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Top 8 Later Alternatives & Competitors [Breakdown]
![top-8-later-alternatives-&-competitors-[breakdown]](https://www.social-ping.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/124792-top-8-later-alternatives-competitors-breakdown.png)
Do you think there’s one perfect person out there for everyone? What about one perfect social media management tool? And is it… Later?
If you’re commitment-phobic when it comes to picking a social media management platform, we get it. There are so many different tools out there, ready to help you schedule social content, monitor brand sentiment, share insightful analytics, or collaborate with your team.
So if you’re not 100% sure if Later is your social media soulmate, that’s totally fine. There are plenty of other fish (or, in this case, management platforms) in the sea (a.k.a., internet).
We’re here to help play matchmaker, with this list of the best Later alternatives and Later competitors on the market in 2023. Who knows? Maybe today’s the day you find the one — and then easily schedule a post to tell your social media followers all about it, of course. 
8 Later alternatives and competitors
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a popular Later competitor because its user-friendly dashboard works with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, and Youtube (wheeee!), which means that you’ve got everything you need to rock your social media strategy in one place.
Use Hootsuite to craft content, learn about your audience, offer customer support, report all your big wins to your boss, and much, much more.
With Hootsuite, you get:
- An easy to use social media scheduler
- Personalized recommendations for best times to post
- Intuitive analytics for tracking the performance of all your social accounts
- One, unifed inbox for DMs and comments from every network and messaging app
- Industry benchmarks and competitor analytics
- Robust social media monitoring tools to help you protect your brand
- Integrations with all of your other tools, including Canva, Grammarly, Hubspot, Shopify, Mailchimp, Microsoft Dynamics, and 200+ more
Pretty sweet stuff, right? Learn more about why Hootsuite is the best Later alternative here.
Good for: Small, medium and large businesses or marketing pros who manage multiple social media accounts.
Pricing: Free plan available; professional plans (for 10 social accounts and up) available from $99 per month. See full pricing here.
Buffer
One of Buffer’s primary strengths is its scheduling function. Buffer allows users to plan and publish posts across multiple social media marketing platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram — all the biggies.
Buffer also provides a fairly intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easy to navigate and manage social media profiles efficiently.
Buffer offers some valuable analytics and reporting features: users can track the performance of their posts, analyze engagement metrics, and make data-driven decisions for their social media strategies.
Another interesting feature is Buffer’s content curation tool, which allows users to discover and share relevant content from trusted sources.
Good for: Individuals, small businesses, and content creators.
Bonus: Get a free social media strategy template to quickly and easily plan your own strategy. Also use it to track results and present the plan to your boss, teammates, and clients.
Pricing: Free plan available; plans with more robust analytics tools available from $6 a month and up per channel. See full pricing here.
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is another decently comprehensive Later alternative that offers a wide range of features to help businesses effectively manage multiple social media channels.
Sprout Social has social media monitoring capabilities that include tracking brand mentions, monitoring keywords, and generally staying on top of conversations happening across various social media platforms.
Good for: Medium to large businesses, marketing agencies, and major enterprises that need advanced social media management capabilities.
Pricing: Starts from $249 per month. Full pricing details here.
Pallyy
Calling all ‘gram heads: Pallyy is a social media tool that has been designed specifically for Instagram marketing, which is why we’ve included it on this list of Later alternatives. (Though you can schedule for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google My Business, Pinterest, and TikTok too.)
Pallyy has some particularly in-depth Instagram analytics, giving you detailed insights into post performance, follower growth, engagement rates, and more. These sort of analytics can help brands make data-driven decisions, identify trends, and optimize their Instagram strategy.
Pallyy’s visual post planner is also a standout. Another useful feature is Pallyy’s hashtag analytics, which helps users track the performance of their hashtags, identify popular ones, and discover new relevant hashtags. Pally’s bio generator and caption generator are helpful, too.
Good for: Social media newbies and freelancers managing multiple accounts.
Pricing: Free for the basic account; $15 monthly for the premium version. See full Pallyy pricing details here.
Iconosquare
Iconosquare — yet another social media analytics and management tool — specializes in providing comprehensive insights and data for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
The analytics dashboard is a popular feature: find in-depth metrics and reporting on various aspects of Instagram and Facebook performance. Like most other social media analytics tools, you can also track engagement rates, follower growth, reach, impressions, and more. You’re also able to benchmark performance against competitors and gain insights into industry trends.
Of course, like Later, Iconosquare offers post scheduling and planning features, allowing users to schedule their content in advance (or rearrange with the drag-and-drop capability). Hashtag tracking and analysis tools help users discover relevant hashtags, monitor their performance, and optimize their hashtag strategy.
