Hootsuite

Overall: Overall, I’m satisfied with Hootsuite and will continue to use this platform to manage my social media accounts. With the ability to schedule up to 30 posts on the free plan, including scheduling Instagram posts, and viewing different social media accounts all on one dashboard, it beats other social media management platforms that require plan upgrades to access similar features.

Pros: As someone who uses Hootsuite’s “Free” plan, I’m incredibly impressed by what Hootsuite offers in the plan. My favorite tool on Hootsuite is the “Streams.” I can sort scheduled posts, past posts, mentions, and followers’ posts by social media platform using “Streams” on my dashboard. This allows me to see responses or comments on my posts and engage with followers, without having to visit several social media sites. With the free version, I can also schedule more posts on social media than other social media management programs, and the free plan allows me to schedule posts on my business Instagram account.

Cons: “Free plan” users who are needing advanced features beyond basic analytics will need to upgrade and if they shorten links using TinyUrl or Bitly, there isn’t a meaningful way to track engagement in the program. Also, users need to be aware that the connections between Hootsuite and social media networks frequently drop, and that the program’s connection with Instagram is frequently buggy.

Reasons for Switching to HootSuite: I made the switch from Buffer because Buffer’s free plan only allowed me to schedule 10 posts at a time.

Overall: Satisfied with what I am using it for in my social media marketing and engagement.

Pros: Convenient for centralizing all my social media platforms into one spot. Makes them easier to manage and post “platform specific” content.

Cons: There are services that are less expensive so if you are budget conscious this may not be the one to use.

Reasons for Switching to HootSuite: Buffer had integration problems that I didn’t like