Meta Business Suite: In-Depth Review
Best For:
Pricing:
Top Features
Large businesses, Organizations
Per Month
- Platform Focus: Dedicated to Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts
- Caption Customization: No customization options for different platforms
- Scheduling: Manual post scheduling
- Bulk Scheduling: Not supported, only bulk uploading option
- Analytics: Detailed analytics for Facebook and Instagram
Meta Business Suite Comparisons
Overview
If you are a content creator or a social media manager, there is a good chance you have searched for the best applications to run your Facebook and Instagram accounts. Meta Business Suite as the service was called until recently when it was renamed from Facebook Creator Studio is an application intended to reduce the load of your social media management.
Meta Business Suite is relatively new to the social media marketing scene, and in this article, we will explore some of the tools it offers. We will also compare it to RecurPost which is a powerful social media management tool with more enhanced features for content producers like you.
Meta Business Suite is suitable for: Those with several accounts on their Facebook and Instagram accounts including Content Creators, Small Business owners, and Solopreneurs.
Meta Business Suite Ratings
While Meta Business Suite has evolved from Facebook Creator Studio, offering improved functionality across Meta's platforms, the market continues to see the emergence of versatile alternatives. These alternatives often provide more advanced features that extend beyond Meta's ecosystem.
One such alternative is RecurPost, which not only offers users advanced features but also comes at an competitive price point.
RecurPost provides a range of robust resources, including:
- Recurring schedules
- An AI assistant to craft engaging social media posts and captions
- Customizable reports
- Various other valuable features across multiple social media platforms
These capabilities often surpass what Meta Business Suite can offer, making RecurPost an attractive choice for comprehensive social media management.
Before we go through the specifics, let's compare Meta Business Suite and RecurPost in terms of features and performance. The table below highlights the key aspects of both tools side by side:
| Feature | Meta Business Suite | RecurPost |
|---|---|---|
| Star Rating (Out of 5) | 4 | 4.5 |
| Ease of Setup(1-10) | 8 | 9.3 |
| Meets Requirements (1-10) | 8.3 | 9.5 |
| Ease of Use (1-10) | 9 | 9.7 |
| Ease of Admin (1-10) | 9 | 9.7 |
| Quality of Support (1-10) | 8 | 8.3 |
| Platforms Supported | Facebook pages, Instagram business accounts | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok and GMB |
| Bulk Scheduling | No | Yes |
| RSS Feeds | No | Yes |
| Recurring Posts | No | Yes |
| Social Inbox | Limited | Yes |
| AI Content Generation | No | Yes |
| Hashtag Storage | Limited | Yes |
| Caption Customization | Limited | Yes |
| AI Images | No | Yes |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes (for Meta platforms) | Yes (all platforms) |
| White Label Reports | No | Yes |
| URL Shortener | No | Yes |
| Unlimited Workspaces | No | Yes |
| Team Management | Limited | Yes |
| Price | Free | Starts at $25 per month |
Clearly, RecurPost offers a more extensive feature set, making it a compelling choice for businesses and creators seeking to optimize their social media efforts.
User Ratings
While Meta Business Suite has its strengths, RecurPost consistently receives high praise from users for its ease of use, comprehensive features, and excellent customer support.
Meta Business Suite Reviews
Positive Reviews
At the Indiana Historical Bureau, we like that we can create a post and publish it simultaneously on Facebook and Instagram, which has helped grow the latter account substantially. We also really like the post planning tool, which allows us to schedule posts weeks or even months in advance, saving us time on social media work.
~ Justin C. (Capterra link)
Meta for Business is a social media content management service that allows you to schedule posts, ads, see audience demographics and statistics, and respond to interactions and messages. It feels like Facebook and Instagram combined into one platform, though without the content feeds from either. For me, this is great. I spend less time scrolling through social media, and more time planning ahead. Meta for Business (MfB) is very easy to use and setup. Just connect the accounts you want to use, and there you go. When you begin to schedule posts, it’ll bring you to a calendar (day, week, month), and you’ll be able to schedule your posts on any platform connected (FB, Insta, Pages) easily. You can even schedule the same post to go off on multiple platforms with a simple click of a button.
~ Noah M. (Capterra link)
I have been using Facebook for more than ten years and probably it was one of the first application that I used for communication and interaction with friends and relatives. I like Facebook because it is user friendly and easy to use compared to some other applications in the market. For example, a person who has never used Facebook, can start using this app within a few days. Furthermore, Most of our friends and relatives are on Facebook, so it is considered very useful to communicate with them through this platform. The last but not the least, Facebook has incorporated so many features that everyone from all ages can utilize it for their personal and professional growth.