Good for: Businesses and marketers who need in-depth insights.
Pricing: Plans start from 59 Euros per month. See full list of Iconosquare prices here.
Planoly
Planoly started its life as an app for managing and planning content on Instagram, which is why it’s perfect for a list of Later alternatives. But, it now also functions as a posting tool for TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter too.
This Later alternative features a visually appealing grid planning feature, which allows brands to easily plan the aesthetic layout of their Instagram feed. (Need some inspo for your Instagram grid? We gotchu.)
Planoly also offers scheduling capabilities: automatically post content at the optimal times for your audience. Like any social media management platform worth its salt, this tool also provides analytics and insights, but it also gets a little more in-depth with the hashtag strategy stuff — Planoly supports hashtag management, helping users discover relevant hashtags, save them for future use, and analyze their performance.
Good for: Influencers, content creators, and businesses that want to create a visually appealing Instagram feed.
Pricing: Plans starting from $11.25 per month. Full list of price options here.
Canva
There’s a reason we added Canva right into the Hootsuite dashboard: the easy-to-use graphic design tool helps even the most graphic-design-challenged among us create beautiful, eye-catching posts in a snap.
And now, Canva Pro users can schedule and plan posts right from the Canva website or app. It currently comes with posting capabilities for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin. Within the Canva Pro dashboard, you can also track engagement, likes, clicks, impressions, and more to see how you’re performing.
Good for: People who are already using Canva to design their social content.
Pricing: Canva Pro accounts are $149.99 annually.
Loomly
Loomly is a Later alternative designed to help social media managers streamline their social media workflow. The intuitive content calendar is pretty neat, providing you with a visual overview of scheduled posts and allows for easy planning and organization.
Schedule and publish posts across various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest with Loomly, and collaborate with your team members on content in the process.
Good for: Collaborative folks: think marketing teams and agencies.
Pricing: Entry level monthly plans start at $35 per month. More info on Loomly pricing here.
How to pick the best social media tool for you
We get it: with so many social media tools available now, it can feel a little daunting to make a decision. (Analysis paralysis, anyone?) But ask yourself the following questions, and the best social media management software for you and your team should soon become clear.
Which social media platforms will you be posting to?
Maybe your social media strategy just focuses on Facebook. Maybe you’ve got a robust, omni-channel strategy that includes everything from Pinterest to Snapchat.
Whatever social media platforms you’re using — or planning on using in the future — will obviously inform your choice of social media management tool. Not every platform integrates with every social media tool, so check to make sure all of your essential accounts are covered.
For instance, Hootsuite’s user-friendly dashboard works with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Youtube, and even TikTok — so if your brand wants an easy way to post to all of these networks from one user-friendly dashboard, Hootsuite could be a great fit.
Are you working solo or collaborating with a team?
Some companies leave social media work in the hands of just one brave person. But others have a social media content creation process that’s more collaborative, or maybe require a whole team of people to handle a large volume of DMs or customer queries.
Whatever your team may look like, consider how all users will access the social media management tool you choose.
- What collaboration features will be useful to you?
- How many users will your plan get you?
- Is there a way to “assign” certain social tasks to your colleagues using the interface?
- Think ahead about not just how you might use the software but how your whole team could benefit from your choice.
For instance, here are a few of the things Hootsuite can do to help teams streamline the workflow:
- Manage all incoming messages and comments from one centralized inbox
- Assign messages to team members as tasks
- Collaborate on post drafts in Hootsuite Planner
- Set posting permissions for individual team members
- Set up easy approvals so the right people have final say
What kind of metrics matter to you?
Depending on your social media goals, your key performance indicators (KPIs) could look vastly different than the company next door. But whatever those KPIs may be, make sure the social media management tool you choose can measure them properly.
A tool that can create custom reports to showcase your results might also be important to you. With Hootsuite Analytics, you can track performance of all your social channels in one place, and even collect metrics from different channels in one (eye-catching, if we do say so) dashboard for easy review.
How robust should your social media monitoring be?
Social media monitoring and listening are important way to understand exactly what your customers think about you. But not all monitoring tools are created equal.
Think about what kind of information you’d like to learn from your customers — what type of conversations you’d like to listen in on, how deep you’d like to go down the rabbit hole into your audience community — and assess whether a specific social media management platform can help you get that intel.
Strong social listening tools can also help you learn what your audience thinks about the competition, or your industry. In other words, there is always incredible market research readily available in real-time, as long as you know how to access it. Make sure you’ve got the tools ready to maximize this sweet, sweet info.
What other tools do you use?
