The 8 Best Social Media Management Software of 2020 - Investopedia

What Is Social Media Management Software?

Social media management software is crucial for businesses that want an effective social media marketing strategy. After all, social media is now used by more businesses than ever as a way to curate and engage with clients while spreading messaging about their products and services.

However, social media management programs also help businesses save time and money. Where you would otherwise have to manage each social media platform separately, social media management platforms let you create and schedule posts across multiple platforms in one place. 

You can also access valuable engagement tools like idea generation, analytics, and integration with other software you use. Social media management software can even help you manage and reply to comments, gather user information for sales funnels, and target specific audiences with online ads to boost sales.

What Is the Most Effective Social Media Platform?

Different types of businesses may be better off focusing on specific social media platforms. A company that offers a budgeting app might do better with Facebook since clients can click directly on ads, for example, yet a travel brand or a luxury clothing brand might do better with Instagram since it lets them lure users in with visual appeal.

Some say that Facebook has a major advantage over other businesses, mainly due to the extraordinary opportunities you have when it comes to advertising to millions of potential customers in one place. Facebook also offers incredibly targeted advertising tools, including the ability to create and manage multiple audiences based on customizable factors. However, the best social media platform can also depend on how businesses rely on and utilize ads.

At the end of the day, a social media management platform like the ones that made our ranking could be used to help you identify which platforms provide you with the best results. This is because these software programs offer analytics and reports on engagement, which can help you determine where your time, energy, and dollars should be spent.

What Are the Expected Costs of Social Media Management Software?

Social media management software can be free, but the free basic plans some companies offer come with minimal tools and are typically only good for one user. If you want more features and the ability to integrate with more platforms or manage more accounts, you can expect to pay $15 per month to $600 per month. If you have a large company and you need many user profiles or access to more social media accounts across many brands, you may even need to pay more than that. 

How We Chose the Best Social Media Management Software

For the purpose of this ranking, we looked for social media management software programs that let users access the broadest range of social media networks. We also checked for integration options with other tools and programs, and we gave preference to providers that let customers manage more social media accounts across as many networks as possible.

Price was also a big factor in our ranking. While we include many social media software program options that cost $100 per month or more, we gave preference to providers that offer an inexpensive or free option as well as a free trial.