Do you remember the days of Blackberry Messenger? When you had to save the ”pin” of your friend in order to ”ping” them?
Well, we’ve gone from the days of ‘pinging’ now to the days of tweeting and recently, tiktoking (…because everybody likes talking, lol.)
Each of these terms show that the evolution of social media is so rapid that you might become old-school if you don’t stay updated with new trends. You sure don’t want to be called ‘old-school’ when you’re not that old.
As a Nigerian entrepreneur in this decade, you probably already know social media can be a gold mine when you harness it strategically to promote your business. In the Nigerian market alone, 31.6 million people are active social media users. With WhatsApp claimng close to 95 percent of these users.
These platforms have become forces to reckon with in modern marketing – WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Telegram, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
While some entrepreneurs intuitively have a knack for sales pitching, content creation and social media management, others may not fancy the art of creating content daily and consistently promoting their business to their target audience on social media. Some others may not just have the time to spare.
It is a problem waking up every day to post across social media platforms and crafting new content E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y. Not only this, some Nigerian solo entrepreneurs (solopreneurs), have not been able to keep up with emerging trends, hence they are not social-media savvy.
If you are in this pool of entrepreneurs, or you own an SME and you are eager to harness the power of social media to boost sales and expand your business, but you do not have the luxury of time to commit to social media every now and then, this article will enlighten you on 15 social media tools available to help you maximize your digital marketing efforts, manage your social media, execute your ideas, schedule your posts such that you can go to bed every day and engage in other activities without worrying.
But first, let’s briefly examine the benefits of social media management tools.
7 Benefits of Social Media Management Tools for Nigerian Entrepreneurs
1. Integrate Social Media into your marketing strategies
Out of the marketing strategies available, social media is one of the most powerful marketing efforts as it provides a large chunk of ROI when effectively deployed. Except if your business’ target audience “are not on social media”.
2. Social Media Boosts Your Content Marketing Efforts
Content Creation is an integral part of social media marketing. Whether you run a catering business, shoemaking business, or a fish farm, social media marketing tools help you to organize, schedule and execute your content ideas.
3. Ultimate Lead Generation Strategy
A well-optimized social media tool when used effectively can help you acquire new customers and in return increase sales. This process is known as lead generation.
Talking about lead generation, would you want to lose a new paying customer? Of course, no. This is another benefit of social media. Social media platforms offer a direct line of communication between you and your customers. When you respond to comments, messages, and other forms of interaction, you can improve customer engagement and build strong relationships with your customers.
5. Drives Web Traffic and improves your SEO
Imagine if 10,000 people find your catering business’ Instagram page on the first page while asking questions on Google. That’s free, organic traffic. This is what happens when you have an active social media presence – it boosts your social signals and in turn, increases your business’s visibility on search engine rankings such as Google and Bing also known as SEO.
6. Increases Brand Awareness
According to a survey by We Are Social, 4.66 billion people use social media, making it a must-have marketing strategy for businesses to connect with potential customers. Social Media Marketing helps you to reach a wider audience and increase their brand awareness.
7. Helps You Build a Community
When cleverly devised, you can utilize social media to build a large following of your target audience and build a community. It also increases what is known as social proof and credibility. Users may tend to trust a business that has active followers and brand loyalists other than a business that has no social media presence.
Now that you know the many benefits of social media marketing tools, how would you know which social media marketing tool to use?
In this article, we’d share with you 15 social media marketing tools, you can use to boost your marketing campaigns as a Nigerian Entrepreneur or SME. This article also includes their uses, features, supported platforms, pricing, pros and cons.
Please note some of these tools are not free.
15 Social Media Marketing Tools for Nigerian Entrepreneurs and SMEs
1. Zoho Social
Zoho Social is one of the most popular social media management tools amongst Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Uses: Zoho Social is a quality social media management tool that helps you expand and grow your social media presence.
Supported Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profiles, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.
