The usage of social media as a tool of business/ affiliate marketing is at its zenith, especially after the 2020 (Covid 19 pandemic), the world is on social media now, spending a minimum of three hours per day on it (as of 2020). Thus, the businesses (small, medium, large) are genuinely investing in social media marketing and are using it as a tool to promote, advertise and sell their products and services, gain organic followers, and gain Instagram likes.
Gaining organic followers and keeping them engaged by posting content regularly constitutes a ginormous part of social media marketing and this can be a daunting task, so here comes in pictures the social media management platforms like Buffer and Hootsuite.
Table of Contents
What exactly Buffer and Hootsuite are?
Hootsuite and Buffer are some of the most sorted best social media management tools and both are leading the market. Both continue to be excellent for small and medium-sized businesses, agencies and freelancers. While Hootsuite is a social media management platform that lets you manage your social media channels, Buffer happens to be a content publishing platform. It lets you schedule and publishes content.
Why do you need them?
In, online businesses scheduling content and delivering it regularly is imperative for building an audience, gaining organic followers, gaining Instagram likes and increasing the social media reach. Scheduling platforms like Buffer and Hootsuite help you schedule posts, blogs, video, reels (current fad) etc beforehand, you may plan it all in a single day for a week, month or months.
Buffer VS Hootsuite
Which is better is subjective, depending on what your needs are and what you are looking for, but both the platforms are affordable and user friendly. As the coin has two sides each of them has its pros and cons.
Following are the 5 factors that might intrigue you the most as a beginner.
User Interface
BUFFER: Buffer provides the users with a lucid, easy and straightforward user interface. It is easy to set up an account and start immediately.
HOOTSUITE: Unlike Buffer, it fails to provide the users with a refreshing user interface. The look of it is not very modern. In terms of setting up an account, it has come a long way (since 2017) but it still has a long way to go. Overall, its user interface is monotonous.
But Buffer lacks the robust tools that Hootsuite has. Hootsuite excels with its scheduling, content recommendation, reports and analytics.
- Coverage on social media:
BUFFER: supports the subsequent social networks: Twitter, Facebook (profile, page, group), LinkedIn (profile, page), Google+ (page), and therefore the latest addition: Pinterest
HOOTSUITE: supports the subsequent social networks: Twitter, Facebook (profile, page, and group), Google+ (page), LinkedIn (profile, group, company), WordPress – officially. There are other social networks you’ll be able to add, like Instagram, YouTube, Vimeo, Reddit, Flickr, VK, Tumblr, Foursquare, and several others more.
In terms of supported social networks. Hootsuite wins the race by allowing users to post on more accounts. Buffer won’t let you respond to content. While you can respond to, reshare or like any content within Hootsuite, Buffer allows you to only upload fresh content. There’s only one exception: retweets.
TIP:
Instead of going for which is easier to use, think about accounts you are using at present or which you plan to use in the future and then evaluate accordingly which platform will cater to your needs.
· Easier to use:
Both the platforms are extremely user friendly, assessable and adaptable. Buffer has a lucid layout, whereas Hootsuite has a cluttered and enigmatic layout. Reiterating the fact that one should not just simply go by which is easier to use.
· Scheduled posting:
Both Buffer and Hootsuite allows you to schedule content. You can opt for your times, create a schedule or you can leave it to the platform to decide when is the best time to post content. The timing of the post is a decisive factor when it comes to increasing organic followers and gaining Instagram likes.
BUFFER: You can schedule your posts, but it is not as robust as Hootsuite
HOOTSUITE: Its powerful scheduling functionality gives Hootsuite an upper hand here. Possibly one of the best features. Hands down Hootsuite wins here!
- Ad Hoc Posting:
What is Ad Hoc posting? It’s basically on the going posting, something which hasn’t been planned, something very abrupt. Ad-hoc posting makes an account more relevant in terms of what’s happening around.
Both Buffer and Hootsuite use the Chrome plugin.
BUFFER: Buffer makes ad-hoc posting facile and handy. It will also help the users to select the best time to post, by making sure it reaches the maximum reach. Buffer takes the point here.
- Content library:
BUFFER: Buffer lags when it comes to the content library. It does not allow the users to store content (only a meagre amount) on their platform. Though it’s great for small start-ups it lacks lustre when it comes to medium and large companies.
HOOTSUITE: The content storage keeps getting better. It allows users to tag content, hence making the content searchable which in turn helps to sort the content better. In addition to this, it also lets users view and analyse statistics.
Both are amazing platforms allowing users to plan and schedule the content, helping to keep a tap on things like organic followers, likes and engagement. Now which is better between the two, this argument remains moot. A large chunk of this depends on what the users want and what their requirements are, thus it’s idiosyncratic. Don’t forget to share your reviews below.