~ Rohullah H. (Capterra link)
All features of Facebook application are great and ease of its feature for everyone. Facebook shop is one of the good feature for eCommerce. Everyone can avail benefit from this application of their needs. its helps to manage our business and provide platform where I can go live to sell and promote my products and services to many peoples simultaneously. Since using Facebook I have connected with many new peoples throughout worldwide. Here I have created my own Facebook page for marketing and order taking purpose and its amaze me and feel worthwhile.
~ Iqra S. (Capterra link)
The automated programming, ability to schedule posts, and the analytics that are provided are save us countless hours of manpower each week. By hiring a person to come once a week, we have been able to cut the operations costs of social media campaigns to less than 20% of what we were spending.
~ Ronnie T. (Capterra link)
Negative Reviews
The interface is not user-friendly at all. The experience of exploring Meta for Business often feels like walking through a maze – pressing every menu item and hoping it contains the answer I’m looking for.
~ Onome D. (Capterra link)
I think facebook should allow for users to officially own more that just one account. As someone who likes to keep my professional and personal lives as separate as possible, facebook’s one account policy makes it extremely inconvenient for me. Secondly, I think facebook messenger should become less integrated with the facebook app itself; so that I could be in the app without appearing online to other users. A dark mode would be the easiest way to achieve this, I think.
~ Mark Senyo A. (Capterra link)
The user experience is a little confusing. There were too many steps in the process and no option to skip any steps. So you have to have all the information handy prior to starting the process and if not, start it all over again which was pretty frustrating. There were a lot of instances where I felt Facebook was pushing their products on me and persuading me to add them on as I was trying to set my profile up.
~ Sabharish K. (Capterra link)
As Meta transitions the equivalent functionality out of Facebook and Instagram and into Meta Business, they have made it virtually impossible to perform some basic functions such as scheduling an event without having to go through extra steps and iterations.
~ Karambir K. (Capterra link)
The fact that you can schedule a post is good but why not do it directly from Instagram?? Why would we have to move to a whole new platform to schedule a simple post? As all other Meta’s platforms, the “Meta for Business” has a very confusing interface, too many small words and hidden functions that you have to do a google research and luckily find a youtube tutorial to find that thing.
~ Mohamed H. (Capterra link)
Meta Business Suite : Pros and Cons
Pros
1. Comprehensive Platform Management: Meta Business Suite is an application that allows one to control accounts in Facebook and Instagram in one place. This integration is helpful in organizing the social media activities of a business across Meta’s marketplace, thus, making work easier and efficient.
2. Enhanced Audience Insights: This is one of the areas that the platform delivers audience reports for multiple Meta platforms where businesses can be able to get insights of their target audience and their activities on the various channels. Such comprehensive data is conducive to better purpose and topic/content and marketing campaign planning.
3. Unified Inbox: Meta Business Suite allows the managing of messages, comments, and notifications received across the Facebook platform and Instagram accounts. This calling centralization also facilitates customer communications, and enhances response rates.
4. Advanced Scheduling and Publishing: Users can schedule and publish content across multiple Meta platforms simultaneously. The tool supports various content formats, including images, videos, stories, and more, allowing for diverse content strategies.
5. Cross-Platform Analytics: This is a suite that allows for analysis of all the connected Meta platforms with breakdowns of performances, per channel. This helps in proper decision making and enhancement of the existing strategies.
Cons
1. Limited to Meta Platforms: Meta Business Suite is a tool that allows you to manage only Meta platforms, which is good if you use only Meta platforms at the moment; however, it does not support other known social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc. It may also introduce additional layers into the workflow of companies already utilizing these platforms in some form, needing other tools to do so.
2. Learning Curve: This can be a problem if the business is new or the client doesn’t have time or resources to dedicate a social media team since Meta Business Suite has so many options. It may take time to identify and to use all the available tools profitably.
3. Occasional Technical Issues: There are complaints from some users that sometimes they encounter some experiences such as the glitches or slow content loading particularly during the busy hours. These technical glitches are rather annoying when it comes to handling time-sensitive exchanges or when handling urgent customer corresponsances.
4. Limited Customization for Reports: While the analytics offered are accurate, some people still consider that the reporting system is not as customizable as it should be. Some of these aspects may involve flexibility to generate highly structured reports or user-optimized data format, for which the system may be relatively less efficient than dedicated analytics solutions.
5. Dependence on Meta Ecosystem: Relying heavily on Meta Business Suite ties businesses closely to Meta’s ecosystem. This dependence can be problematic if there are policy changes, platform issues, or if a business wants to reduce its reliance on Meta-owned platforms in the future.
