The 15 best social media tools

A powerful social media management tool is now one of the most important instruments every business needs to have in its marketing toolkit. Almost 50% of online shoppersOpens in new window say they use social networks for product research. As shoppers become more influenced by what they see on social media, not showing up simply isn’t an option anymore.

We know posting to the ‘gram is just one of the many tasks for a social media manager. You’re managing Facebook pages, making connections on LinkedIn, scheduling pins, and responding to potential customers who slide into your DMs. A solid social strategy is nearly impossible to execute without help. That’s where a good social media management tool comes in.

What are social media management tools?

A social media management tool is software that helps you manage everything you need to win on social — content curation, scheduling and publishing content, social analytics, and making content shoppable — all from one place.

Why do I need social media management tools?

A great social media management tool can expand your brand’s presence across multiple channels while saving you hours of time. Not only that, but they also remove the guesswork of what your audience craves with advanced analytics.

The best social media tools of today are certainly not your Dad’s social media management tools of the past. They work with more platforms, offer better tools to design eye-catching posts, and offer in-depth analytics about your posts and your audience.

At Bazaarvoice, we believe that social media management is such an integral part of a marketing plan that we created our own social publishing solution. Check out the top 15 social media management and scheduling tools available, and see how our solution compares.

What are the best social media management tools?

To compile our list, we focused on tools that serve at least four different platforms, offer a scheduling planner, include a social inbox, and showcase analytics that go above and beyond. And with that, here's the 15 best social media marketing tools on the market.

15. Content Studio

• Social media analytics

• Content curation

• Social media automation

• Social media management for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, Wordpress, and Medium

• Content marketing

• Social media approval workflow

Cost: $49/month for solo marketer, $99/month for small business, $199/month for medium business, $299/month for large business

14. Social Champ

• Social media calendar

• Sentiment analysis

• Bulk upload

• Monitoring analytics

• Social media scheduler for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google My Business

• Team collaboration

• Auto RSS

• Repurpose content

• Chrome extension

• Mobile apps

Cost: $9/month for Professional, $26/month for Champion, $89/month for Business, and $179/month for Agency

13. Buffer

• Social media management for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest

• Schedule posts

• Social media analytics

• Content inbox

• Access to Pablo, a free image creation tool

• Link shortener

• Team management

Cost: $0/month for basic, $5/month per social channel

12. Social Pilot

• Social media scheduling for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business, Instagram, and Pinterest

• Bulk scheduling

• Social media calendar

• Content curation

• RSS feeds automation

• Browser extension

• Client management

• Team management

• Social inbox management

• Facebook ads management

• Analytics

Cost: $25.5/month for Professional, $42.5/month for Small Team, $85/month for Studio, and $127.5/month for Agency

11. Hootsuite

• Create and schedule posts

• Manage social media for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest

• Plan upcoming campaigns

• Manage social inbox

• Analyze your results

• Manage ads

Cost: $49/month for Professional, $129/month for Team, and $599/month for Business

10. SEMRush

• Schedule social media posts for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google My Business.

• Create, launch, manage, and optimize ads for Facebook

• Post cross-platform

• Track competition

• Analyze post performance

• Easily integrate with your SEO strategy

Cost: $99.95/month for Pro, $199.95/month for Guru, $399.95/month for Business

9. Agorapulse

• Manage social media for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Youtube

• Social media monitoring

• Track keywords and hashtags

• Social media reporting

• Manage social media inbox

• Team collaboration

• Mobile app

Cost: $0 for basic account, $79/month for Prop, and $159/month for Premium

8. MavSocial

• Social media management for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google My Business, Tumblr, Messenger

• Schedule and automate posts

• Manage a social media inbox

• Track keywords and industry trends

• Analyze social media performance

• Team collaboration

• Built-in stock image libraries and editing tools

• Chrome extension

• 24/7 support

Cost: $19/month for Advanced, $78/month for Pro, and $199/month for Business

7. ContentCal

• Manage content calendar for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn

• Plan and rearrange Instagram content using a grid format

• Auto publish content across platforms

• Pinboard for brainstorming ideas

• Approval workflows

• See your best performing posts

• See best time to post

• Advanced analysis of follower insights, competitors, and hashtags

Cost: $30/month for Essential, $96/month for Advanced

6. Loomly

• Automated publishing for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business

• Manual publishing for Custom Channel, Snapchat, and TikTok

• Automated pushing for Facebook and Instagram ads

• Facebook preferred audience and audience restrictions

• Manage your social inbox

• Analytics for all posts (not just ones posted via Loomly)

• Auto generated post and ad previews

• Guides to how to create high performing posts

• Manage all your assets in one place

• View RSS feed, twitter trends, and custom post ideas for inspiration

• Collaborative review and approval workflows

Cost: $25/month for Base, $57/month for Standard, $119/month for Advanced, and $249/month for Premium

5. Sendible

• Manage social media for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business

• Schedule posts in bulk

• Group social media posts into campaigns

• Share content with RSS feeds

• Get content suggestions

• Use cloud integrations and Canva plug in to source visual content

• Team collaboration and approval workflows

• In-depth social media analytics and Google Analytics integration

• Create beautiful custom reports for clients

• Track post engagement

• Mobile app

Cost: $29/month for Creator, $89/month for Traction, $199/month for Scale, and $399/month for Expansion

4. Promorepublic

• Create, schedule, and promote content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest

• Engage and collaborate on social media

• Analyze results in dashboards

• Organize content for teams and partners

• Track content usage and performance

• Ensure partners’ posts meet regulatory guidelines

• Manage social inbox

• Oversee reviews and ratings across locations

Cost: $39/month for Standard, $79/month for Professional

3. Sprout Social

• Plan, organize, schedule, and deliver content as a team with cross-network social publishing

• Social content calendar

• Uncover trends and actionable insights from social data to inform your strategy

• Streamline social monitoring and improve responsiveness with a social inbox

• Measure your reportance with analytics

• Paid promotion tools to boost Facebook posts

• Mobile apps

Cost: $89/month for Standard, $149/month for Professional, $249/month for Advanced

2. Crowdfire

• Schedule and publish content to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest

• Tailor posts per platform

• Automate posts with custom best times

• Build and share custom analytics reports

• Competitor analysis

• Manage social inbox

• Mobile app

• Custom RSS feed

• Article curation

• Integration with Shopify, Etsy, Wordpress, and Medium

Cost: $0 for free account, $7.48/month for Plus, $37.48/month for Premium, $74.98/month for VIP

1. Bazaarvoice

Alright, I know what you’re thinking. “They’ve put themselves at number one? That’s a bit dodgy.” Well hear me out. We arguably have the best social media management tool around. Bazaarvoice’s social publishing tool is social made easy. Our workbench of social publishing and insights tools are a social media manager’s dream. Easily curate the perfect grids and feeds for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The all-in-one analytics dashboard provides access to every meaningful metric to help you evaluate the impact of your social and visual content. Our metrics go beyond the buzz metrics of impressions, reach, and engagement. They show you the conversion and revenue that your social channels deliver.

Our artificial intelligence and computer vision tools help you identify content trends, analyze competing brands, review suggested media, automate product identification, and time posts perfectly.

But don’t just take our word for it. Using our Social Media Management tool, clothing giant River Island saw a 184% lift in conversion and a 45% increase in average order value.

A social media management tool is the right investment

To stand out on social media today, your business needs the best social media management tools. Simple as that. Specifically, one that goes beyond scheduling posts and analyzing vanity metrics.

Now's the time to invest in a social media management tool that allows you to grow your visibility through omnipresent channels. That way, you'll save time by posting on more than one platform at once and unveil metrics that show how your online presence impacts your revenue goals. Learn more about Bazaarvoice Social Media Management here.