Most social media managers have a whole suite of software and tools to help them do their job — a graphic design website to help them create custom graphics to post, for example, or a favorite stock video source. So it’s absolutely worth checking to see if your desired social media management platform plays nicely with your go-to tools. Hootsuite integrates with tons of popular tools (from Adobe Creative Cloud to Google Translate!), so you can seamlessly access or sync up with your most-used apps.
FAQs about Later alternatives
What’s better than Later?
Hootsuite is one popular social media management tool that can work as an alternative to Later; other options include Buffer, Sprout Social, Pallyy, Iconosquare, and Planoly.
Of course, what’s “better” than Later will depend on what your specific needs are. To determine which social media management tool is the best fit for you or your brand, compare their features, pricing, and user reviews — or take a few for a test run with a free trial.
What is the difference between Buffer and Later?
Both Buffer and Later are social media management tools, similar to Hootsuite.
Later is primarily focused on scheduling and visual planning for Instagram, while Buffer supports scheduling for multiple social media platforms.
Buffer offers a content curation feature that allows you to discover and share relevant content, while Later does not have this feature.
Hootsuite is a strong Later alternative and Buffer alternative.
With Hootsuite Composer, you can create and schedule all of your social posts in one place. Composer also has a set of powerful tools to help make creation a breeze, including personalized recommendations for posting times, a built in Grammarly Pro feature for catching typos, Canva integration, a hashtag generator, and a new AI caption generator. It also offers approval and collaboration workflows for larger teams. Learn more here.
What is the difference between Later and Planoly?
Later and Planoly are both social media tools that specialize in scheduling and planning content for Instagram, with visual interfaces.
Planoly is a slightly more expensive Later alternative. Both platforms allow users to auto-publish to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Pinterest, but Later also can publish to LinkedIn.
Another benefit of Later over Planoly is that you can save captions and receive recommendations for the best time to post. Planoly’s content subscription, however, delivers 30 customizable templates, captions and hashtags to you each month.
Not that anyone asked (ahem), but Hootsuite also has a helpful visual content planner — plus helpful visual composer tools like Canva and a content library to spark inspiration. Test out Hootsuite for yourself to see how it stacks up to Later and Planoly for creating beautiful content on all your social accounts.
Save time managing your social media presence with Hootsuite, the #1 Later alternative. From a single dashboard you can publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversions, engage the audience, measure results, and more. Try it free today.
Do it better with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.
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![how-to-create-a-social-media-report-[free-template-included]](https://www.social-ping.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/132170-how-to-create-a-social-media-report-free-template-included-400x240.png)
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Scheduling Tweets (Xeets?) can be a game-changer for your brand.
It’s hard enough coming up with witty one-liners, hot takes on current events, or smart replies on a regular basis–but actually having to log in and post them at the right intervals? Talk about a headache.
By auto-scheduling your content in advance, you can send out viral Tweets for days (or weeks) without lifting a finger.
Here’s how to do it, and why you should.
Bonus: Download the free 30-day plan to grow your Twitter following fast, a daily workbook that will help you establish a Twitter marketing routine and track your growth, so you can show your boss real results after one month.
How to schedule Tweets: 3 methods
There’s more than one way to bake a cake, and the same is true for scheduling Tweets.
Here are some of the best methods for scheduling your Tweets using Hootsuite and Twitter.
1. On X (formerly Twitter)
The native Twitter scheduler lets you quickly and easily schedule Tweets from the platform itself. You can schedule both organic and promoted Tweets up to a year in advance.
The network’s native scheduler is a little basic, and you’ll be limited to scheduling only on Twitter. But, if that’s right for your business, here’s how to get it done.
Step 1. Log into Twitter Ads
To schedule a Tweet using the Twitter platform, start by logging in to ads.twitter.com.
If you don’t already have a Twitter Ads account set up, you’ll need to add a credit card and billing address to get started.
Step 2. Go to Creatives and then Tweets
Next, choose the Creatives from the drop-down menu at the top of the page, and then choose the Tweets tab.
Here, you can see scheduled Tweets and past Tweets.
Step 3. Schedule a new Tweet
Now, click on New Tweet in the top right corner. You’ll be redirected to the Tweet Composer, where you can create your Tweet. Add your copy, photos, and videos here.
Step 4. Choose promoted or organic
At the bottom of the Tweet Composer, you’ll see a box for Promoted only. If you want your Tweet to be seen only by users targeted in a Promoted Ads campaign, select this box. If you want your Tweet to be seen organically, make sure it’s unchecked.
Step 5. Schedule your Tweet
Once your settings are all set up, click the drop-down next to the Tweet button at the top right of your screen. Choose Schedule, then select the date and time you’d like your Tweet to go live.
From here, you can either schedule this single Tweet, or click the Create another box to the left of the Schedule button to keep drafting more Tweets.