Free edition: You get access to 1 Team Member, 1 Brand, zShare Browser Extension, Publishing on 7 channels
Standard (N3,000): You get access to 1 brand (9 social channels), 1 Team Member, Facebook Pages, Facebook Groups, Twitter Profiles, Instagram Business Profiles, LinkedIn Profiles, LinkedIn Company Pages, Google My Business listings, Pinterest Profiles, TikTok Profiles & 24/5 email support.
Professional (N7,500 monthly): Standard features plus Livestream, Notifications, CustomQ, Repeat posting, Bulk scheduling, Popular posts, Post insights, Bit.ly link shortener, Media library, Scheduling retweets, RSS feeds, Cloudpicker, Messages, Pause/Resume content, Mute & Block accounts, Connections, Monitoring dashboard, Custom video thumbnail.
Premium (N11,250 monthly): Professional features plus 3 Team Members, SmartQ, Content approvals & workflow, Exporting posts, Discussing posts, Collaborate, Team Member audio/video & chat, Reports dashboard, Custom reports, Share reports, Manage custom roles, Content targeting, UTM parameters, Lead ads – Facebook & LinkedIn, Zoho CRM integration, Zoho Desk integration, CRM leads & contacts & Lead generation
Pros: Great value and affordable pricing. Seamless integration with Google Chrome. Easy to understand interface for individuals and SMEs.
Cons: The lack of a preview feature in Zoho Social can be a setback for some users. Also, there’s no integration for WhatsApp Business which is a common social media platform for Nigerian solopreneurs.
2. Buffer
Widely acclaimed as one of the best social media management tools out there. Buffer is top on our list of social media marketing tools for SMEs.
Uses: Whether you run an SME or you’re an individual creator, this is one tool that you can use small to help drive meaningful engagement and results on social media.
Features: Multiple Channels, Planning and Scheduling, Analytics, Insights & Reporting, Engagement, Team Management, Cross-Marketing/Integrations & Apps, Support & Community and AI Assistant.
Free and Paid plans:
Free plan ($0 per month): There is a free plan for solopreneurs like you. You can connect 3 different social media accounts, schedule up to 30 posts, and allows 1 user. You also get access to 100 content ideas, connect planning & publishing tools, a landing page builder and an AI Assistant with 50 credits. Cool, isn’t it?
Essential Plan ($6 per month/Free 14-day trial): This is for SMEs who will need use publishing, analytics & engagement tools. You get access to 2,000 content ideas, connect 3 different social media channels, get access to unlimited scheduled posts, allow 1 user and get 150 AI credits.
Team Plan ($15 per month/Free 14-day trial): This plan suits solopreneurs and SMEs. You get access to 2,000 content ideas, connect 8 social accounts, get access to unlimited scheduled posts, allow unlimited users, unlimited collaborators and get 300 AI credits.
Agency Plan ($120 per month/Free 14-day trial): You get access to 2,000 content ideas, unlimited scheduled posts, unlimited users, unlimited collaborators, and 3000 AI credits.
Pros: It allows you to schedule posts to several networks. Good for team management and features specific to Instagram. It also allows you to manage multiple social media accounts and gives you a robust analysis of how your posts are performing.
Cons: Some Instagram posts have to be scheduled manually. The pricing structure for publishing, analyzing and replying may seem confusing.
3. Hootsuite
Hootsuite has been able to garner 22+ million users spanning over 175 countries. It is a smart and trusted social media tool for MSMEs and entrepreneurs with a tiny workforce.
Use: It is an all-in-one social media management tool. It helps you schedule, post, and track performance across all your social media networks from one dashboard.
Features: Hootsuite helps you in Publishing and scheduling, Engagement, Social Listening, Advertising, Analytics, OwlyWriter AI, Content Curation, Campaign Management, Messaging & customer service, Ads, Analytics, Access & Security, Training & Success, Integrations and Social add-ons.
