28+ must-have content marketing tools
Want to step up your content marketing? Then our guide has all the tools you need to help with everything from generating content ideas and competitor analysis through to content creation, promotion and analysis.
Hootsuite: Social automation & analytics for SMEs
Overview
Hootsuite is probably the first Buffer alternative you’ll come across and it delivers a more advanced feature set. Its biggest strength over Buffer is the conversation management system that allows you to monitor and respond to messages across all of your social accounts from one interface.
You also get more in-depth reporting and a better pricing model for larger teams. Where Buffer is designed for small businesses and solopreneurs, Hootsuite is more suitable for social media marketing managers and teams.
Key Features
Account management:
Manage multiple social media accounts from the same platform.
Scheduling:
Schedule unlimited social posts on all Hootsuite plans.
Publishing calendar:
View content and scheduled posts across all networks.
Social inbox:
View, manage and respond to social messages across every channel from a single inbox.
Campaign management:
Plan, create, manage and measure ad campaigns in one place (Business plan or higher).
Add audio:
Import and adjust audio, with audio ducking and easy voiceovers.
Reporting:
Customisable reports to track social campaigns and post-performance.
Hootsuite Fig. 1
Benefits & Costs
Pros
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Social messaging:
Hootsuite’s social inbox makes it easy to manage messaging across every channel – a key feature missing from Buffer.
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Unlimited scheduling:
Hootsuite offers unlimited scheduling on all its plans but it’s not as advanced as Buffer’s scheduling system (you can’t queue posts).
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Account limits:
Generous account limits on each plan are ideal if you want to manage a lot of accounts.
Cons
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User limitations:
Hootsuite is great if you want to manage a lot of accounts, but user limits make it expensive for large teams.
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Usability:
A relatively complex dashboard makes the system more challenging to use than Buffer.
