Big 4 Of Social Media Tools

Welcome to the world of social media!

As you’re probably aware, there are a lot of different tools in the social media sphere. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it’s important to understand those differences before starting your marketing efforts.

This brief guide will help you learn about four of the biggest social media tools so you can decide which one is right for your business: [tool 1], [tool 2], [tool 3], and [tool 4].

Keep reading to get started!

Big 4 Of Social Media Tools

The Big 4 Social Media Platforms for Busines

Where do you go when you want to get the word out to as many people as possible, as cost-effectively as possible? Social media.

Because creating great content isn’t enough. You also need to promote that content, and the big four social media channels, with users numbering in the billions, comprise the world’s largest audience.

Twitter

Monthly users: ~320 million.

Twitter is great for curating your content — for instance, posting links to your recent blog posts and press releases. It’s also good for sharing company news. It’s especially effective during events — “live-tweeting” is a thing.

Twitter is more forgiving of text-heavy posts. Yes, there is a character limit of 280, but witty one-liners, quotes, rants (presidential or otherwise) and even entire “Moments” (slideshow-like stories) are not uncommon on the platform. Twitter also has a paid function in the form of “Promoted Tweets” that help extend your audience.

Facebook

Monthly users: ~2.5 billion.

You can do a lot with Facebook: share company updates, post links to your new blog articles, create event pages, start user-generated content campaigns (such as social media contests), and much more. But video is king on this platform.

Video posts get about 60% more engagement on Facebook than any other type of content. Next in the pecking order is questions, followed by photos.

In general, the platform is very noisy. Point of fact: Facebook engagement for businesses has been declining for a few years now. It’s not a lost cause, though. Facebook has a huge audience and is still a great channel for posting links (with images) and videos.

LinkedIn

Monthly users: ~260 million.

LinkedIn is the place for B2B businesses. By some estimates, more than half of all social traffic to B2B sites comes from LinkedIn. It’s the perfect channel for posting your original blog posts, graphics, and video content.

LinkedIn users are not as active as on other channels. Of the 660 million total members, only 260 million use the platform at least once a month. But this downside is offset by clear benefits. You get direct access to decision-makers and historically high rates of success for B2B companies that use LinkedIn for marketing.

Instagram

Monthly users: ~1 billion.

Instagram is all about visual branding. It’s a godsend for retailers, cafe owners, manufacturers, and anyone else with products and services that lend to visual demonstrations.

Additionally, Instagram users are relatively prolific. Its total monthly user count closely mirrors a total number of accounts, and of those monthly users, half are active every single day. Keep in mind that it’s particularly popular with Millennials and Gen-Z, and a highly valued social network for consumer brands. A B2B software company with a Gen-X and Baby Boomer audience may have better luck on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Other Platforms Worth Exploring

• Pinterest
• Snapchat
• Reddit
• TikTok

social media tools for business

BEST OVERALLSprout Social

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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 you get 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 their 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.

BEST FOR ANALYTICSHootsuite

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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.

BEST ALL-IN-ONE TOOLZoho

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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.

BEST FOR AUTOMATIONMeetEdgar

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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
• Free trial for seven days
• Analytics for engagement and response
• Edgar Lite plan starts at just $19 per month

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 for you on your behalf. You can also set up your account to automatically upload your newest content, and you can use an automatic link shortener that helps you save space when you share your content on social media. 

MeetEdgar offers two main plans:

• Edgar Lite: $29.99 per month
• Edgar: $49.99 per month

Both plans offer similar tools, although the Edgar Lite plan only lets you integrate with three social media accounts. The more expensive plan also offers 1,000 recurring scheduling time slots per week versus just 10 with the Edgar Lite plan. Either way, you can try MeetEdgar for free for seven days.

BEST FOR LARGE TEAM COLLABORATIONLoomly

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Loomly is our top pick for large team collaboration due to its comprehensive plans for teams of up to 26 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.

Conclusion

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