The Best Social Media Schedulers for Instagram, Facebook, & LinkedIn
Say goodbye to manually posting on social media and bouncing between apps, and say hello to my favorite automation tools. There are countless social media schedulers on the market that can help you automate your social media strategy, plan your Instagram grid, and get ahead of your social media posts. In this post, I will be sharing my favorite tools for each feature that you would want to utilize in your strategy. Whether you’re looking for something specific like schedule Instagram stories or all-encompassing for four or more platforms, this guide will help you find the perfect scheduler for your social media strategy.
As a social media manager, I am featuring the schedulers I have the most experience in my experience as a social media manager over the years. There are approximately a trillion options out there, but I want to ensure I’m recommending only the ones I’m able to speak on from experience and personal preference.
BEST FOR INSTAGRAMMERS - LATER
Later is my absolute favorite scheduler mentioned in this review primarily because it’s affordable, has incredible features, and is simple to use. There are plenty of Instagram grid schedulers on the market including Plann, Preview, and Planoly. Later is what I use and recommend for all of my clients and is the tool I teach in my courses. It’s safe to say, I swear by it. The main reason why I feel comfortable recommending it is because it’s a Instagram Certified Part meaning that it’s compliant with the API and less likely to be affected by major Instagram changes.
Why I love it:
Drag and drop media
Import and easily find your content for scheduling
Save hashtag lists and captions
Plan and preview your Instagram grid
Instagram Certified Partners
Shoppable feed option with Linkin.bio
Auto-publish to Instagram
You can use it for more than just Instagram including Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest
The free plan has all the basics you’d need for Instagram planning, but the paid plans have amazing features like hashtag suggestions, stories scheduling, video auto post, and advanced analytics for only $9/mo.
I’d like to mention Planoly as an honorable mention that is an Instagram certified partner. Personally, I don’t love the interface as much as Later and it’s limited to Instagram only. Preview and Plann are both mobiles only Instagram planners that are runner-ups for quality grid planners. I don’t regularly use these apps for this reason and because they are not Instagram certified partners.
Pro tip: Using a scheduler that is an Instagram certified partner to ensure that your account is less likely to be effective by any Instagram API changes. Later and Planoly are both Instagram certified partners.
BEST FOR FACEBOOK GROUPS, PAGES, AND LINKEDIN - BUFFER
When it comes to your Facebook and LinkedIn strategy, Buffer is my go-to tool. Buffer is one of the only tools that allow scheduling for Facebook Groups and Pages which can be a game changer.
Why I love Buffer:
Shortens URLs into buffly links
Chrome extension makes queuing content easy
Option to queue, post now, and schedule posts
A great free option that included 3 platforms and 10 posts/account per 30 day
BEST FOR BIGGER AGENCIES - SPROUT SOCIAL
While working in a small digital marketing agency, Sprout Social was our tool of choice when it came to managing clients accounts. The perks of using Sprout include its robust analytics, ability to easily switch between clients and the feature that allows you to find content and manage comments all within Sprout. The greatest con is that it’s extremely expensive for a solo team like myself with monthly payments starting at $99.
Why it’s a winner:
Easily manage various client accounts
Robust analytics that makes reporting easy
Manage notifications within the platform
Ability to discover new and related content
BEST FOR RECYCLING CONTENT - MEET EDGAR
If you’re sharing content that can be repurposed and rescheduled in your strategy, Meet Edgar could be the tool for you. It also has a new auto-variations tool which drafts copy for blog posts or other content that you may be sharing. This tool is perfect for the person with content that is often repeated (job openings, events, etc.), but recycling content verbatim should be used sparingly. The primarily downside it that it’s on the costlier side at $50/month.
The perks of using Edgar:
Edgar reposts content automatically over time
Edgar recycles your updates over time
Facebook Group, Facebook Pages, and LinkedIn friendly
Now that I’ve covered some of my favorites, I need to keep it real and share the social media scheduling I suggest straying away from #noshade. SmarterQueue and Hootsuite are well-known in the social media realm. Unfortunately, the clunky interfaces don’t float my boat. These tools are the pioneers of social media scheduling but lack of user-friendly features that I love so much about the tools mentioned above. Not horrible tools, but just not my favorites.
There you have it, my favorite social media scheduling tools that deserved an award and honorable mentions. What’s your favorite tool for social media scheduling? I’d love to hear more about your experience in the comments.
