In a world of scrolls, be the story people will stop for! Well, for a content to be read and arise interest in, you will need the best social media content planning apps which will be used for creating a crafted content. The right tool can help you plan, schedule, and analyze content without the stress.

But with so many options out there, how do you choose?

Before choosing the best content planning tools, you will assess the features like automated posting, savings in time, and affordability. If you are a startup in social media content planning and if you are already an expert like a best content planner, you will be looking for advanced features like collaboration, in depth analytics for managing multiple social media accounts.

Through this article you will explore some of the best content planning tools which will make your workflow in a simple yet structured manner.

Social Media Content Planning Tools- Why do Agencies Need This?

Managing projects on multiple social media accounts can be a daunting task. Each social account needs attention, content, and strategy. Therefore it is easy to make a mistake, miss any post. This is where a solid social media content planning app becomes invaluable.

1. Better Time Management

Better Time Management

Small digital marketing agencies often work with several clients at once, each with their own social media strategy. Without the right tool, keeping track of content deadlines, posting schedules, and approval processes can become a full-time job on its own. A content planning tool allows you to keep all the client posts in one place, ensuring no post is missed.

2. Error Free Posting

Error Free Posting

If you are posting manually on different social media channels, there is a high chance of having errors in all those social media posts. Whether itโ€™s forgetting to publish a post or scheduling it at the wrong time, mistakes can cost agencies credibility with clients. Social media content planning tools automate this process, ensuring that posts go live exactly when they need to, and on the right platform.

3. Effortless Content Approval Workflows

Effortless Content Approval Workflows

Managing social media content across multiple platforms can be chaotic for marketing agencies and social media teams. The best content planning tools streamline the process by enabling seamless task management, real-time collaboration, and easy scheduling of social media posts. These tools help organize content calendars, manage assets, track progress, and ensure marketing strategies align across channels for more efficient and effective campaigns.

4. Analytics and Reporting

 Analytics and Reporting
Mastering Social Media Analytics Tools

Once the content is posted, the real work begins measuring its success. Social media tools often come with in-depth analytics features that provide insights into engagement, reach, and performance across all platforms. This helps agencies better understand whatโ€™s working, whatโ€™s not, and how to refine future campaigns.

Key Considerations for Choosing the Right Social Media Content Planning Apps

Key Considerations for Choosing the Right Social Media Content

Choosing the best social media content planning tool for your agency can be tricky, especially with so many content planning apps out there. The right tool will depend on your unique needs, whether itโ€™s about streamlining your content creation process, managing multiple social media accounts, or improving your content strategy.

Explained below are the key steps to consider before choosing the right content planning tool.

1. Assess Content Planning Needs

Understand your content creation process and determine if the app meets your social media scheduling, content strategy, and content marketing needs. Consider whether you need tools for organizing content ideas, managing social media posts, or tracking content across multiple channels.

Some tools, like Google Calendar as shared calendar or Google Sheets, can be used for basic content organization and task tracking, while others, like Trello are better suited for larger teams with more complex project management needs.

2. User-Friendly Interface

A clean, intuitive interface makes it easier to manage tasks like scheduling posts, assigning tasks to social media managers, and tracking content creation. Look for apps that simplify the content planning process.

3. The Importance of Multi-Platform Scheduling

Opt for content planning tools that allow you to manage multiple social media platforms and schedule content in one place. This saves time and ensures consistency across all your social media channels. Tools like RecurPost, let you schedule social media posts on a wide range of platforms, from Facebook and Instagram to LinkedIn and Twitter.

Scheduling content in advance helps your team stay organized and ensures that your social media content is delivered at the right time. It also allows your team to focus on content creation, finding content ideas, and running competitive analysis, without worrying about the manual scheduling process.

4. Team Size

Choose a content planning tool that can scale with your team. Whether you have a small content creation team or a large marketing team, make sure the app supports team collaboration, task tracking, and content organization.

5. Team Collaboration and Custom Workflows

A key feature to look for in any content planning software is the ability to manage workflows. As a marketing agency, you likely have a content creation team, social media managers, and designers who all need to work together to create engaging content.

Look for a platform that allows team collaboration, with customizable workspaces, editorial calendars, and task tracking systems. Tools like Loomly offer features that let you assign tasks, track the progress of content projects, and share social media graphics and marketing materials across teams.

6. Content Library & Asset Management

A built-in media library lets you easily manage assets like social media graphics, marketing materials, and content briefs. This feature streamlines the content creation process and ensures that assets are always accessible.