2. With Hootsuite
For brands looking for a more comprehensive Tweet scheduler, a social media management tool like Hootsuite offers bulk scheduling, best time to post features, plus the ability to post to multiple social media accounts at once. (With Hootsuite, you can also schedule posts to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest.)
Here’s how to schedule Tweets with Hootsuite.
Step 1: Click on the Composer icon
When you’ve logged into your Hootsuite account, click the pen icon in the left-hand menu. Then, click Post.
Step 2: Choose your account
You might have multiple Twitter accounts connected to Hootsuite. So, select the one you want to publish to before drafting your post.
Step 3: Draft your post
Start drafting your post in the composer window.
Here, you can add photos, videos, captivating copy, mentions, hashtags, location data, emojis, and more. You can also shorten links and add UTM parameters to help track the performance of your posts.
Plus, use Hootsuite’s new OwlyWriter AI feature to create AI-assisted Tweets directly in your Hootsuite Composer.
Step 4: Schedule your Tweet
Once your Tweet is drafted and ready to schedule, choose the Schedule for later option in the bottom left corner.
Here, you can manually set a date and time for the post to go live. Or, choose from Hootsuite’s best time to post recommendations.
Then, click Schedule, and you’re done!
3. With Hootsuite Mobile
Wondering how to schedule tweets on mobile? Here’s how to do it with Hootsuite.
Step 1. Log into the Hootsuite App
Download and launch Hootsuite’s mobile app on your iOS or Android device. Then, log in using your existing credentials.
Step 2: Click Compose
Once you’re in, click the Compose icon. This is where you’ll draft your post.
Step 3: Choose account and content
Select the Twitter account you’d like to post to, then start drafting your post. Add copy, links, photos, videos, and more.
Step 4: Schedule your Tweet
When you’re done composing the Tweet, tap on Next in the top right of your screen.
A pop-up will appear. Here, you can either Auto schedule Tweets (meaning Hootsuite will choose the best date and time for your post to go live). Or, you can Custom schedule (meaning you the set date and time manually).
Once you’ve made your selection, click Ok, and that’s it! Your Tweet is now scheduled to go live at the specified time.
Benefits of scheduling Tweets
Scheduling Tweets saves you time so you can focus on creating content and engaging with your followers.
Here are a few more reasons you should be scheduling your Tweets.
- Time-saving: Social media managers know just how much time it can take to post on Twitter day in and day out. Scheduling Twitter posts helps you avoid those long hours spent manually posting so you can focus on more interesting or creative tasks.
- Engagement: Ensure your content reaches the largest audience possible by setting it to post during peak engagement times.
- Consistency: Scheduling Tweets is a great way to establish trust with followers and maintain consistency in your brand.
- Targeting: Got a large, global audience? Tweet scheduling is key for targeting customers in different time zones and countries.
- Productivity: It’s easier to stay inspired, organized, and productive with a batch-scheduling system that lets you work on Tweets in advance and let them post at the optimal times.
6 tips for scheduling Tweets
Now that you know the ins and outs of scheduling Tweets, here are some bonus tips to make sure you get the most out of your Twitter presence.
1. Post at the best time
Different brands have different audiences who are active at different times. Using a Twitter scheduling tool to line up your Tweets in advance lets you test the waters and find out what times of day bring you the most engagement.
Then, you can use those insights to optimize your posting schedule and get the most out of every Tweet.
2. Give yourself time to edit
Social media moves fast, and sometimes, the Tweets you scheduled days ago can be out of touch by the time they go live.
That’s why giving yourself some leeway is important when scheduling Tweets. With Hootsuite, you can edit Tweets even after they’ve been scheduled, so you can keep your content up-to-date even when it’s on autopilot.
Set aside time each week to review any scheduled Tweets and make any necessary edits—this way, you can be sure that your content is always as accurate and fresh as possible.
3. Send to your team for approval
Collaboration is a cornerstone of effective social media management. This is especially true for large teams, or those working in highly regulated industries.
Tweet schedulers like Hootsuite let you easily send Tweets to teammates, stakeholders or other decision-makers for approval before they go live.
You can even set up custom user roles for different permissions based on your team structure.
Learn more about social media for healthcare, legal, education, and banking teams here.
Social media managers hyping each other up >>> pic.twitter.com/tRZoDoS4QZ
— Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite) July 11, 2023
4. Link it up
Want to drive even more traffic back to your website? Or see how popular your latest influencer-driven Twitter campaign is with new fans?
Use trackable URL shorteners like Hootsuite’s Ow.ly link shortener in your Tweets so you can see how many people are clicking through.
Plus, with clean, shortened links, you’ll have more character count to work with when crafting your Tweet copy.
