Agora Pulse is also an all-in-one social media platform with scheduling, responding, and reporting features.
Unique value: Unlike the rest, Agora Pulse has several unique features such as competitor analysis and Facebook contest apps at a very affordable price point.
5. Sendible
Price: Plans start at $29 per month with a 14-day free trial
Description: Sendible is a social media management tool built specifically for agencies with several clients. On top of most features that social media management tools provide, Sendible allows you to customize your dashboard according to your branding to attract new clients.
Unique value: Sendible has some impressive integrations such as the Canva graphics editor, royalty-free image search, and YouTube search. It also provides some automation for those who want to save time on repetitive tasks.
6. eClincher
Best in class social media management tool
Price: Plans start at $59 per month with a 14-day free trial
Description: Like most social media management tools, eClincher allows you to schedule and publish posts, respond to social messages, and analyze your social media performance.
Unique value: What makes eClincher different from other tools is that it enables you to auto-post with smart queues and RSS feeds, has a media library for your images, and lets you search for social media influencers.
7. Social Pilot
Price: Plans start at $30 per month with a 14-day free trial
Description: I like how Social Pilot fit many of the social media management tools (such as scheduling and analytics but not monitoring) into a simple dashboard and offer it at very affordable prices. With its client management feature, I believe it’s great for agencies that work with several clients.
Unique value: Social Pilot curates and suggests content from several industries (such as tech, education, and health and fitness), which is great if you want to find relevant content easily.
Another valuable feature is its white label reports, which are especially handy for agencies.
8. CoSchedule
Price: Free plan, with paid plans starting at $39 per user per month (14-day free trial)
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Buffer is the all-you-need social media toolkit that lets you focus on doing what you love for your business.
Description: CoSchedule makes a simple promise: it has the best marketing calendar. This is reflected in its pricing which is free for basic access to the calendar – users who want more features will have to speak to the Sales team. With CoSchedule, you can manage and collaborate with your team to create your social media posts, content, events, and tasks.
Unique value: CoSchedule is great for marketers who want to organize all their projects (social media, content, events, emails, etc.) in one place. Their ReQueue feature helps you automatically find optimal posting times and fill gaps in your social media schedule with your best posts
9. MavSocial
Price: Plans start at $19 per month with a 14-day free trial
Description: MavSocial is a social media management tool with a focus on visual content. For the higher-priced plans, you can also manage your Facebook ads with MavSocial.
Unique value: On top of the common features (such as scheduling, monitoring, and reporting), MavSocial has a digital library where you can manage, use, and edit your multimedia for your social media posts and a search engine where you can browse through millions of stock photos.
If you wish, MavSocial can also help you repeat your social media posts for a specified duration.
10. Crowdfire
Price: Free plan; paid plans start at $9.99 per month
Description: Crowdfire has been adding new features over the years. Besides scheduling content, it also allows you to manage your Twitter account (follow and unfollow) and suggests articles for sharing.
Unique value: Crowdfire stands out from most social media management tools in that it lets you connect your blogs, YouTube channel, and online shops and will create social media posts for every update you have on your sites.
Conclusion
Social Media Project Management is an important part of overall project management. By creating a social media project management plan, you can keep your projects on track and ensure a successful outcome. With tools like Social Media Project Management Tools, you can easily manage your social media projects from start to finish.