Buffer

Buffer does have a limited free version, but its pro version from around $15 per month. Their more expensive business plans range from around $99-$399 per month. However, if you're happy to just use the 1 login, then there's no need to fork out that much for the business plans - Pro should work fine. For this, you get a very clear, user-friendly interface that makes scheduling posts a breeze. The platform doesn't offer a huge amount of insight and analysis data - but that is exactly the point. Buffer's goal is to make it super simple. The dashboard allows you to easily view when you've scheduled in posts at a glance, and the calendar view allows you to effectively plan ahead of time. You can't reply to messages or comments - but this can be done through Buffer's separate app (Buffer Reply). Buffer is perfect for those who want JUST a post scheduler. It syncs with all of your basic social media platforms - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. At Dilate Digital we use Buffer and however, for $15 per month, I do wonder if this is value for money? It's easy to use but missing key features like the ability to reply to comments within the same application.

My name is Tess Robison and I am working as an SEO Outreach Specialist in Money Done Right company. Buffer was way better. It was way easier to use and very straightforward.

Pros - Buffer lets you schedule videos and photos directly to Instagram so that you don’t have to bother about remembering when you have to open the app on your phone and actually post what you’ve scheduled. Also, Buffer lets you schedule up to 10 posts in a queue per account. If you post just once per week, this is more than enough and you don’t have to upgrade to the paid plan instantly. Plus, you can connect 3 accounts for free and cross post to different accounts at once. Most planners only let you use one account on the free plan. I can customize posts for each social network, say when I need to add specific hashtags to an Instagram post, I can edit it separately from the copy meant for Facebook. Another thing I have not yet tried in other tools is the ability to upload video thumbnails directly in the planner. It’s important, especially for media businesses, such as mine - TheHustleIsFemale.

Cons - I don’t like the fact that you have to download additional visual planning tools like UNUM or Inpreview to see how the posts will actually look in the feed. If the visual part is important for your feed as much as the context, you have to use an additional tool for visual planning. Also, unlike Later, Buffer doesn’t let you use “linkinbio” functionality on its cheapest paid plan. This feature is available only when you pay $65/month which is a major difference between the cheapest option that costs $15/month.

Overall Experience - I like Buffer because it fits the majority of business types in terms of the functionality range it offers. If you’re an e-commerce brand, especially in fashion or accessories, I’d recommend going with Later.

It might not have the most features, but it certainly has the best features for the price. One of my favorite features is the analytics. For my company's - eBridge Marketing purpose, I can quickly see which posts got great engagement. Then, I can modify or improve those posts and re-buffer them. I also like the visual layout of the calendar. I can see where holidays are and adjust posts, I can get a quick view of how far out I have scheduled posts and I can quickly rearrange them.

Buffer changed the way we tackle social media marketing by automating and scheduling posts, taking away the burden of needing to constantly be posting. We all know what it’s like when you’ve not posted anything in a little while, and you know you need an update - it can be really difficult to come up with something, especially when you’ve got so much else to be doing. But Buffer means we’ve got a bank of relevant, high-quality posts for each of our clients, not just ready to go, but automatically posted, which also means you can be posting outside business hours which for B2C clients is especially important. As a Creative Director of Edge of the Web, I think Buffer has a really low entry level, and a lot of small businesses can probably get by with the free plan, but the first paid tier is a very affordable $15 per month. The only real negative of Buffer is trying not to rely on it completely. You still need to engage with your audience, and your most valuable social media interactions are likely to be the kind that is in the moment and part of a trending conversation, so it’s important not to neglect the value of real-time interaction.

Using Buffer has been very easy and beneficial. At JSL Marketing, we used to use other software and switched to Buffer a little over a year ago. I have been very pleased with the integrations as well as the user interface. The ability to schedule out the posts for the upcoming week as well as easily build up an RSS feed saves a great deal of time for me and our company. Buffer has also been very responsive to feedback. A while back, the only complaint I had was that you could not directly schedule Instagram. Now, this has been fixed and works seamlessly. Overall, I have been very satisfied with Buffer and would definitely recommend this program to others!

With Buffer I can share the content of my company - Netguru at warp speed. In one window I can key up all the details of my post and have it go out on all channels at the right time. I get a preview of how it looks to my readers and only have to click once to go live. The only downside is that it can crash when adding way too many LinkedIn handles but it's nice to see our network melt the mainframe- other than that it works like a charm.

Despite not being our preferred Social Media Management platform, we do still have some experience using Buffer to manage our Social Networks. Like most other Social Media Management platforms, Buffer allows you to view, manage and schedule content all in one place, over a large number of Social Channels. Compared to Hootsuite, Buffer is much cleaner and simpler to use focusing more simply on the scheduling side of things. With other management platforms, you schedule the specific times when you want your content to be posted, whereas with Buffer the idea is that you add content and they will automatically be scheduled to post at intervals you have chosen. Buffer has no extra bells and whistles to get confused over, instead, it focuses on the sharing of content in a quick and easy way. It is integrated with a number of social platforms, allowing the straightforward management of all Social Networks in one easy dashboard.

Where Buffer is lacking is in actual social interaction. As per my business experience - YourParkingSpace, you cannot view your Twitter feed or directly interact with your followers on the Buffer platform itself. There isn’t much ability to monitor your Social Media and others in your industry, something that if added, could take Buffer up to the next level in my opinion. Hence why it is It is a hard one to judge, as for someone new to social, and managing content, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough as it doesn’t require any training or experience. It is incredibly simple to use, and you don’t have to get bogged down with features that may be unnecessary to you. However, in that same way, for others, it could be too simple to be an all-encompassing management tool, and could, therefore, result in the need for additional tools to be used.

Buffer is the best tool for anyone who wants to regularly post a lot of attention-grabbing content to social media accounts but is short on time. While using the software for the company's - ExpertSure purpose, we found that it allows you to quickly set the exact date and time of publication for a range of content, and it takes care of the rest for you. Once your content is published, the system enables you to easily identify how well individual posts are performing though it's analytics capability. In addition, the built-in image creator allows you to create fabulous images for use on social media.

As a Product Marketing Manager at FORTVISION, my experience using Buffer is shared as below:

Pros: Buffer is super easy to use. There is a Buffer extension, so you can always be one click away from scheduling posts. Another great plus is the free image creation tool called Pablo. 

Cons: No monitoring tools for searches, mentions or hashtags.