May 2, 2024
5 min read
Matt Gray

10 Best Social Media Management Tools for 2024

Social media is where your customers hang out. It’s where they talk to their friends, get recommendations, and discover new things. Businesses that aren’t on social media or don’t do it well miss out on a huge opportunity to connect with potential customers and boost their brand.

It’s the perfect place to make leads, chat with customers, and spread the word about what makes your business awesome. But managing social media can be a real headache. Hopping between different social media channels, trying to decide when to post, and keeping track of what’s working is a major time suck.

That’s where social media management tools come to the rescue. These tools streamline everything. They let you schedule your social media posts in advance, track analytics, and answer customer questions, all from a single dashboard.

This guide focuses on the best social media management tools for small businesses. We’re looking for ones that get the job done without complicated functionality or sky-high pricing. From beginners to seasoned freelancers, there’s a tool here for everyone.

1. Sprinklr

If you’re looking for the most powerful and feature-packed social media management platform out there, Sprinklr is it. This is the tool big businesses use to handle every aspect of their social game, from publishing posts to measuring results to listening to what their customers are saying online.

While it’s got the bells and whistles that bigger brands might want, what really sets Sprinklr apart is its AI power. With Sprinklr AI+, you get help with all different types of tasks:

  • Brainstorming social media content ideas
  • Managing workflows and metrics
  • Writing attention-grabbing captions
  • Translating your posts to reach customers around the world

You’re getting a social media assistant who never sleeps. Plus, Sprinklr makes it easy for businesses with locations worldwide to tailor their messaging to different markets.

Now, here’s the thing: Sprinklr is best suited for large teams and those with complex social media strategies. If you’re a small business just starting out, it might feel overwhelming, but if you’re growing fast or reaching customers globally, Sprinklr scales with you. Thankfully, there’s a free plan that lets you get a feel for it before you buy.

2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is one of the original social media management tools and is still a popular choice for businesses of all sizes. Think of it as your social media command center — you can manage all your different accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) from a single dashboard. This saves you from logging in and out of different platforms.

Hootsuite doesn’t just help with posting. Its OwlyWriter AI tool also assists with content creation, suggesting ways to make captions more engaging. Need eye-catching visuals?

Hootsuite integrates with Canva, so you can design graphics for your posts (even Reels or TikTok videos) right inside the platform. If you need extra features, like advanced analytics tools, you can check out their App Directory for integrations with other platforms.

Hootsuite gets the social media basics right — but it’s showing its age a bit. The user interface feels a little clunky compared to newer tools, and honestly, the collaboration features could be better for a tool this popular. Despite these minor gripes, Hootsuite is still a solid choice, especially if you’ve been in business for a while.

3. Reputation

Reputation is all about keeping your ear to the ground. It focuses on what people say about your business online and helps you measure how customers feel about your brand. Think of it like a super-powered social listening tool.

Where Reputation shines is sentiment analysis. This tells you whether people are talking about your business positively, negatively, or neutrally. It sifts through all those social mentions and online reviews to uncover insights about what customers love (or don’t love) about your products and services.

Want to see how you compare to the competition? Reputation’s Competitive Dashboard is your secret weapon. Compare how people talk about you versus your competitors to find areas for improvement.

Reputation also simplifies dealing with all those reviews on Google, Facebook, and other platforms, letting you respond quickly and turn customer feedback into opportunities. 

There’s just one thing to keep in mind: Reputation isn’t focused on churning out tons of new social posts. It’s about understanding what people say about you online.

4. SocialPilot

If you want a user-friendly social media tool that’s easy to learn, SocialPilot is a fantastic choice. It’s especially popular with small businesses and solopreneurs.

SocialPilot lets you connect a wide range of social accounts (over 50) so you can manage them all in one place. 

Need help writing posts? Its built-in AI Assistant can offer hashtags suggestions or even auto-generate content for you, and to keep an eye on what’s happening in your industry, you can set up custom feeds to monitor all your favorite blogs and news sites.

The best part? It’s budget-friendly. 

SocialPilot is a great way to get powerful social media management without breaking the bank. Plus, it’s super intuitive, so you don’t need a ton of tech experience to get started. But remember, it doesn’t have the same in-depth analytics or advanced targeting features you’ll find in more expensive marketing tools.

5. Sprout Social

Sprout Social aims to be your all-around social media powerhouse. It has everything you need to manage your social presence, from scheduling posts to tracking results. And teams will love the built-in collaboration tools.