These prompts = High-quality AI art 😎 https://t.co/G7dQPZONXt
— Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite) July 12, 2023
5. Turn off scheduled posts during emergencies
Social media crises happen, even to the best-intentioned brands. Thankfully, Hootsuite’s Pause Scheduling button lets you pause all scheduled Tweets with one click so you can manage your social media crisis effectively.
This way, you won’t have to worry about outdated or irrelevant content going out during a difficult time—giving you one less thing to worry about in an emergency.
6. Track, analyze, and optimize
Tweet scheduling platforms like Hootsuite also offer integrated analytics tools so you can track the performance of your Tweets, monitor what’s trending in your industry, and gain insights for future campaigns.
Social listening tools like Hootsuite Insights also let you track mentions of keywords, brands, and hashtags over time, giving you an even deeper look into what’s working and what isn’t.
Use these insights to optimize your future Tweets and stay on top of industry trends.
FAQs about scheduling Tweets
Does Twitter allow you to schedule tweets?
Yes, you can schedule Tweets directly in Twitter (now X) using the Twitter Ads Manager. Keep in mind, you won’t be able to post to multiple accounts from one place.
What is the best app to schedule tweets?
Hootsuite is the best app to schedule Tweets, with its industry-leading bulk uploads, the best time to post feature, and the ability to post to multiple social media accounts at once. Not to mention, AI Tweet-writing features, advanced analytics and reporting, and the one-click Pause Scheduling button for emergencies.
Use Hootsuite to execute your Twitter marketing plan alongside all your other social media activity. From a single dashboard you can monitor your competitors, grow your followers, schedule Tweets, and analyze your performance.
Do it better with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.
Struggling to keep on top of all the different social media video specs? We were, too.
Social platforms change like the tides, with algorithms and best practices updating constantly. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to be the go-to resource for all things social media, including up-to-date social media video specs.
Read on to find the most recent video specifications for each of the most popular social platforms.
Bonus: Want to know how a viral social video creator makes millions of dollars in sales? Download the free guide now.
Facebook video specs
Optimizing video content for Facebook is tricky, mainly because of the many different ways it delivers video to its users.
When you buy a video ad on Facebook today, it could appear in dozens of different formats (in someone’s mobile news feed, in the sidebar on the desktop version of Facebook, or even in someone’s inbox on Facebook Messenger). And you also have to know what Facebook’s upload limit is for videos, among other things.
It pays to become familiar with the varieties of Facebook videos and to find a delivery format that matches your campaign goals. Find the Facebook video resolution and specs you need below, or check out the help page.
Regular Facebook feed video
Recommended resolution: 1080p or less. Upload the highest-resolution video available that meets file size and ratio limits.
Landscape and Portrait dimensions: 1280 x 720
Minimum width: 1200 pixels
Supported aspect ratios: 16:9 (Landscape) to 9:16 (Portrait), and 16:9 (Portrait video with a link)
Mobile aspect ratio: Renders all video to 2:3
Recommended characters: 90, with link
Headline max: 25, with link
Link description: 30, with link
Length: Videos can be up to 240 minutes long
Size: Up to 10 GB large
Frame rate: Maximum frame rate of 30fps.
Tips: For best results, Facebook recommends uploading videos in .MP4 and .MOV format (see a full list of supported file formats here).
Resource: How to Use Facebook Live Video: A Guide for Marketers
Facebook Reels
Recommended resolution: At least 500 x 888 pixels
Recommended aspect ratio: 9:16
Recommended video format: .MP4, .MOV
Video captions are recommended for those who watch with the sound off
Image via this Facebook Reel
Facebook 360 video
Maximum Facebook video dimension: 5120 by 2560 pixels (monoscopic) or 5120 by 5120 pixels (stereoscopic)
Supported aspect ratios: 1:1 (stereoscopic) or 2:1 (monoscopic)
Recommended format: .MP4 or .MOV format
Size: up to 10GB
Length: up to 30 min
Recommended frame rate: 30fps
Tips: If the camera you recorded your video on automatically includes 360 video metadata with the video file, you can upload the video like you would any other video. If it doesn’t, click on the ‘Advanced’ tab when uploading to bring up Facebook’s ‘360 controls’ tab, which will let you convert unformatted footage into a 360 video.
With many social media video sizes and longer durations (Facebook included), you may experience longer processing times.
Image via Facebook — click through to check out the 360 video!
Facebook in-stream video ads
Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080
Recommended size: 16:9 ratio recommended (landscape) or 1:1 (square). Upload the highest-resolution video that meets file size and ratio limits.
Video format: Recommended .MP4 or .MOV format
Maximum file size: 4GB
Maximum length: 240 minutes
Maximum frame rate: 30fps
Recommended characters: 125
Recommended headline: 27
Link description: 27
Tips: For in-stream ads, Facebook recommends uploading the “highest resolution source video available without letter or pillar boxing.” Facebook provides an exhaustive list of aspect ratios and features available for each ad type.
