In the dynamic world of social media, navigating the currents of content creation, scheduling, and audience engagement can feel like charting a course through uncharted waters. With an array of tools at the digital marketer’s disposal, choosing the right companion for this journey is paramount. Enter Later and Post Planner, two stalwarts in the realm of social media management, each promising to be the wind in your sails towards online success. But which of these tools is the true north for your social media strategy? Our exploration begins.
| Later | Post Planner |
|---|---|
 |  |
| G2 Score -4.5 out of 5 | G2 Score -3.8 out of 5 |
| TrustRadius Score -8.4 out of 10 | TrustRadius Score -NA |
Ease of Use and User Experience (UX)
In the fast-paced realm of social media, where engagement opportunities flash by in an instant, the usability of a platform can greatly influence your ability to capture these moments and connect with your audience. Here’s how Later and Post Planner measure up in offering a seamless, user-friendly experience.
Later: The Visual Content Navigator
Later is renowned for its intuitive interface, particularly designed with visual content creators in mind. Emphasizing platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter, Later offers a visually oriented content calendar and scheduling tools that allow for easy planning and visualization of your social media feed. Its drag-and-drop functionality not only simplifies the scheduling process but also ensures that your content strategy is both aesthetically pleasing and aligned with your brand narrative.
One of Later’s standout features is its “Visual Instagram Planner,” which enables users to preview their Instagram feed before posting. This visual planning tool is invaluable for maintaining a cohesive and attractive feed, making Later particularly appealing for brands and creators focused on visual storytelling.
Post Planner: The Strategic Content Architect
Post Planner takes a slightly different approach, focusing on maximizing engagement through data-driven content recommendations and scheduling. While it supports a range of social media platforms, Post Planner distinguishes itself with its content discovery engine, which suggests high-engagement content based on keywords and interests. This feature is designed to help users not only plan and schedule their posts but also curate content that is more likely to resonate with their audience.
Post Planner’s interface is geared towards efficiency and effectiveness, with tools that allow users to easily find, plan, and post content that aims to increase engagement and reach. While it may not offer the same level of visual content planning as Later, Post Planner excels in helping users identify and leverage content that will perform well with their target audience.
Content Management and Scheduling
Effective content management and scheduling are like the compass and map for your social media journey, guiding you to engage with your audience consistently and efficiently. Let’s examine the capabilities of Later and Post Planner in this crucial area.
Later: The Visual Content Captain
Later’s content management and scheduling features are highly visual, making it particularly appealing for platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, where aesthetics are key. Its drag-and-drop calendar allows for seamless planning, enabling you to curate and visualize your social media feed before it goes live. This focus on visual planning is essential for brands and creators prioritizing a cohesive and engaging visual narrative.
Later supports auto-publishing on major platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, enhancing your efficiency by allowing you to schedule posts in advance to go live automatically. The ability to schedule Instagram Stories and carousels further enriches Later’s utility, catering to the diverse content types popular on the platform.
Post Planner: The Strategic Scheduling Maestro
Post Planner emphasizes strategic content scheduling, with a strong focus on maximizing engagement through data-driven decisions. It offers a unique content discovery engine that suggests high-engagement content based on keywords and interests, alongside tools for planning and scheduling your posts. This blend of content curation and scheduling is designed to help you not only maintain an active social media presence but also ensure that the content you share resonates with your audience and drives engagement.
With Post Planner, you can schedule posts across multiple platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, making it a versatile tool for businesses and marketers looking to optimize their social media strategy across various channels.
Analytics and Reporting
The analytics and reporting features of a social media management tool can illuminate the effectiveness of your strategy, offering data-driven insights into audience engagement, content performance, and overall reach. Both Later and Post Planner offer these capabilities, but with different emphases and strengths. Let’s see what each platform brings to the table in this domain.
Later: Visual Insights for Strategic Navigation
Later provides analytics focused on visual content platforms, with a strong emphasis on Instagram. It offers detailed insights into post performance, including metrics like reach, impressions, engagement rates, and more. Later’s analytics are particularly valuable for brands and creators who rely heavily on Instagram, including features for analyzing stories and hashtags, crucial for engaging Instagram’s audience effectively. Later’s analytics dashboard is designed to be user-friendly, presenting data in an easily digestible format.
This approach allows users to quickly assess the effectiveness of their content and make informed decisions to enhance their strategy. For businesses leveraging Instagram as a significant component of their social media strategy, Later’s focused analytics offer the targeted insights needed to grow and engage their audience.
Post Planner: Maximizing Engagement with Data
Post Planner takes a broader approach, offering analytics that cover various social media platforms. It provides insights into engagement metrics, audience growth, and the performance of curated content, enabling a comprehensive analysis of your social media strategy. Post Planner’s strength lies in its ability to suggest high-engagement content based on historical data, helping users refine their content strategy to maximize engagement.
Post Planner allows users to generate reports that detail the success of their social media efforts, offering a clear view of what content resonates with their audience. This focus on engagement and content performance makes Post Planner a powerful tool for those looking to enhance their social media presence through strategic content curation and distribution.
