Social media automation tools can be a game changer for businesses and social media marketers.

These handy tools can help you manage your online presence by taking care of those frustrating, repetitive tasks. So, you have more time to get creative with your next reel!

We love social media automation because it means you can schedule posts, track engagement, and analyze your social media performance data all in one place.

With the right automation tools, you can focus on creating great content and building relationships with your audience.

So where do you start? It's fair to say that there are a lot of social media automation tools out there, each with its own set of features.

Some social media automation tools specialize in specific areas like content scheduling, while others offer all sorts of additional features to handle most of your social media needs.

In this guide, we'll dive into the benefits of automating your accounts before listing the five best social media automation tools on the market today.

We'll also answer some frequently asked questions so you can leave this guide feeling like a bit of an expert when it comes to social media automation.

In this article, we cover:

  • Benefits of social media automation
  • Key features to look for
  • Five social media automation tools to consider
  • Social media automation FAQs

Benefits of social media automation

Social media automation tools can give your online presence a real boost. They can give you more time to focus on creating compelling social media posts.

We're not understating things when we say that a little social media marketing automation can transform your social media marketing efforts.

In fact, a social media management tool offers several key benefits that can help streamline your workflow and improve your results. So let's take a closer look.

Time saving

Social media automation saves you time. And we mean a lot!

You can schedule social media posts for all major social media platforms in advance. That means you don't have to log in every day to share content.

That's always a big win when you've got a day full of meetings, or you're working off-site with limited access to your social platforms.

Many tools even let you create and schedule weeks' worth of posts in one sitting. Afterward, you can grab a coffee and bask in the satisfaction of being organized.

Coming up with fresh content for all your social platforms can be overwhelming, so some of these tools automatically repost your best social media posts. This keeps your profiles active without any extra work.

Some advanced tools even suggest content ideas or use AI to create posts. This reduces the time you spend brainstorming and writing.

Automation can also help with social media engagement by handling repetitive social media tasks, such as answering common questions.

For extra points, you can set up chatbots or auto-replies to handle basic inquiries.

The beauty of this is that it frees up your time to focus on more important aspects of your marketing strategy.

Consistent content posting

Automation gives your social media audience the impression that your accounts are active and engaging, even when you're off for the day.

You can maintain a steady flow of posts when you're busy or away. It's a smart trick because that consistency helps keep your followers interested and engaged.

Many tools use AI response data to find your best times to post on each platform. They analyze when your audience is most active. Then they schedule your content for those peak times.

For example, you might manage the social media account for a hotel brand that gets a lot of interest on weekends leading up to the holidays. In that case, you might be able to schedule some content when your target audience is online, even if your social media manager isn't.

Engagement is crucial in the first few minutes and hours after you post, and scheduling posts increases your chances of getting likes, comments, and shares during this time.

If you want to get even more organized, you can set up a content calendar to schedule your posts around important dates or events. This helps you stay on top of holidays, product launches, or industry trends.

In-depth analytics

Automation platforms also provide fascinating insights into your social media performance.

They track key metrics such as engagement rates, follower growth, and reach. This data helps you understand what's working and what's not.

By keeping an eye on the data, you'll quickly learn which posts get the most interaction and when your audience is glued to their phones.

Most analytics tools can generate easy-to-read reports that summarize your performance. These are great to share with your team or clients.

Advanced tools are now using AI to suggest ways to improve your strategy.

Analyzing social media posts can reveal all sorts of interesting information. It might show you the types of posts that are getting traction or reveal your optimal posting times.

By paying attention to social analytics, you can use the data to improve your content creation process and overall social media presence.

In other words, scheduling posts can have a positive impact on many other social media marketing tasks!

Key features to look for

Social media automation tools are basically designed to make your day-to-day life a little easier.

When choosing a tool, think about the features that will help you achieve your goals and save you time.

Scheduling and publishing

Look for tools that let you plan and schedule your posts across multiple platforms.

Consider everything from your shiny new TikTok profile to your (maybe long forgotten) Facebook page.

The best options offer a content calendar view so you can see your upcoming posts at a glance. You'll want the ability to customize posts for each network and schedule them at optimal times.

Some tools use AI to suggest the best times to post, based on when your audience is most active. This can increase engagement.