Facebook Messenger video ads
Recommended resolution: 1280 by 628 pixels
Supported aspect ratios: 9:16 to 16:9
Recommended time length: 15 seconds
Resource: Facebook Messenger Ads: How the Pros Get Results
Facebook carousel video ads
Recommended size: 1080 by 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio)
Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
Maximum length: 240 minutes
Maximum frame rate: 30fps
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended characters: 125
Recommended headline: 27
Resource: Carousel Ads: How and Why They Work (+ Examples)
Tips: Carousels let you showcase up to 10 images or videos in one ad without having the user navigate to a new page. For best results, use a pixel square (1:1) video.
Facebook Collection cover video
Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1080 pixels
Supported aspect ratios: 1:1
Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
Maximum file size: 4GB
Maximum frame rate: 30fps
Maximum length: 240 minutes
Recommended characters: 90
Headline max: 25
Link description: 30
Tips: Collections make it easier for users to browse and purchase products directly in the Facebook feed. Instant Experience is required to execute Collection ads, which provide a “full-screen landing page that drives engagement and nurtures interest and intent.”
Facebook Instant Experience (IX) video
Recommended resolution: 720p
Aspect ratio: 9:16 Portrait or Pillarboxed
Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
Maximum file size: 4GB
Maximum length: 120 seconds (all videos combined)
Maximum frame rate: 30fps
Tips: Clicking on an IX ad immediately triggers a full-screen experience for your audience. You can use IX ads to create an instant online storefront, ads for customer acquisition, brand storytelling, or an instant lookbook, or you can build one from scratch, optimized to your goals.
Source: Facebook
Facebook slideshow ads
Aspect ratio: 16:9 (landscape) , 4:5 (vertical), 1:1 (square)
Maximum size: 4 GB
Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
Maximum length: 15 seconds for the entire slideshow
Tips: Slideshow ads, designed for audiences with slower internet access, let you transform a series of 3-10 images and a sound file (supported formats: WAV, MP3, M4A, FLAC, and OGG) into a video ad.
For best results, Facebook suggests using the highest quality images possible, all the same resolution (ideally an image ratio of 16:9, 1:1, or 2:3). If you use different sizes, the slideshow will be cropped to be square.
Source: Facebook
Facebook Story ads
Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1080
Aspect ratio: 1.91 to 9:16
Recommended characters: 125
Maximum file size: 4 GB
Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
Recommended length: 15 seconds, but you can split a longer video into 2 or 3 separate Stories cards so your audience can get the full story
Resources: How to Use Facebook Stories for Business: The Complete Guide
Tips: Since Stories only last for a couple of seconds, spend time developing the first few seconds of your ad to really grab your audience’s attention.
Source: @lamoda on Instagram
Instagram video specs
Instagram supports three kinds of video: square (1:1), vertical (9:16 or 4:5) and landscape (16:9).
Pro tip: Square videos are best for both desktop and mobile users. They take up more room in user’s feeds than horizontal videos, but don’t crowd the entire screen like vertical videos do.
Instagram has 1.4 billion daily active users, so let’s get your video uploading on point! Oh, and get your Instagram video creation on point, too.
Instagram in-feed video and ads
In-feed landscape video:
- Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1080
- Aspect ratio: 16:9
- Maximum file size: 4GB
- Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
- Maximum video length: 120 seconds
- Frame rate: 23-60 fps
In-feed square video:
- Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1080
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Maximum file size: 4GB
- Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
- Maximum video length: 120 seconds
- Frame rate: 23-60 fps
In-feed vertical video:
- Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1080
- Aspect ratio: 4:5
- Maximum file size: 4GB
- Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
- Maximum video length: 120 seconds
- Frame rate: 23-60 fps
Recommended characters: 125
Source: Instagram @Halara_official
Instagram Stories
Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1920
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video format: MP4 or .MOV
Maximum video length: 15 seconds
Frame rate: 23-60 fps.
Psst, it’s time for a shameless plug: Did you know you can schedule your Instagram Stories directly from the Hootsuite platform?
Instagram Story ads
Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1920
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
Maximum video length: 120 seconds
Resource: How to use Instagram Stories like a Pro
Tips: These videos appear between Instagram user Stories for up to two minutes (or until dismissed) and take up the whole screen.
Source: Instagram @thedoersway
Instagram Reels
Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1920
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
Video length: from 3 seconds and up to 15 minutes
Resource: Instagram Reels in 2023: A Simple Guide for Businesses
Instagram carousel video ads
Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1080
Aspect ratio: 1:1
Recommended video format: .MP4 or .MOV
Maximum length: 120 seconds
Maximum size: 4GB
Maximum frame rate: 23-60fps
Tips: Like Facebook carousels, Instagram carousels let you showcase between two and ten images or videos in one side-scrolling ad.
