As a social media marketer, you know that consistency is key to building a successful Facebook presence. But creating and publishing fresh content every day? It‘s time-consuming at best, and downright impossible at worst.
That‘s where Facebook scheduling tools come in. These platforms allow you to plan out your posts weeks or even months in advance, so you can batch your content creation and free up time for other important tasks.
But with so many options on the market, how do you choose the right Facebook scheduler for your business? In this ultimate guide, we‘ll break down the 12 best tools for 2024, including their key features, pros and cons, and pricing.
Whether you‘re a solopreneur, small business owner, or part of a large marketing team, you‘ll find the perfect solution on this list. Let‘s dive in!
Why Use a Facebook Scheduling Tool?
Before we jump into the tool comparisons, let‘s talk about why you should be using a Facebook scheduling platform in the first place. Here are some of the top benefits:
1. Save Time
Rather than manually publishing posts every day, you can batch your content creation and schedule out a month‘s worth of Facebook updates in one sitting. This frees up huge amounts of time that you can spend on other high-impact marketing tasks.
2. Maintain a Consistent Posting Schedule
Most Facebook scheduling tools will automatically publish your content at the dates and times you choose. This helps you maintain a consistent posting cadence, which is crucial for keeping your audience engaged.
In fact, a study by HubSpot found that pages posting more than 5 times per month reach an average of 60% more fans than less active brands. Consistency is key to Facebook success.
3. Optimize Your Posting Times
Many scheduling platforms offer features to help you determine the best times to post based on your unique audience insights. This ensures your content has the maximum reach and impact.
Posting at the right times can make a huge difference in your results. Sprout Social found that the best times to post on Facebook are Tuesdays through Fridays at 9am.
4. Collaborate With Your Team
If you work with a team, Facebook scheduling tools make it easy to collaborate on your social media content. You can share drafts, leave comments, and submit posts for approval before they go live.
This improves the quality and cohesiveness of your messaging. It also prevents any rogue or off-brand posts from slipping through the cracks.
How to Choose a Facebook Scheduling Tool
Not all Facebook scheduling platforms are created equal. As you evaluate your options, here are the main factors to keep in mind:
Scheduling Features
At minimum, your tool should allow you to schedule posts in advance and choose your preferred posting times. However, the best platforms offer additional features like:
- Automated time slot recommendations based on audience data
- RSS feed auto-posting
- Browser extensions for easy content curation
- Mobile apps for on-the-go scheduling
Content Creation Tools
Look for scheduling software that streamlines the process of designing and writing social media posts. This might include:
- Built-in photo editing
- Canva integration for creating graphics
- An AI copywriting assistant to help craft engaging captions
Social Media Integrations
Chances are, you‘re active on other social media platforms besides Facebook. It‘s much more efficient to choose a tool that supports cross-platform posting.
Many of the options on this list allow you to manage your presence on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest from the same dashboard.
Analytics and Reporting
To get the most out of your Facebook marketing efforts, you need a way to track your results. Choose a scheduling platform with robust analytics that helps you measure and report on key metrics like:
- Engagement rate
- Post reach
- Page impressions
- Audience growth over time
- Top performing content
Team Collaboration
If you‘re working solo, this may not be a priority. But for marketing teams and agencies, it‘s essential to have tools that enable seamless collaboration like:
- Role-based user permissions
- Approval workflows
- Content calendars
- Shared asset libraries
Pricing
Finally, consider your budget when evaluating Facebook scheduling tools. Prices can range from totally free up to hundreds of dollars per month. In general, the more advanced the features, the higher the cost.
However, investing in the right software will pay off big time in terms of time savings and improved results. Don‘t be afraid to start small and scale up as your needs change.
12 Best Facebook Scheduling Tools for 2024
Now that you know what to look for, let‘s dive into our top picks for Facebook scheduling software. These tools are packed with features to level up your social media strategy while saving you serious time and headaches.
#1. Sendible
Sendible is a powerful social media management platform that‘s perfect for agencies and marketing teams. With a full suite of publishing, collaboration, and analytics features, it has everything you need to manage your Facebook presence at scale.
Key Features:
- Interactive drag-and-drop content calendar
- Schedule Facebook posts, stories, and reels
- Suggest the best times to post based on audience data
- Automatically republish evergreen content
- Integrate Canva, YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more
- Assign and approve posts as a team
Pricing: Starts at $29/month for 1 user and 12 social profiles. 14-day free trial available.
Pros:
- Robust all-in-one platform
- Easy cross-posting to other social networks
- Smart queues organize your daily posting schedule
- Powerful content curation features
Cons:
- Higher learning curve than some tools
- Analytics are not as advanced as standalone reporting software
Best for: Agencies and marketing teams who want to manage multiple Facebook pages alongside other social profiles. Offers the most bang for your buck in terms of publishing features.