7. Analytics and Insights

To ensure your content is driving results, look for content planning apps that provide detailed analytics and performance tracking. Tools that give you insights into the performance of your posts on different social media platforms help you adjust your content strategy and create more engaging content.

Features like content calendar visualization and the ability to schedule posts based on previous performance data make it easier to measure your marketing efforts.

8. Budget Considerations

Finally, consider the pricing of the tools you’re looking at. Many platforms offer free plans, which can be ideal for agencies just starting out. While others provide more advanced features through paid plans. Be sure the app offers the right balance of features and pricing based on your needs.

Top Social Media Content Planning Apps for Small Agencies

When managing multiple social media accounts for clients or in-house campaigns, itโ€™s essential to have a reliable content planning tool that streamlines your content creation process, aids in scheduling, and helps your team stay organized. Below are some of the tools.

1. RecurPost

Recurpost

RecurPost is an intuitive content planning software designed to simplify social media scheduling and content marketing for small businesses and agencies. It allows users to organize their content calendar, schedule posts, and create evergreen content campaigns.

Key Features:

  • Social media scheduling for multiple platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
  • Ability to create content projects and plan posts in advance.
  • Content planner to manage content ideas, social media posts, and visual content.
  • Task tracking and team collaboration with assigned tasks and progress tracking.
  • Google Sheets integration for content organization and team collaboration.
  • Automated reminders for upcoming posts and scheduling meetings.

Ideal for: Small agencies, social media managers, and marketing teams looking to manage multiple social media channels from one platform.

Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $79/month.

Check out a detailed comparison of two strong social media content planning apps: Loomly vs. Buffer, along with another top app.

2. Loomly

Loomly

Loomly is a robust content planning tool that focuses on simplifying the content creation process, from brainstorming content ideas to publishing posts. Itโ€™s designed for teams needing an intuitive way to organize content marketing strategies.

Key Features:

  • Content calendar for planning and scheduling posts across social media platforms.
  • Integration with Google Calendar and other apps like Google Docs and Google Sheets.
  • Pre-made templates to speed up content creation and ensure consistency.
  • Custom workflows for approval processes and collaboration among content creation teams.
  • Analytics to gain insights into marketing efforts and track engagement.
  • Social media graphics and media library to store assets.

Ideal for: Marketing agencies, content teams, and social media managers looking for an easy-to-use social media scheduling tool.

Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $32/month.

3. Sprinklr

Sprinklr

Sprinklr is a powerful content planning software that integrates various social media platforms and offers advanced capabilities in social media management, project management, and content strategy execution for larger teams.

Key Features:

  • Multi-channel management for social media posts across all major social media platforms.
  • Project management software features like task management, content creation tasks, and progress tracking.
  • Advanced competitive analysis and analytics to track the performance of content creation.
  • Customizable content calendar with the ability to assign tasks to team members.
  • Team collaboration features for content creation teams and social media teams.

Ideal for: Large marketing agencies and content marketers looking for an all-in-one solution to manage social media and content creation.

Pricing: Starting $249/month.

4. Planable

Planable

Planable is a content planning tool focused on collaboration and approval processes. It allows marketing teams to plan, collaborate on, and approve social media content before publishing it.

Key Features:

  • Content calendar for planning posts, tracking progress, and collaborating with clients.
  • Social media scheduling for multiple channels and platforms.
  • Custom workflows for content approval and streamlined task management.
  • Team collaboration features that allow multiple users to contribute to the content creation process.
  • Pre-made templates to speed up content creation and ensure consistency across posts.

Ideal for: Agencies managing multiple clients or teams that require a collaborative content creation process.

Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $24/month.

5. Trello

Trello

Trello is a project management tool that can also be used for content planning. Its visual board structure makes it easy to organize content ideas, content creation tasks, and track project progress.

Key Features:

  • Customizable workspace to organize content planning boards and track post ideas
  • Task management features like assigning tasks, tracking progress, and due dates
  • Team collaboration tools to ensure all team members are on the same page
  • Integration with Google Docs and Google Sheets for content organization
  • Calendar Power-Up to view content calendar and track scheduled posts

Ideal for: Agencies and teams that need a flexible, visual tool for managing their content projects  through project management tool and tasks.

Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $10 per user/month.

6. Sendible

Sendible

Sendible is a user-friendly content planning tool that combines social media management with project management software features, making it easy for agencies to plan, schedule, and track social media posts and marketing efforts.

