Top 5 SMM Software for Small Business
What SMM tool will best fit your needs?
As a small business, managing your social media accounts is likely a giant pain in the butt! From scheduling, replying to comments, checking insights plus managing and optimising your ads, this can take up way too much of your precious time.
The right Social Media Management (SMM) tool can help you save time and energy on these tasks. But with so many out there, how can you know which one would be right for your business?
We have curated 5 of our favourite Social Media Management software tools for your small business below:
1. Buffer
If you’re looking for a SMM tool that is simple and straight forward, try considering Buffer. This software is best for small businesses who is just starting out due to its budget friendly price.
Plans:
- Free: $0 USD per social media accounts / month (up to 3 social media accounts)
- Essentials: $5 USD per social media accounts / month (unlimited social channels)
You can invite multiple users with a Team Pack add-on. This is only available for the ‘Essentials’ plan. Buffer also offers a free 14 day trial for you to experience their premium features.
| Pro's | Con's |
|---|---|
| Supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest | Does not integrate with many major platforms such as Google My Business and TikTok. |
| Cloud-based software which allows for mobile access | Features such as analytics, engagement and unlimited postings are only available on paid option |
| User friendly interface | Free plans only allow you to schedule posts |
| Third-Party Integration: Buffer collaborates with over 30+ third party apps like Canva, WordPress, IFTTT, Microsoft, bulk.ly and more | Limited to 10 posts per channel for free plans |
2. Crowdfire
Crowdfire is a social media management tool that not only lets you schedule your content, but also help you look out for the newest trends and what your competitors are doing.
Plans:
- Free: $0 USD / month (up to 3 social media accounts)
- Plus: $13.90 AUD / month (up to 5 social media accounts)
- Premium: $69.57 AUD / month (up to 10 social media accounts)
- VIP: $139.15 AUD / month (up to 25 social media accounts)
Pricing is based on a monthly subscription, annual billing is also available at a 25% discount.
All plans allow for 1 user for 1 profile, any additional team members and/ or profiles can be added for an additional cost.
| Pro's | Con's |
|---|---|
| Supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest | Does not integrate with many major platforms Google My Business, TikTok , and YouTube |
| Competitor analysis feature available for up to 20 competitors per social account | Posting schedule can’t be customised on free plans, limited to 10 posts scheduled per account |
| All plans provide detailed analytics; duration of analytics differ between plans | Does not provide inbox for messages on social accounts |
| Content and Image Curation: Crowdfire recommends any images or articles that may benefit the growth of your social accounts | Does not support video posts for free plans or offer the calendar view |
3. SocialBee
SocialBee offers plans for everyone in the industry, from freelancers, small businesses to agencies. It is a great SMM tool that offers collaboration with all the big platforms.
Standard Plans:
- Bootstrap: $25.35 AUD / month (up to 5 social media accounts, 1 user)
- Accelerate: $52 AUD / month (up to 10 social media accounts, 1 user)
- Pro: $105.42 AUD / month (up to 25 social media accounts, 3 users)
In additional to standard plans, SocialBee also provides agency plans with different price points that allows users to link up to 150 social media accounts.
| Pro's | Con's |
|---|---|
| Supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google My Business, and TikTok | Analytics lack key features like social listening or social ads management |
| Able to set expiry date on time-sensitive content | Complicated user interface layout and interface in mobile application differs |
| Provides organisation feature to put content into different categories, helping you ensure you are posting a mix of content | Focus mainly on scheduling and lacked other important features used in social media management |
| Content Approval: users within workspace can approve content within the software before it is scheduled to be published. | Does not offer free plans |
| Calendar View feature gives you a clear picture of what they are scheduling and posting | Lack complimentary feature like hashtag generator to help with bulk scheduling |
4. Napoleon Cat
Napoleon Cat is an all-in-one platform that will assist you with all your social media needs from engagement, automation, publishing, and analytics. It offers fully customisable plans and pricing based on your needs.
Plans:
- Standard: starts from $43 AUD / month (from 3 social media accounts, 1 user)
- Pro: starts from $89 AUD / month
Pricing is based on a monthly subscription, annual billing is also available at a 25% discount – equivalent to 3 months of free subscription.
You can create your own bespoke plan based on the account you manage and the users as well as upgrade and downgrade your customised plan at any time.
| Pro's | Con's |
|---|---|
| Supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google My Business, and YouTube | Interface is less intuitive compared to other SMM tools, it takes time to get comfortable with it |
| Easy to use social inbox to manage interactions across social platforms | Can be costly if you manage multiple accounts |
| Custom reports that highlight your chosen key metrics | Does not offer free plans |
| Social Media Automation: replying to comments and direct messages in one place and offers quick response built into your social media channels | Limited data sets and features, mostly only useful for Facebook (can’t respond comments on Instagram, but able to do so on Facebook) |
| Team Management: cross-team collaboration with well thought-out communication and workflow system | The app is a little slow to respond to upgrades or changes made in the integrated platforms |
| Competitor Performance Analysis: Tracking your competitors regarding audience insights, posts performance and keep up with industry trends | Changes in analytics may take as long as 24 hours to be adjusted |
5. Agora Pulse
Agorapulse is a one stop shop when it comes to social management tools. It has a little bit of everything which is a perfect, no fuss solution for established small businesses.
Plans:
- Free: $0 AUD / month (3 social media accounts, 1 user)
- Pro: $137.77 AUD / month (10 social media accounts, 2 users)
- Premium: $276.93 AUD / month (20 social media accounts, 4 users)
- Enterprise: bespoke plan, price varies
Pricing is based on a monthly subscription, annual billing is also available at a 20% discount.
Agora Pulse offers a 15-day trial for users with no credit card required for you to try their services.
| Pro's | Con's |
|---|---|
| Supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google My Business, and YouTube | Additional cost for features like reporting and competitor analysis |
| Ads management and comment monitoring available | Limited storage in asset library and inability to draft content |
| Mobile app available | Does not collaborate with third-party apps such as Canva, WordPress, Microsoft, etc |
| Automated social inbox: Maintain interaction on posts, ads and messages with saved replies. | Can be expensive compared to competitors |
| Team management: manageable workflow and communication from desktop and mobile | Key features like bulk scheduling are not available |
| Analytics and Reporting: send custom reports based on metrics and time periods across multiple social profiles automatically to you email | Difficult to reschedule and/or move around post that has already been scheduled |
These are the top 5 SMM platforms that can help you get started in growing your online presence efficiently. We suggest you try a few that fits your needs before deciding on the right tool for you.
If you are considering taking your Social Media strategy to the next level, but don’t have the time to dedicate to it, Contact us for a FREE strategy session. We can work together to create a manageable strategy that you will see results from!