#2. Agorapulse
Agorapulse is another fully-featured social media management tool that‘s great for small businesses and teams. In addition to Facebook scheduling, it offers social inbox, monitoring, and reporting tools to help you save time and grow your audience.
Key Features:
- Calendar, list, and table post views
- Reschedule and update posts in bulk
- Pause and resume evergreen post queues
- Built-in photo editing and GIF inserter
- RGB color picker for consistent branding
- 3 levels of approval workflow
Pricing: Plans start at $79/month for 1 user and 10 social profiles. 15-day free trial.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Advanced scheduling options like post intervals and exclusions
- Shared calendars for collaboration
- Affordable plans for small teams
Cons:
- No free plan available
- Tagging and monitoring features are not as robust as some tools
Best for: Solopreneurs and small teams who want an easy-to-use platform for managing their core Facebook presence. The bulk scheduling and queues are a big time-saver.
#3. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media management tools on the market, and for good reason. It offers flexible plans for solopreneurs up to large enterprises, with all the core scheduling and analytics features you‘d expect.
Key Features:
- Intuitive content calendar and composer
- Auto schedule posts for the best times based on historical data
- Bulk schedule up to 350 posts at once
- Store pre-approved content in the cloud
- Track post and competitor performance
Pricing: Plans start at $49/month for 1 user and 10 social profiles. Limited free plan available.
Pros:
- Clean, easy-to-navigate interface
- Supports all major social networks
- Integrates with over 150 apps
- Social listening and employee advocacy tools available
Cons:
- Analytics and reporting features are a bit basic
- Inbox can be glitchy at times
Best for: Businesses and marketers who want an affordable, easy-to-learn platform for scheduling and analytics. Hootsuite‘s training and certifications are great for beginners.
#4. Zoho Social
Zoho Social is part of the larger Zoho software suite, but it holds its own as a social media management tool. With a clean interface, team collaboration features, and in-depth analytics, it offers serious value for the price.
Key Features:
- Unified calendar with month and list views
- Schedule posts to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google My Business
- Customize posting schedules for each network
- Monitor keywords, hashtags, and mentions
- Basic competitor reporting
- Zenia AI assistant creates and schedules posts for you
Pricing: Starts at $15/month for 1 user and 7 social channels. 15-day free trial.
Pros:
- Affordable for small businesses and agencies
- Smart compose feature with hashtag suggestions
- Live stream support
- Easy content curation with RSS feeds and bookmarklet
Cons:
- Reporting is not as robust as some platforms
- Occasional hiccups with auto-posting
Best for: Budget-conscious businesses and agencies who still want powerful publishing, collaboration, and analytics tools. The live stream support is a nice bonus.
#5. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is an enterprise-level platform that helps social media teams plan, organize, and deliver content efficiently. With a focus on data and analytics, it provides the insights you need to optimize performance.
Key Features:
- Shared content calendar and asset library
- ViralPost feature determines the best times to post
- Tagging to track campaigns and content types
- Message Approval Workflows for compliance
- Automated chatbots and response templates
- Advanced reporting with audience insights, post performance, response rate, and team productivity
Pricing: Standard plan starts at $249/user/month. 30-day free trial.
Pros:
- Robust all-in-one platform for social media management
- Supports Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business, and more
- Extensive analytics and customizable reports
- Competitive insights and paid promotion tools
Cons:
- One of the pricier tools on the market
- No free plan available
Best for: Enterprise marketing teams and agencies who want best-in-class publishing, analytics, and team collaboration features. The automated workflows and content tagging are a huge help when managing multiple brands and campaigns.
Choosing the Best Facebook Scheduling Tool for Your Business
So, which Facebook scheduling tool should you choose? As with most marketing decisions, the answer is…it depends.
Here are a few scenarios along with our top scheduling tool recommendations:
If you‘re a small business owner…
Agorapulse is your best bet. It‘s affordable, easy to use, and has all the essential scheduling features. Plus, the social inbox is great for staying on top of messages and growing engagement.
If you‘re a marketing agency…
Sendible and Sprout Social are both excellent choices. They offer the most advanced publishing, team collaboration, and analytics features. The higher price point is easily justified by the time savings.
If you‘re on a tight budget…
Zoho Social offers the best value. For $15/month, you get a full suite of scheduling and reporting tools. And the AI assistant is a nice productivity booster.
If you‘re new to social media marketing…
Hootsuite is a great entry point. The platform is intuitive and easy to learn, with affordable plans for individuals and small teams. The training and certifications are a nice value-add.
Ultimately, don‘t be afraid to test out a few different tools to find the perfect fit. Most platforms offer free trials, so you can get hands-on experience before committing to a paid plan.
The important thing is to start using a Facebook scheduling tool as soon as possible. Doing so will help you maintain a consistent posting schedule, save time, and grow your reach and engagement.
Now if you‘ll excuse us, we have some posts to schedule! Happy publishing!