X (formerly Twitter) video specs
X, formerly known as Twitter, is known for its real-time updates on all things interesting.
Whatever industry you’re marketing for, you can be sure to find an audience on Twitter. You can also be sure that your audience wants to see video content, which is why, of course, your Twitter video dimensions need to be accurate.
Since it’s a mobile-first app, videos you shoot on your phone will upload with proper Twitter video resolution. But, if you’re sending out content from your desktop, be sure to double-check the bitrate against Twitter’s detailed guidelines.
X (aka Twitter) videos
Recommended resolution: 1280 by 720 (landscape), 720 by 1280 (portrait), 720 by 720 (square)
Twitter aspect ratio for video: 16:9 (landscape and portrait), 1:1 (square)
Maximum file size: 512 MB
Recommended video format: .Mp4 or .MOV
Maximum video length: 140 seconds
Maximum frames: 30 or 60 fps.
Character max: 280
Resource: Twitter Ads for Beginners: The 2023 Guide
It will take all of us coming together and doing what we can to help those in need in Maui and Lāhainā right now. I hope you’ll join me in donating to the Hawai’i Red Cross today: https://t.co/CPtVJ8fGSq pic.twitter.com/yvIDCG15MP
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 15, 2023
TikTok video specs
TikTok, the short-form video platform that took the world by storm, generated nearly 500 million USD in revenue in the first quarter of 2023. Marketers who know how to work the app can skyrocket their brand popularity and sell more products or services.
TikTok makes it incredibly easy (and kind of addictive) to create and publish video content. You can check out the specs you need to know below and find more on TikTok for business.
TikTok in-feed content (organic)
Dimensions: 1080 by 1920
Recommended aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum video size: 287 MB
Recommended video formats: .MP4 or .MOV
Maximum length: 10 minutes
Character max: 2,200
Resource: How to Make a TikTok Video: Everything You Need to Know
Tips: Organic content ranks on the For You Page due to its popularity with viewers. Try to increase your likelihood of ranking by performing TikTok SEO (don’t worry, it’s only five easy steps).
@hootsuite talk about a mood kill 😑 #socialmediamanager #sociaediamarketing
TikTok in-feed content (ads)
Dimensions: 540 by 960, 640 by 640 or 960 by 540
Aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1, or 16:9
Maximum video size: 500 MB
Accepted video formats: .MP4, .MOV, .MPEG, .3GP, .and AVI
Accepted length: 5 – 60 seconds
Character limit for ad description: 12-100
Resource: How to Make Great TikTok Ads: The Complete 2023 Guide
@fairmonthotels Happy Pride, Vancouver! 🌈 Yesterday, colleagues and friends gathered for the 45th annual Vancouver Pride Parade. We’re honoured to have marched alongside hundreds in support of diversity, inclusivity and #loveandluxuryforall ❤️🫶🏼 #loveislove #comesleepwithus #FairmontHotels #StayIconic #Hotelcore #LuxuryCore #LuxuryHotel #pride2023 #pride #vancouver #vancouverbc #canada #canadapride #traveltiktok #travellife #luxurytravels #vancouverprideparade ♬ ROBOT – Simen Andreas Knudsen
Snapchat video specs
If you’re trying to reach a younger crowd, try Snapchat. The disappearing-video app is still active with certain generations, and it’s well-optimized for video sharing.
Discover more on video ads from Snapchat’s Business Center.
Snapchat single video
Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1920
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 32MB
Accepted video formats: .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length: between 3 and 10 seconds
Resource: Snapchat for Business: The Ultimate Marketing Guide
Tips: Snapchat is about sharing moments among friends and having fun. Don’t treat your organic Snapchat strategy too seriously; give your viewers a look at what goes on behind the scenes with your brand.
Snapchat long-form video ad
Recommended resolution: 1080 by 1920
Aspect ratio: 9:16 or 16:9
Maximum file size: 1GB
Accepted video formats: .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length: 3 to 180 seconds
Tips: The Snapchat long-form video ad is what users see between Snap stories.
YouTube video specs
YouTube has long been the video juggernaut of the internet. And that’s exactly why you need to have your YouTube video resolution and YouTube video sizes on point.
See more of the ins and outs of YouTube video specs on the help page, or grab your must-know specs below.