Bulk upload is another handy feature. It allows you to upload many posts at once, saving you a lot of time. Some tools even let you automatically recycle your best performing content.

Social listening

Social listening features help you track mentions of your brand, competitors, and industry keywords. This gives you valuable insight into what people are saying about you online.

Look for tools that monitor multiple networks and languages. The ability to set up custom alerts is key.

You want to know immediately if there's a spike in mentions or a change in sentiment.

Advanced tools provide sentiment analysis to measure whether mentions are positive, negative, or neutral. This helps you identify potential problems early on.

Some also identify influencers talking about your brand, which can lead to partnership opportunities.

Reporting capabilities

Good reporting features are an important part of measuring your social media success.

You'll want to track metrics like engagement, reach, and follower growth. The best tools let you compare performance across networks and time periods.

Look for the ability to automatically generate reports and share them with your team.

Some tools offer competitive benchmarking so you can see how you stack up against others in your industry.

Advanced analytics can help you identify your best-performing content and the best times to post. This data is gold for refining your social media strategy and driving results.

Five social media automation tools to consider

So we've told you why a social media management tool is a good thing to have in your back pocket, automating tedious tasks and leaving you more time for fun things.

But which social media scheduler should you choose to boost your content strategy and social media presence?

Without further ado, here's a list of the best platforms, and we'll take a closer look at the key features of each social media automation tool.

1) Brandwatch

Brandwatch is a powerful tool when it comes to automating those tedious, repetitive tasks.

It helps you manage your social media presence across multiple platforms. You can schedule posts, track campaigns, and analyze performance all in one place.

Features:

Brandwatch offers a number of features to make your social media efforts easier. For example, you can use the content calendar to plan and schedule posts around social media campaigns.

The tool optimizes your visuals for different platforms. It also lets you publish to multiple channels at once.

You'll have access to a centralized content library that makes it easy to share assets across your team. These are the kinds of things that really help when it comes to campaign management.

Pros:

Having Brandwatch on your team will save you valuable time. With just a few clicks, you can schedule content in advance, including Instagram Stories and reels.

With the handy calendar view, you can make sure everyone stays organized.

Of course, there's also a full suite of analytics and automated moderation, so you can be confident that you're providing timely responses to followers with urgent questions.

Oh, and check out the AI-powered social listening features, too. It's fair to say that this tool offers social media monitoring at its best and will help you find even the most buried brand mentions online, allowing you to manage your online reputation without breaking a sweat.

Cons:

Brandwatch is a powerful tool with many features, and it comes with a subscription cost to match. While this probably won't be a problem for large companies, individuals with less money to spend can discuss their needs with a Brandwatch expert.

The tool may also have a learning curve due to its many features.

Best for:

Brandwatch is good for medium to large businesses that tend to spark a lot of online conversations.

It's a winner if you manage multiple accounts across different platforms. The tool can also benefit marketing teams that need to collaborate on content ideas and scheduling.

2) Hootsuite

Hootsuite can automate a variety of time-consuming social media tasks.

You'll get an overview of multiple social accounts from a single dashboard. You can schedule posts, track mentions, and analyze your performance on any social media channel.

Features

Hootsuite offers a wide variety of tools. Like the other tools in this list, you can plan and schedule content for different platforms.

There are AI tools for suggesting social media captions and a content calendar for easy scheduling. The platform lets you respond to messages and comments in your social inbox in one place.

You also get analytics so you have a better idea of your social media impact.

Pros

Hootsuite makes managing multiple accounts easy. As we've said before, automating repetitive tasks will save you a lot of time.

The platform works with many social networks, so you can do things like create a publishing schedule or manage conversations, regardless of the social platform.

As always, you'll have access to analytics to help you better understand your audience and maybe even inspire some content ideas for future social posts.

Cons

The interface can be overwhelming at first. If you have team members who are new to automation features, there may be a steep learning curve.

Watch out for the more expensive plans — they provide you with access to advanced features, but can be a bit pricier than other platforms.

Best for

Hootsuite works well for businesses of all sizes. It's especially great if you're juggling multiple accounts at a social media agency.

It's known for its collaboration tools, as well as advanced analytics and security features. These might be especially useful for a larger company.

The platform excels at content planning and team coordination. If you need help planning your social media strategy, Hootsuite can be a valuable tool.