Integration and Compatibility
The degree to which a social media management tool can integrate with other marketing tools, e-commerce platforms, and social networks can greatly influence its utility and effectiveness. Let’s assess the integration features of Later and Post Planner.
Later: Focused Integration for Visual Platforms
Later is designed with a strong emphasis on visual content, particularly for Instagram and Pinterest, but also supports Facebook and Twitter. It offers direct integration with these platforms, facilitating easy content scheduling and publishing. Later’s integration with Instagram is notably robust, supporting features like auto-publishing, story scheduling, and shoppable posts via Shopify integration. This Shopify integration is particularly valuable for e-commerce businesses looking to leverage their social media presence to drive sales directly.
While Later’s focus is somewhat narrow, targeting mainly visual content platforms, its integrations are deep, providing users with a range of tools to enhance their social media management and e-commerce strategies effectively.
Post Planner: Broad Social Network Support
Post Planner’s approach to integration is broader, supporting a wide range of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Its strength lies in the diversity of platforms it covers, ensuring users can manage and schedule content across their entire social media presence from a single dashboard.
However, Post Planner’s focus on content discovery and scheduling means it may lack direct integrations with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, which Later offers. Post Planner excels in its ability to curate content from across the web and schedule it efficiently across multiple platforms, making it a versatile tool for users looking to streamline their content strategy and maximize engagement across their social networks.
Pricing
| Later | Free Plan: Later offers a free plan that includes 1 social set (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest), 30 posts per social profile, and 1 user. Starter Plan: Starting at $15 per month, offering 1 social set, 60 posts per social profile, and 1 user, along with basic analytics. Growth Plan: Starting at $25 per month, with 1 social set, 150 posts per social profile, and 3 users, including more advanced analytics and features. Advanced Plan: Starting at $40 per month, this plan includes 1 social set, unlimited posts, and 6 users, with the most advanced analytics and features. |
| Post Planner | Starting at $3 per month (billed annually), designed for individuals, offering up to 3 social accounts and 30 posts per day. At $11 per month (billed annually), for up to 10 social accounts and 100 posts per day, including more advanced features. Starting at $24 per month (billed annually), targeting small businesses, with up to 25 social accounts and 500 posts per day. |
Related: Check out our free SEO suite
Customer Support
The level and accessibility of customer support can greatly impact your ability to navigate challenges and leverage the full capabilities of a social media management tool.
Later: Comprehensive Support with a Focus on Self-Help
Later places a strong emphasis on user support, offering a comprehensive Help Center filled with articles, guides, and video tutorials aimed at empowering users to find solutions independently. For issues that require direct assistance, Later provides email support, with a reputation for being responsive and helpful. Although it lacks live chat or phone support, the depth and quality of Later’s self-help resources and email support effectively address the needs of its user base, ensuring that help is available whenever it’s needed.
Post Planner: Efficient Support and Direct Assistance
Post Planner offers a straightforward approach to customer support, focusing on efficiency and direct assistance. Users can access support through email and a detailed FAQ section that covers common issues and questions. While Post Planner might not offer the breadth of self-help resources found in Later’s Help Center, its focus on providing timely and effective email support ensures that users receive the assistance they need to resolve their issues promptly.
Educational Resources
The availability of educational materials is crucial not only for mastering a platform but also for staying abreast of social media trends and strategies.
Later: Rich Resources for Visual Content Mastery
Later excels in providing educational content, especially for visual social media marketing. Its blog, webinars, and newsletters are rich sources of actionable insights, platform updates, and strategic advice, particularly useful for brands and creators focused on Instagram and Pinterest. Later’s commitment to educating its users extends to offering tips on visual storytelling, content planning, and leveraging social media for e-commerce, making it a valuable resource for users looking to enhance their social media strategy.
Post Planner: Practical Guides for Engagement and Efficiency
Post Planner’s educational offerings are designed to help users maximize engagement and streamline their social media management process. Through its blog and online guides, Post Planner provides practical advice on content curation, scheduling strategies, and improving social media efficiency. While its resources may be more focused on platform functionalities than broader marketing strategies, they are invaluable for users looking to optimize their use of Post Planner to achieve higher engagement and a more active social media presence.
Wrapping Up
Later emerges as a particularly strong contender for those focused on visual content and seeking an intuitive, user-friendly platform. Its emphasis on visual planning tools, especially for Instagram and Pinterest, makes it ideal for brands and creators prioritizing aesthetics and engagement through visually compelling content. The platform’s robust integration with Shopify further positions it as a valuable tool for e-commerce businesses looking to leverage social media for sales. Moreover, Later’s extensive educational resources and responsive customer support provide users with the knowledge and assistance needed to navigate the evolving landscape of social media marketing effectively. Post Planner, on the other hand, shines with its strategic approach to content curation and scheduling, aimed at maximizing engagement across multiple social media platforms. Its content discovery engine and efficiency-focused features are designed for users looking to streamline their social media strategy and ensure consistent, high-quality content delivery. While it may offer a different set of integrations and a more straightforward customer support approach, Post Planner’s practical guides and focused educational content make it a potent tool for enhancing engagement and improving social media management workflows.
