As we approach the holiday season, you might worry about being too online during family gatherings or holiday activities. But being a small business owner never stops, even during the holiday season. And the decision to step away from your efforts to grow your business and go silent on social media for a few days is hard to make.

So, how do you remain present on social media and present during your vacation?

💡 Answer: Social media scheduling platforms.

You will love the suggestions below if you aren’t already using a social media scheduling app for your content. Aside from its helpfulness during seasons like the one we’re in, learning to use social media scheduling apps can expand your brand awareness faster than you could manually.

We’ve compiled a list of user-friendly, free social media scheduling apps that you can use.

These platforms also offer paid options that might be worth the investment as you grow, but their free memberships are great for starting out.

Here are our favorite four:

1. Hootsuite

Highlights:

• It’s the most popular social media scheduling app.
• Their free plan offers one user account, two social accounts, and five scheduled posts at a time.
• Great analytics tracking.
• There is a chat feature that lets you answer messages from Instagram and other social channels while you're in Hootsuite– meaning you don't have to stay on your Instagram app to message your customers.
• Their paid plans start at $49/mo if you want to upgrade.
  

2. Later

Highlights:

• Later is the best channel to use if your presence is primarily on Instagram.
• Their free plan offers one user account, one social account, and thirty posts.
• Their platform has a hashtag research feature and recommends publishing times.
• They have free templates available for posts to save you time.
• It requires a business account connected to a Facebook account to post automatically.
• Their paid plans starts at $12.50/mo, making it one of the more affordable options.
  

3. Buffer

Highlights:

• Buffer is great for beginners
• Their free plan offers three social channels and ten posts per channel.
• They have a customized per social channel feature that lets you repurpose content across channels.
• You can create your own free landing page if you haven't created a website yet.
• When compared to competitors, the analytics are less thorough but easier to understand.
• Their paid plans starts at $5/mo but is very limited compared to other paid options.
  

4. Planoly

Highlights:

• Planoly is excellent for Instagram as it works well with posts, reels, and stories.
• Their platform allows for one user, one social channel, and 30 posts.
• It has good analytics options for beginners.
• It requires a business account connected to a Facebook account to post automatically.
• Their paid plans starts at $11.25/mo, making it the most affordable option in this article.

You could theoretically combine each option to have a scheduler for each platform, but that isn’t exactly the most efficient thing you can do. We recommend sticking to a free plan until you’re more confident on each social media platform.

📌 Could your business benefit from a social media evaluation and overhaul?
Contact our team to get 1-1 support and start growing your business today.