Free & Paid Plans:
Professional ($99)/Free 30-day trial: You get access to 10 social accounts, 1 user
Team Plan ($249)/Free 30-day trial: Known to be the most popular plan amongst the list, you get access to 20 social accounts, 3 users, unlimited post scheduling,
Business Plan ($739)/Free 30-day trial: You get access to 35 social accounts, 5 users
Enterprise Custom – You get access to 50 social accounts, 5 users, and 50 social accounts
Pros: It has great analytics report capabilities and supports lots of social networks.
Cons: The major disadvantage of Hootsuite is its pricing. Some reviews also speak about its pricey URL shortener, and lack of content queuing tool but as a solopreneur, you may not need to worry about these.
4. Crowdfire
Extremely suitable for solopreneurs and small businesses. It has a free plan which a lot of SMEs and entrepreneurs like you can find efficient.
Use: Crowdfire is best if you’re interested in content curation. It helps you explore and promote content based on the topics you typically cover within your niche.
Supported Platforms: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Free plan: You get access to 3 accounts, 4 social networks, advanced analytics, unlimited article and image curation. You can also integrate with the Chrome extension.
Plus ($7.48 monthly): You get access to 5 accounts, 5 social networks, analytics and 100 scheduled posts.
Medium ($37.48 monthly): You get access to 10 accounts, 5 social networks, 100 scheduled posts plus competitor analytics.
VIP ($74.98 monthly): You get access to 25 accounts, 5 social networks, 800 scheduled posts, 20 competitors’ social accounts.
Pros: It has daily reminders to spur you to take action on its suggestions. It is completely free for up to 2 accounts on the same network.
Cons: It leverages basic social media padding – meaning it is a great tool to increase your social media followers but you aren’t likely to get brand loyalists followers from it.
5. Tailwind
A great option for businesses that produce a lot of visuals and videos. Perhaps you’re a photographer, content creator, fashion designer or artist, this is a top social media marketing tool for you as a solopreneur. Especially those who use platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest.
Use: You can create multiple post types from a single design, which is a huge time-saver. You can cross-post across networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Supported Platforms: Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
Features: Advanced AI-Enhanced Marketing, E-commerce ads, Post creation, optimization and cross-promotion.
Free & Paid Plans:
Free Forever Plan ($0/month): You get access to 1 Pinterest Account, 1 Instagram Account, 1 Facebook Page, 20 Posts/mo across Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook, 20 Post Designs per month10 Ghost Writer Credits per month, 5 Tailwind Communities, Smart.bio Custom Link, Basic Analytics, 1 user, Unlimited Email Contacts, 20 Email sends per month.
Pro Plan ($12.99/month): 1 Pinterest Account, 1 Instagram Account, 1 Facebook Page, 100 Posts/month across Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook, 200 Post Designs/month, 50 Ghost Writer Credits/month, 5 Tailwind Communities, Smart.bio Custom Link, Advanced Analytics, 1 user, Unlimited Email Contacts, 200 Email Sends per month.
Advanced Plan ($19.99/month): You get access to 2 Pinterest Accounts, 2 Instagram Accounts, 2 Facebook Pages, 1,000 Posts/mo across Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook, Unlimited Post Designs, 250 Ghostwriter Credits/month, Unlimited Tailwind Communities, Smart.bio Custom Link, Advanced Analytics, 2 users, Unlimited Email Contacts, 500 Email Sends/month.
Max Account ($39.99/month): You get access to 3 Pinterest Accounts, 3 Instagram Accounts, 3 Facebook Pages, Unlimited Posts monthly across Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook, Unlimited Post Designs, 500 Ghost Writer Credits/month, Unlimited Tailwind Communities, Smart.bio Custom Link, Advanced Analytics, 5 users, Unlimited Email Contacts, 1,000 Email Sends per month.
Pros: Efficient for simple designs. It has an easy-to-use dashboard. It excellently integrates with other apps. Scheduling posts is efficient, especially Instagram scheduling. Cross-posting to multiple platforms is simple and made easy.
Cons: The free plan does not support planning and scheduling which is a massive setback for solopreneurs in dire need of this feature.
