Do you use Hootsuite? Here are 7 Alternatives
There is no doubt that Hootsuite is considered by many as the crème de la crème of the Social Media Management Tool world. It is certainly the most popular and possibly the most comprehensive in terms of features. That’s helped by the fact that many of its core features are free- this gently eases many users into the HootSuite ecosystem.
But does that mean it’s the best? Well, not necessarily. It’s certainly going to be the right tool for some people, perhaps even many people. However, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with its pros and cons.
Hootsuite Pros
1. The free service is very comprehensive in terms of features.
2. Integrates with an insane number of social networks (many of these are in the core, but some via paid addons)
3. Mobile apps (recently been updated)
4. Delegate tasks between team members
Hootsuite Cons
1. Expensive analytics packages with complicated pricing point system
2. Compulsory owly url shortener (no bitly)
3. You can get a custom url shortener, but it’s $588 per year and will be a different url to your bitly shortener
4. Teams can get expensive
HootSuite Alternatives?
If you don’t get on with Hootsuite, check out the alternatives. There are many! In fact you could even make your own #SMMT by combining some of the tools below. That’s what I’ve done. I’m using a combination of Buffer, Commun.it, Friends+Me, TweetDeck, Oktopost and more.
Sprout Social – A big competitor to Hootsuite with some awesome features (snazzy reports, multiple bit.ly url shortener integration, Google+ pages etc) – it does have a bigger price tag though- prices start at $39/user/month. There is no free account but they offer a free trial.
TweetDeck – This used to be one of my top recommendations, but Twitter have done their best to make this less useful. That being said, it does give you powerful tools to manage your Twitter accounts.
Oktopost – A social media management tool primarily built for Business to Business (B2B) marketing. Supports Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (profiles, company pages and groups), Google+. Oktopost shines by allowing scheduling across multiple social networks including multiple LinkedIn groups and by using a scheduling calendar. Instead of offering the facility to cross post to multiple networks, Oktopost allows you to hand craft posts to different networks in the best way possible. There is a free account and paid accounts range from $49/mth to $249/mth.
MusterPoint – A new UK based social media management platform which is geared primarily towards medium to large teams of social managers, although smaller businesses are supported. Many of the team and collaborative features on offer would only be available on the expensive HootSuite Enterprise plan. Prices available on application.
Buffer – Need I say anything about Buffer? It doesn’t give you the ability to view streams of your social networks, but it does give you powerful posting facilities. Allows you to post or cross post to Twitter, Facebook (profiles, pages or groups), LinkedIn (profile, groups or company pages), Google+ business pages or AppDotNet. You can either post straight away or create a schedule for each social network. Buffer is an amazing tool and one that I use every day. Buffer also have introduced business plans and recently a feature to connect an RSS feed to your Buffer account.
Friends+Me – I love Friends+Me! It turns Google+ in to a fully fledged Social Media Management tool. It allows you to selectively cross post to Google+ pages, Twitter, LinkedIn (profiles, pages & groups), Facebook (profiles, pages & groups), Tumblr and even the niche social network Appdotnet. It has a scheduling system similar to Buffer and cross-posts intelligently to other networks (including using full images, headings and descriptions). It’s something I use every day and I couldn’t do without it.
Meshfire – Social media management tool with team collaboration at its heart. Only supports Twitter. Integrates with both bit.ly and Feedly. Prices based on number of followers- $19/month for up to 20,000 followers to $99/mth for up to 100,000 followers.
Sendible – Similar to Hootsuite and SproutSocial with an impressive array of features. It supports Twitter, Facebook profiles, pages and groups, LinkedIn profiles and groups, Google+ pages, Foursquare and more. The prices are very reasonably priced starting from $9.99 per month. There is no free account but they offer a free trial.
GrabInbox – Although fairly basic, GrabInbox is free and allows you to manage multiple Facebook (profiles and pages), Twitter and LinkedIn profiles.
What do you use?
I’ve written about the pros and cons of Hootsuite and the alternatives in this article-
http://iag.me/socialmedia/reviews/7-reasons-not-to-use-hootsuite/
So, what tool do you use? Hootsuite, one of the tools I listed above or something else? Let me know!
#SocialMedia #SocialTools #Hootsuite
#SS #SP