3) Buffer

Buffer has been around for a while, making it an OG social media management platform. You can use it to plan, create, and schedule posts according to your publishing schedule.

Features

Let's talk about the helpful tools you'll find on Buffer. Like its competitors, you can schedule posts in advance for multiple platforms.

The analytics feature lets you track the performance of posts, which is super helpful when it comes to campaign management. There's also a content curation tool for finding and sharing relevant articles.

Buffer has a browser extension for easy sharing. You can use their mobile app to manage social media on the go. The platform also offers team collaboration features for larger organizations.

Pros

Buffer is easy to use and navigate.

If you're working on a budget, you can't really go wrong here — there's even a free plan for those just starting out.

Cons

Basically, the cost is lower because everything is a bit simpler.

The analytics are less detailed than other tools, so tracking performance can be frustrating. The content curation feature is also a bit limited.

You also won't find social listening in this tool, which may be a deal-breaker for some users.

Best for

Buffer works well for small to medium-sized businesses. It offers enough features to give you a taste of the benefits of automation, but it won't help you with all of your social media monitoring tasks.

But if you need a simple, easy-to-use tool for scheduling and basic analytics, Buffer is a solid choice.

4) MeetEdgar

MeetEdgar is a social media automation tool that helps you schedule and post content to multiple platforms.

Features

MeetEdgar allows you to create a content library and organize posts into categories. You can set up a posting schedule based on these categories. The tool will automatically publish your content at the times you choose.

Pros

MeetEdgar makes it easy to keep your social media accounts active without constant manual effort. The category-based scheduling system is helpful for organizing different types of content.

The tool can recycle your evergreen content, which means you don't have to create new posts all the time. This can be a huge time saver for busy social media managers.

Cons

MeetEdgar doesn't offer as many features as some other social media management tools. It focuses mainly on scheduling and automated posting. In other words, you won't be able to track brand mentions here.

Best for

MeetEdgar is best for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers who want to maintain an active social media presence without spending too much time on it every day.

It's especially useful if you have a lot of evergreen content that can be shared over and over again.

5) Sprout Social

Known for its services for hard-working social media managers, Sprout Social is a popular social media management platform.

You can use it to schedule posts, engage with followers, and track performance.

Features

Sprout Social has many useful tools. Most notably, it has a smart inbox that manages messages and comments across your posts and social inbox.

The platform offers detailed analytics to give you a better idea of your social media impact. You can also use it for social listening to track brand mentions.

Pros

The platform is simple to use and easy to navigate. It provides in-depth analytics to help you understand your performance. In terms of its features as a social media automation tool, it's a great choice.

Cons

Prices can be high for small businesses or individuals. Some advanced features are only available in higher-tier plans.

Best for

Sprout Social works well for medium to large businesses. It's great for marketing teams managing multiple social accounts.

Agencies can benefit from its collaboration features. If you need detailed analytics and reporting, you'll probably find it helpful.

Social media automation FAQs

Social media automation tools are the secret to bringing your marketing efforts to life and making life easier for your social media team.

But first, let's explore some common questions about these helpful tools.

What are the top-rated social media automation tools in 2024?

Brandwatch, Hootsuite, and Buffer are all hitting big in 2024.

These tools offer key features like post scheduling, content curation, social listening, and analytics. MeetEdgar and Sprout Social are also well-regarded for their unique features and user-friendly interfaces.

How can businesses effectively automate social media content creation?

You can use AI-powered tools to generate post ideas and write captions.

Many automation platforms offer content libraries and recycling features. This allows you to reuse your viral posts and save time on content creation.

Are there any social media automation tools that are completely free?

Some tools offer free plans, but these will have limited features.

Look for basic plans with free tiers, as they can be a good starting point for small businesses or individuals.

How can an automation bot improve my social media marketing strategies?

Automation bots can handle routine tasks like answering common questions and engaging with followers.

They can also help you post content at optimal times and maintain a consistent presence across platforms. This frees up your time for the tasks that really need a human touch.

Can social media automation tools schedule posts across multiple social media platforms at once?

Yes, the social media automation tool you choose will likely allow for cross-platform scheduling.

For example, you can share the same post across social channels like Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

Just make sure you strike the right tone for each audience.