Meta Business Suite Features
1. Content Calendar
The content calendar in Meta Business Suite is an invaluable organizational tool for content creators and businesses alike. It offers a visual overview of all scheduled and published posts across both Facebook and Instagram. This calendar allows creators to plan and strategize their content effectively, ensuring a consistent posting schedule.
With this clear timeline, creators can avoid content gaps and prevent overloading their audience with too much content at once. Additionally, the calendar helps in coordinating posts with specific events, holidays, or marketing campaigns, ensuring that content aligns with broader business objectives.
2. Post Scheduling
Meta Business Suite’s post scheduling feature provides content creators with precise control over their publishing process. Users can prepare and schedule posts well in advance, which is especially beneficial for maintaining a consistent presence without the need to post manually every day.
This functionality allows for content to be published at optimal times based on audience activity and engagement patterns. By automating the posting process, creators can focus more on developing high-quality content and engaging with their audience, while also reaching users in different time zones.
3. Meta Business Suite Mobile App
The Meta Business Suite mobile app extends accessibility and control beyond the desktop, allowing creators to manage their content on the go. This app enables quick updates, engagement with comments, and monitoring of content performance in real-time, directly from mobile devices.
Whether attending events, traveling, or simply away from their desk, creators can seamlessly manage their social media presence with the app’s user-friendly interface. This flexibility allows them to adapt their content strategy and respond to emerging trends or opportunities promptly.
4. Instagram Direct Publishing
The integration of Instagram Direct Publishing within Meta Business Suite streamlines content management for those handling both Facebook and Instagram accounts. Creators can prepare and schedule Instagram posts directly from the Meta Business Suite dashboard, eliminating the need to switch between platforms or rely on third-party tools.
This unified experience ensures consistent branding and messaging across both social media channels, fostering a cohesive online presence. By consolidating content creation and publishing in one platform, creators can save time, avoid potential errors from manual posting, and enjoy a more efficient content management process.
5. Insights and Analytics
The analytics feature in Meta Business Suite provides comprehensive insights across all connected Meta platforms. Businesses can access detailed data on post performance, audience demographics, engagement rates, and more.
These cross-platform analytics allow for a more nuanced understanding of audience behavior and content performance across different channels. Businesses can use these insights to refine their content strategy, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to improve their social media marketing efforts.
Conclusion
While Meta Business Suite offers a robust set of tools for managing Facebook and Instagram accounts, RecurPost stands out as the superior choice for comprehensive social media management. RecurPost’s competitive pricing, intuitive interface, and advanced features, such as AI content generation, bulk scheduling, and unlimited workspaces, address a wider range of needs for content creators and businesses alike. This makes RecurPost an exceptional solution for enhancing your social media strategy and achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness in your content management efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What social media platforms does Meta Business Suite support?
Meta Business Suite supports content management and publishing for Facebook Pages and Instagram business accounts.
2. What are some alternatives to Meta Business Suite?
RecurPost is a notable alternative to Meta Business Suite. It supports a wide range of social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest, and offers advanced features such as AI content generation, bulk scheduling, and recurring posts.
3. Is Meta Business Suite free to use?
Yes, Meta Business Suite is free to use. It provides a range of essential tools for managing Facebook and Instagram accounts at no cost. However, some advanced features or expanded functionalities may require a paid plan or additional tools.
4. Can I schedule posts on Instagram using Meta Business Suite?
Yes, Meta Business Suite allows you to schedule and publish posts directly on Instagram, in addition to managing content on Facebook.
5. Does Meta Business Suite offer analytics for social media performance?
Yes, Meta Business Suite provides detailed analytics for both Facebook and Instagram, allowing users to track the performance of their posts, understand audience engagement, and make data-driven decisions.
6. Does Meta Business Suite support bulk scheduling of posts?
No, Meta Business Suite does not support bulk scheduling of posts. This feature is available in other social media management tools like RecurPost.
7. Can I customize captions for different social platforms in Meta Business Suite?
No, Meta Business Suite does not offer the ability to customize captions for different social platforms. It provides a unified approach to posting across Facebook and Instagram.
8. Is there a mobile app available for Meta Business Suite?
Yes, Meta Business Suite offers a mobile app that allows users to manage their content, interact with their audience, and monitor performance on the go.
9. What monetization options does Meta Business Suite provide?
Meta Business Suite offers monetization features such as in-stream ads and fan subscriptions for eligible creators on Facebook.
10. Does Meta Business Suite provide a content calendar?
Yes, Meta Business Suite includes a content calendar that helps users plan and schedule posts across Facebook and Instagram, ensuring a consistent posting strategy.