Sprout’s Smart Inbox is a lifesaver. It gathers all your mentions, comments, and messages from all your social networks in a single place. That means no more switching between platforms to keep tabs on those conversations. Sprout Social also has some serious reporting muscle. The in-depth analytics help you understand what’s working (and what isn’t) so you can refine your social media strategy.

One area where Sprout Social could improve is its content calendar feature. Some users find it a little less intuitive with no drag-and-drop option. And, as with other feature-packed tools, it can take some time to learn the ropes.

6. HubSpot

HubSpot is a social media marketing powerhouse — it offers tools for email marketing, landing page building, managing customer relationships (CRM), and more.

Scheduling tools let you set your posts, manage your accounts, and track what’s working — HubSpot does it all. What makes HubSpot special is that every part of the platform is connected. This is awesome because it means your social media efforts are linked to your other marketing campaigns for better results.

However, be warned: HubSpot can be pricey, especially its higher-tier plans. Also, while HubSpot gets the social basics done, it doesn’t have some of the advanced features found in other tools. For instance, it’s missing the ability to automate AI content. But given time, it’s very likely that it will.

7. Khoros

Khoros is built for those bigger businesses and enterprises. It’s a favorite for those operating in the B2B world, where companies are focused on selling to other companies. Khoros puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to protecting your brand’s reputation online.

Want control over what gets posted? Need to keep things organized in the chaos of a large team? Khoros helps you do just that. It even has this cool feature called Social Redisplay, which lets you take the good things people say about you and share those glowing words on your website. That’s the kind of thing that builds trust.

The thing is, Khoros can be a beast to learn, especially for smaller teams. It’s also worth mentioning that some users find that the analytics could use a little more oomph compared to some other platforms.

8. Brandwatch

Brandwatch is all about listening closely to what’s happening on social media. It tracks down every mention of your brand and lets you peek at what the competition is up to. This insider info helps you figure out what’s working (and what’s not) so you can make your marketing even better.

It makes sharing those insights a breeze and lets you divvy up tasks. Forget hopping between platforms — Brandwatch’s Smart Inbox gathers all the social chatter in one spot, giving you more time to actually engage with those conversations.

But, like other tools, there are some trade-offs. Brandwatch might not be the best at handling public posts on TikTok or Instagram, and its sentiment analysis (which tells you if people are speaking positively or negatively) isn’t always perfect.

9. Buffer

Buffer is all about making social media easy. If you’re a solopreneur, have a small team, or want a tool without a million confusing settings, Buffer is a great choice. Plus, it’s easy on the wallet.

Scheduling posts is a breeze. Buffer’s calendar gives you a clear view, and its AI Assistant even offers content suggestions to fill those gaps in your schedule. Want insights on how well your posts are doing?

Buffer’s analytics dashboard will give you the key metrics. Best of all, Buffer’s smart alerts let you know when there’s an opportunity to engage with your audience so you can reply to comments and jump into conversations quickly.

There are a few drawbacks to keep in mind. Currently, Buffer doesn’t support managing Instagram accounts, which might be a dealbreaker for some. And compared to some of the other enterprise-level tools we’ve talked about, the analytics aren’t super in-depth.

10. CoSchedule

If you love feeling organized, CoSchedule might be your new best friend. Its strength is its feature-rich calendar. Instead of just a plain list of dates, the calendar view helps you visualize your whole social media strategy — it’s planner heaven.

Need help with those captions? CoSchedule’s AI Social Assistant offers suggestions. You also get access to social templates to streamline your content creation process. Another neat feature is ReQueue, which automatically reposts your best-performing content for maximum reach.

The calendar really shines, but CoSchedule does limit how many social profiles you can connect. And, like any powerful tool, some users find that it takes a while to learn all its ins and outs.

Grow Your Audience With Founder OS

There’s no single “best” social media management tool out there — the right one totally depends on what your business needs. Think about your goals: Do you want all sorts of in-depth data or just an easy way to schedule your posts in advance? Factor in your budget and how much time you have to learn a new tool.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. A lot of these tools offer a free trial or a free basic plan. Try a few out, see which ones feel intuitive for you, and find the platform that helps you elevate your social media presence. Ready to get started? Founder OS can help. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for more tips on social media marketing, along with all things Founder Freedom.

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Matt Gray

Founder & CEO of Founder OS

I’ve built 4 successful companies and a community of over 14 million people. My mission is to help 100,000,000 founders automate their business and hit $5,000,000 profit per year. I help you grow your personal brand and business in just 3 minutes a week.

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