In order to build a successful business today, you will need to build a successful social media presence. While your work might occur in the offline mode, the easiest, and the most significant manner in which you can market your goods and services is online. In a pandemic-ridden world, the only hope at reaching your customers is the possibility of doing so on an online platform. And your consumers are using multiple platforms on social media. Each social media platform provides its own numerous benefits and different demographics of potential customers. In order to not lose out on any viewers, it is advisable to have a profile and page on most of the heavily frequented social media sites.
In order to maintain a profile that remains active on multiple social media sites, you will find a growing need for the use of a tool that combines all your social media profiles on a single platform, from which you can control and easily manage your various accounts. This will prove immensely helpful as you will be able to gain real Instagram followers and create organic growth on your Instagram page as well as your page on various other social media. When choosing which software to use, two alternatives you might consider are using Hootsuite or Later.
Here, we have curated for you a comparison between Hootsuite and Later.
1] The Price tags
Both these sites use a similar method of payment. There are different tiers, each involving further additional features.
The free version on Hootsuite allows for up to three social media accounts to be added to the dashboard. It further allows you to have up to 30 posts a month on the free version. It has a pro version, that is priced at $15 allowing for up to fifty social media sites that can be added to the dashboard, and it provides no limit on the number of posts you can post per month. The business plans however are more expensive and surely going to help you to improve your social media growth.
The team plan begins at $99 per month, which permits twenty profiles and unlimited posts. Hootsuite only begins its business plans at $599 per month, and thus may not be ideal for small businesses. This plan will feature up to 35 different social media profiles available for usage.
Later offers its customers five different plans that range from its free plan to its plan termed as ‘Brand’. The free plan only permits for one profile per social media and a cap to the number of posts per month to 30. However, its Plus Plan costs $7.5 for one month and it allows for 100 posts per month. An upgrade to $16 a month is required to use their premium plan, which allows for 250 ads on social media with two profiles on every platform. When you move up the hierarchy to their next plan, the Starter plan, you are able to public unlimited posts on social media. The final plan offered, the Brand version of Later permits you to post unlimited stories and posts on five social networking sites.
2] Business preferences
As Hootsuite provides more team-related experiences and features, and as it is much more costly than Later, it would be focused on large businesses and their need, as well as any features driven at the usage by a team.
However, Later has more economic plans and would thus be aimed at start-ups or small companies and individuals.
3] User interface
A key feature of any software would be its user interface or how easy it is to use the tool and connect with users. Later has a more simplistic design, appealing to its first-time users, and providing in-depth tutorials about how to use it. These will guide any user through how to use the dashboard and the panels on the tool.
Hootsuite, on the other hand, would be more daunting to a first-time user, as it comes across as more complicated with a lot of additional features. As there are upgrades it can become harder for a user to manage as it gets even more complicated. However, this would only be understandable, as Hootsuite provides a lot more features and complex functions that would require a more sophisticated dashboard and design.
4] How to schedule posts on social media
Hootsuite provides you to automatically upload stories and posts across social media after approving them beforehand. You can apply for an ad and approve it, following which you can schedule social media posts when the post or story will be promoted, and this will happen automatically. However, with Later, this would not be possible. If you want a 100% free Hootsuite alternative – the best option is RecurPost.
You will have to download an additional application, for connecting it to your accounts. You will receive a reminder to post the content you have decided upon, but you will have to do so manually by uploading the image and text. Thus, Hootsuite will be a better option for you regarding this aspect.
The choice of social media managing tool that you would like to apply for your business is eventually entirely based on what your personal preferences are and what you would be looking for. While Later might be a more economical plan for you to invest in, Hootsuite provides a range of features that you might deem useful and hence lose out on if you were to choose Later. However, Later might appeal to you if you are a first-time user of such a tool, as it will ease you to grow faster into the incredibly competitive online world.
Also Read: 5 Awesome Social Media Management Tools