6. Coschedule
You can infer from the name that this is not just a great social media management tool, it is a marketing solution that integrates with your email and website. Coschedule is a great option for solo entrepreneurs and MSMEs as it provides an effective content calendar where you can monitor all your communication with your audience.
Use: Schedule content across social media accounts, track the success of your posts and campaigns using a range of reports, and access conversations through a team inbox.
Supported Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Features: Marketing Calendar, Post Scheduling, Customer Engagement, Multi-User Collaboration, Reporting/Analytics, Social Media Monitoring, Analytics and Content Management.
Free & Paid Plans:
Free Plan ($0): You get access to 1 user, basic customer service support, 2 social profiles, 5 scheduled messages, content marketing, work management and limited calendar features.
Pro Plan ($39 per month): You get access to 10 users per month, full calendar features, full work management features, content marketing, 10 social profiles, unlimited scheduled messages and priority support customer service.
Pros: It has a great “demo” feature which allows you to learn how best to utilize the platform. To access this, you must have a functional website and work mail address. It is easy to use, has a simple interface and a media gallery. Competitive pricing plans. It has a “Best time to publish” feature to help you leverage strategic publishing.
Cons: You need business accounts on social networks.
7. Recurpost
If you are the type that has little or no interest in typing and writing to post on social media, this is a superb option for you to manage your social media platforms. It has a ChatGPT-powered content creation feature, you don’t need to figure out what to write. Its automatic best-time scheduler will also tell you the right time to share your posts. Awesome, isn’t it?
Use: Perfect for easily managing unlimited social media profiles, content writing, image creation, team collaboration, and recurring schedules for evergreen content.
Supported Platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Google Business Profile, Pinterest and YouTube.
Features: Social Media Scheduling, White Label Reports, Bulk Post Scheduling, Social Media Calendar, ChatGPT for content, AI Images, Advanced analytics, Alerts/Notifications, Automated Publishing, Brand Tracking, Collaboration Tools, Content Management, Customer Engagement, Multi-Account Management, Reporting/Analytics, Social Media Monitoring and Workflow Management.
Free & Paid Plans:
Free Plan: It has a 14-day free trial.
Personal Plan ($25 per month): You get access to 5 Social Profiles (extra available), $5 for Each Extra Profile, 500 Stored Recurring Updates, 20 Daily Posts Per Profile, 10 Recurring time slots and 2 Shares from RSS Feeds.
Agency Plan ($79 per month): You get access to 20 Social Profiles (extra available), $4 for Each Extra Profile (Discount on 100+), 2000 Stored Recurring Updates, 80 Daily Posts Per Profile, 40 Recurring time slots, 20 Share from RSS Feeds, 2 Team Members
Pros: It’s very easy to create a post, edit it, and move it to a different library. You can also keep a huge number of expired posts in your account to reuse at a later time.
Con: It can take a moment to figure out how it is working.
8. Combin
Combin is handy if you are focusing on Instagram as your major/sole social media platform.
Use: It allows you to attract an audience, schedule Instagram stories, plan Instagram posts and auto-publish.
Supported Platforms: Instagram
Features: Follow/Unfollow system, Stories Mass Looking, Export lists of followers/followings, Advanced filters and sorting, Targeted people search, Advanced Instagram search, Managing multiple accounts simultaneously, engaging with the community, monitoring analytics and enjoying free plans.
Free & Paid Plans:
Starter Plan (Free): You get access to 1 Instagram account management, 40 likes and 20 comments, Stories Mass Looking, 20 follow/unfollow actions, Export lists of followers/followings, Advanced filters and sorting, 2 simultaneous searches, 25 search results for hashtags, 25 search results for locations and 25 search results for users.
Unlimited Plan (Free): You get access to 15 Instagram account management, Stories, posts and reposts support, Bulk image uploading, Link in bio adding, Location tagging & User tagging.
Personal Plan ($15 per month): You get access to 1 Instagram account management, Unlimited simultaneous searches, 1000 instant search results for hashtags, locations & users, Instant AI-filters by language, gender and bio, Search results update, Ratio, Likes & Comments Growth.