Key Features:

  • Social media scheduling and social media management for multiple platforms (including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
  • Content calendar and content creation process tools for planning and organizing posts
  • Analytics and competitive analysis to track the performance of social media content
  • Custom workflows and task management features for efficient content creation and approvals
  • Integration with Google Calendar and Google Docs for easy content organization

Ideal for: Small marketing agencies and social media managers who need an easy-to-use platform for social media scheduling and content planning.

Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $29/month.

Comparison with others: Sendible vs SocialPilot.

7. Plann by Linktree

Plann by Linktree

Plann by Linktree is a content planning app that allows agencies to schedule and organize social media content while focusing on visual content and Instagram management.

Key Features:

  • Content scheduling for Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms
  • Visual content planning for images, videos, and social media graphics
  • Content calendar to organize posts and track content progress
  • Team collaboration tools for content creation and approval workflows
  • Analytics to gain insights into marketing efforts

Ideal for: Agencies managing social media content for Instagram or visual-first platforms.

Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $18/month.

Alternative Free Social Media Content Planning Tools

1. Google Workspaces

Google Workspace

Google Content Planner is a tool that integrates with Google Calendar and Google Sheets to help plan and schedule social media content. It enables users to organize content ideas, manage tasks, and track content creation across multiple platforms.

Features:

  • Google Content Planner integrates seamlessly with Google Calendar and Google Sheets.
  • It helps organize social media content, schedule posts, and track content creation tasks.
  • You can also use it to plan and align your marketing strategy across multiple platforms.
  • Custom workflows can be created for team collaboration and assigning tasks.

Ideal For: Marketing teams, content creators, and social media managers already using Google Workspace.

2. ContentCal (Adobe Express)

Adobe Express

ContentCal (Adobe Express) is an intuitive social media content planning tool that helps teams plan, create, and schedule content across multiple platforms.

Features

  • It provides a platform for planning, creating, and scheduling content across multiple channels.
  • It offers a visual content calendar, content approval workflows, and integration with other tools like Google Sheets and Slack.

Ideal For: Content teams and social media managers.

Bottom Line

Choosing the right content planning apps can make a huge difference for small marketing agencies. The best content planning tools help streamline your content creation process, improve team collaboration, and keep your social media content organized across multiple platforms.

With features like content calendars, task tracking, and social media scheduling, these tools allow you to stay on top of your content strategy and align your posts with your marketing goals.

Whether you’re looking for simple project management software or an all-in-one content planning software, the right tool can save time and enhance your social media efforts, making it easier for your team to create and schedule engaging content across social media platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Social Media Content Planning Apps Can Help Small Agencies Scale?

Time Efficiency: Automation tools save time by simplifying content creation, scheduling posts, and managing social media platforms.
Improved Client Satisfaction: Clear scheduling and consistent posting build client trust, while performance insights drive content marketing strategy.
Scalability: Apps enable small agencies to manage multiple clients and social media channels without extra staff, offering custom workflows, task management, and content organization all in one platform.

2. What is the difference between Social Media Content Planning and Social Media Scheduling?

Content Planning involves creating a content strategy, finding post ideas, and mapping out content themes across social media channels. It focuses on aligning content with marketing goals and audience needs.
Social Media Scheduling is the process of setting specific times for posts to be published across platforms, ensuring a consistent social media calendar and timely execution of content strategies.

3. How does Editorial Calendar and Social Media Calendar Help in Planning or Scheduling Content?

An editorial calendar helps to create content , track content ideas, and ensure alignment with marketing efforts. Itโ€™s a long-term plan for content projects.
Asocial media calendar focuses on scheduling posts on various platforms, coordinating timing and frequency, and ensuring posts align with content strategy and upcoming events.

4. What is the role of a Content Marketer after content creation on social media?

After content is created, content marketers focus on engaging the audience through promotion, optimizing content for reach and performance, and tracking analytics to measure effectiveness. They also manage content updates and ensure the content aligns with the broader marketing strategy.
In some cases, they oversee social media content creation teams and ensure content meets client expectations and business goals.

5. What are the latest Trends in Social Media Content Planning?

Social media content planning is shifting towards automation and AI-driven tools like Market Muse streamline content creation, scheduling, and post analysis. Visual content, engaging social media posts, and content personalization are in demand.
Tools now support cross-platform content scheduling, collaboration between social media teams, and easy access to analytics for performance tracking.