Overall Satisfaction with Buffer
We've used Buffer for years now, on and off, to manage the posting on various social media platforms. Their pricing model has changed over the years- the biggest change being that posting, responding and reporting has been broken up into three different categories that you can subscribe into for a monthly fee. But throughout all the changes Buffer has been essentially a dashboard of our social media presence.
- Posting onto various social media platforming and still having a full set of features as if you were on the platform natively- tagging other accounts, posting pics, etc
- Being able to filter out mentions and potential responses based on what you prioritize and respond accordingly
- Simple onboarding
- We liked it better when all features -- posting, replying, reporting -- were all in one paid subscription. But I understand why they changed it.
- They could make it easier what features are included in what pricing tier.
- Better integrations within reporting to try and better track ROI for ecommerce sites.
1 - We give our entire team access to Buffer in some capacity because if used correctly, you can deduce a lot of information from it. It can be used or seen as market research, sales analysis, customer feedback, etc. It's all about how you use it, and you can get creative there.
- It makes being notified of brand and company mentions infinitely easier, so you can quickly take advantage of that PR/sales/customer service opportunity.
- It can sometimes overcomplicate social media management if you don't use it enough.
- It makes providing roles in social media management easier.
It's been a while since we compared Hootsuite to Buffer side-by-side, but when we originally did this analysis Buffer provided more features, with a simpler UX and UI all for a better price. Today both platforms have continually advanced their feature set and restructured their pricing, so it will come down to a case-by-case basis on which is best for you.