Business Plan ($30 per month): You get access to 5 Instagram accounts management, plus everything included in the personal plan.
9. PLANOLY
As a solopreneur or SME, PLANOLY makes it easy for you to create, customize, plan and schedule content for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and sell anything with a single click.
Use: It helps you save ideas, collaborate and visually plan for TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest & Facebook in a single workspace.
Features: Multichannel Posting, TikTok Planning, Instagram Planning, Pinterest Planning, Content Creation, Planning & Scheduling Links in Bio Tools, Management & Reporting, Community & Support.
Free & Paid Plans:
Personal Plan (Free): 1 Social profile, 1 user, 1 month of analytics, 5 posts, Images only, 30 uploads per month, or 5 uploads for TikTok.
Starter ($11 per month/7-Day Free Trial): You get access to Auto-post Tik Tok Reel, 1 social set, up to 60 uploads/month and 1 user.
Growth ($20 per month): Everything in Starter plus unlimited uploads and 3 users
Professional ($36 per month): Everything in Growth plus 2 social sets, 6 users and priority support.
Pros: Easy set-up for IG posts, stories and reels.
Cons: Its website has a very slow page load time. Facebook and Twitter integration is only via Instagram. You can only auto-post to an Instagram Business account (not Personal or Creator).
Use: It leverages AI to help you turn existing content into social media posts and automate scheduling across platforms.
Supported Platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google My Business.
Features: Content Creation and Curation, Calendar, Analytics, Social Media Drip campaigns, Custom URL Shortener, Automated posts.
Free & Paid Plans:
Free Forever ($0): You get access to 1 Workspace, 1 Social Profile, 50 Scheduled Posts and 0 Extra Users.
Solo ($9 per month): You get access to 1 Workspace, 3 Social Profiles, 500 Scheduled Posts and 1 Extra User.
Pro ($39 per month): You get access to 3 Workspaces, 9 Social Profiles, 3,000 Scheduled Posts, Unlimited Extra Users and 10 Curate Posts per month.
Pros: It has a superb user interface and it is easy to use. It is a fantastic choice for newbies to social media marketing.
Cons: You may not make sense of some of the text generated by the tool. You’ll have to edit them manually before publishing or scheduling them.
11. MeetEdgar
MeetEdgar is efficient for all-sized businesses and solopreneurs. If you are a digital marketer, fitness trainer, blogger, coach, or realtor, this is a fast, easy & affordable social media management tool for you.
Use: It helps you create, schedule, share, and automate content daily. You can start your free trial and save up to 8 hours a week.
Supported Platforms: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter and WordPress.
Features: Content Ideas, Weekly Automation time slots, Audience engagement, Podcasts, Easy-to-use dashboard, Top-rated human support.
Paid Plans:
Eddie Monthly Plan ($29.99 per month): You get access to 5 social accounts, Additional Social Accounts – $4.99, Unlimited scheduled posts, 10 weekly automation, 4 content categories and 20 team members.
Edgar Monthly Plan ($49.99 per month): For entrepreneurs and small businesses, 25 social accounts, Additional Social Accounts – $2.99, Unlimited scheduled posts, 1,000 weekly automation, Unlimited customizable content categories and 20 team members.
Pros: It saves you time with its automation features. You can also add multiple social accounts.
Cons: No free plan therefore it seems expensive to use for some solopreneurs.
12. AgoraPulse
AgoraPulse is a top-ranking social media management tool. They have a free plan for solopreneurs and SMEs.
Use: It offers comprehensive services such as social media publishing, monitoring, and reporting features, making it a perfect social media management tool for solopreneurs and SMEs.
Supported Platforms: TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Google my Business and Twitter.
Features: Writing Assistant, connect Google Analytics 4, unified social inbox, intuitive publishing, social listening and insightful analytics.
Free & Paid Plans:
Free (US$0 per month): You get access to 3 social profiles, 1 user, 10 scheduled, posts, Basic Social Inbox, Basic reporting, Limited Social Media ROI report and a Mobile app.
Standard (US$49 per month): You get access to 10 social profiles, Posts scheduling, Unlimited posts, Draft posts, Unified Publishing, Calendar Standard Social Inbox, Instant translations, Report export, Basic Social Media ROI, Custom Report date range, White-label reporting, Google Chrome extension, Mobile application (iOS & Android), and Google Analytics Integration features.
Pros: It is easy to post content, engage in social listening, and respond to comments for multiple networks.
Cons: Teams may not find it efficient as you’ll need to share passwords. You need to log in to each social network separately. No unified reports. No ability to manage all your comments, mentions and messages in one place.
13. SocialPilot
A powerful tool for SMEs, SME marketing agencies, multilocation brands and enterprises.
Uses: It enables you to schedule and analyze your social media posts while also providing content curation and team collaboration features.
Supported Platforms: Instagram, YouTube, Google my Business, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Features: Publish and schedule posts, detailed analytics, audience engagement, team collaboration, and white label.
Free & Paid Plans:
14-day free trial
Professional ($25.50 per month): You get access to 10 Social Media Accounts and 1 User.
Small Team ($42.50 per month): You get access to 20 Social Media Accounts, 3 Users and Content Library.
Pros: It has a simple and beautiful User Interface plus its ability to seamlessly integrate with Canva is incredible.
Cons: It can be pricey for SMEs who need to manage numerous social media accounts or who have a lot of content to publish. Also, it does not offer a lot of third-party app integrations.
14. Loomly
Loomly is one top-ranking tool for freelancers, influencers and social media managers.
Uses: It helps you create and schedule content for social media networks.
Supported Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Business Profiles, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and custom channels.
Features: Content Ideas, Optimization tips, Post mockups, Content library, Approval Workflow, Automated Publishing, Interactions, and Advanced Analytics.
Free & Paid Plans:
Free plan: It has a 15-day trial.
Base ($26 per month): 2 Users, 10 Social Accounts, Core Features, Post Sponsoring, Loomly Media Studio, Hashtag Suggestions, Twitter Threads, Loom.ly Link Shortener, Two Factor Authentication
Standard: Price ($59 per month): 6 Users, 20 Social Accounts, everything in the base plan plus advanced Analytics, content export, slack & teams integration.
Pros: Easy to use, widely perceived to be inexpensive.
Cons: Inability to “copy all” posts to another calendar at once and annoying bots.
15. Canva
It is safe to say Canva is every entrepreneur’s best friend. Canva is a lifesaver. Many may not know Canva is not just a free online design tool but also a social media management tool.
Use: You can use Canva to design stunning social media posts and cross-promote them across your platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Supported Platforms: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Weibo, and Tumblr.
Features: Content planning and scheduling, Design Ideas, Content Ideas, Simple UI, Graphics Design, Team Collaboration, Video editing, and Photo editing.
Free & Paid Plans:
Canva Free: You get access to a Drag-and-drop editor for easy customizations, 250,000+ free templates, 100+ social media post designs, 1+ million free photos and graphics, Al-powered design tools, team collaboration and 5 GB cloud storage.
Standard (N2,800): You get access to everything in the free plan plus schedule social media content in 8 platforms, 100+ million premium stock photos, videos and designs, Magic Resizer for all social media platforms, 100 Brand Kits, Image and video background remover.
Pros: Easy-to-use dashboard, efficient products and budget-friendly.
Cons: May be limited in function compared to other social media management tools.
The Easy Life Begins
Other tools such as Sproutsocial are top social media tools but the goal of this post is to enlighten you as a Nigerian entrepreneur about the free and not-too-pricey options.
In conclusion, social media management and marketing tools help SMEs increase brand awareness, improve customer engagement, execute cost-effective marketing, drive website traffic, and improve search engine rankings.
These social media marketing tools will help maximize your efforts, save time, and enhance your overall social media strategy as a Nigerian entrepreneur in 2023. However, keep in mind that the social media landscape is continuously evolving, so always stay updated with the latest trends and tools that align with your business objectives.