YouTube video player
Recommended resolutions: 426 by 240 (240p), 640 by 360 (360p), 854 by 480 (480p), 1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p), 2560 by 1440 (1440p), and 3840 by 2160 (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 16:9 and 4:3 (YouTube adds pillarboxing if 4:3)
Maximum file size: 128GB (unless it’s more than 12 hours)
Maximum video length: 12 hours
Accepted video formats: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM
Tips: YouTube encourages its users to upload videos that are “as close to the original, high-quality source format as possible.” Videos should be uploaded in their native aspect ratios and should never include letterboxing or pillarboxing bars since YouTube “automatically frames videos to ensure that they are displayed correctly, without cropping or stretching, regardless of the size of the video or player.”
YouTube provides a full list of recommended bitrates for YouTube uploads here, and a full list of supported file formats here.
YouTube video ads
There are four main types of YouTube video ads, and besides the length of the video, they all share the same specs as the YouTube video player above.
Skippable video ads: Maximum length of 12 hours, skippable after 5 seconds
Unskippable video ads: Maximum length of 15 or 20 seconds (depending on region)
Bumper video ads: Maximum length of 6 seconds
Mid-roll Video Ad: Played mid-view, this ad only appears in content that is longer than 8 minutes. Mid-rolls can be skipped after 30 seconds.
Resource: The Complete Guide to YouTube Ads for Marketers
YouTube Shorts specs
Recommended resolutions: 240 by 426, 360 by 640, 480 by 854, 720 by 1280, 1080 by 1920, 1440 by 2560, and 2160 by 384
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum video length: 60 seconds
Accepted video formats: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM
YouTube music length: If you pull music from the YouTube library, it’s limited to 15 seconds.
Title character limit: 100 characters
Resource: How to Make YouTube Shorts: Everything You Need to Know and How to Make Short-Form Videos that Stand Out
LinkedIn video specs
LinkedIn videos gain an average of three times the engagement of text-based posts. When video content is that effective at engaging an audience, you can be sure the algorithm will reward it.
See LinkedIn’s official video specs here.
Aspect ratio: 1:2.4 to 2.4:1
Maximum file size: 5GB
Video length: between 3 seconds and 10 minutes
Accepted video formats: .ASF, .AVI, .FLV, .MOV, .MPEG-1, .MPEG-4, .MP4, .MKV, and .WebM
Maximum frames: 10-60fps.
LinkedIn video ads
Landscape video resolution: 640 by 360 or 1920 by 1080
Landscape aspect ratio: 16:9
Square video resolution: 360 by 360 or 1920 by 1920
Square aspect ratio: 1:1
Vertical video resolution: 360 by 640 or 1080 by 1920
Vertical aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size for all resolutions is 200 MB
Recommended video format: .MP4
Video length: 3 seconds to 30 minutes
Maximum frames: less than 30fps
Pinterest video specs
If you have a business account on Pinterest, you can upload advertising videos. Since your pinning audience is largely heading to the platform to discover new products, they’re receptive to advertisements. And product-related videos are proving to be popular with at least a quarter of all internet users.
By the way, if you want to create videos without having a business account, you can create Idea Pins, which feature video clips.
See Pinterest’s full spec sheets here.
Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) or 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 (vertical)
Maximum width video required aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) or 16.9 (widescreen)
Maximum file size: 2 GB
Video length: from 4 seconds to 15 minutes
Accepted video formats: .MP4 and .MOV.
Character title max: 100
Character description max: 500
Resource: Pinterest Ads: A Simple Guide for 2023
Source: Pinterest
Video sizes vary depending on the social media platform in question. Be sure to look up the recommended size and resolution of your platform before uploading your video.
The most commonly recommended minimum video bitrate is 5,000 kbps, but you should look up your platform-specific recommended bitrate.
The best aspect ratio for social media video varies based on the platform’s requirements, but they are often 16:9, 4:3, and 1:1.
Should I use 4:5 or 9:16 for Instagram video?
Landscape aspect ratio is 16:9, and vertical aspect ratio is 4:5 for Instagram. Instagram also has a square aspect ratio of 1:1. Which one you use may depend on your content, but many marketers have found success with the square aspect ratio.
A 9:16 social media video size is typically 1080 by 1920 pixels in resolution.
The most popular video format for social media is either .MOV or .MP4.
The ideal length depends on the platform and your audience’s attention span, but we dive into the details in the blog How Long Should a Social Media Video Be? Tips for Every Network.
Save time managing your social media presence with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversions, engage the audience, measure results, and more. Try it free today.
With files from Nick Zarzycki and Michelle Cyca.
Do it better with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.
We get it: no one likes to put labels on things. (Though… that is your girlfriend, right?) But it’s pretty important to define the important role of community manager on your marketing team.
Community managers are the all-stars responsible for fostering engagement, building relationships, and maintaining the integrity of online communities.
In the mile-a-minute world of social media, they are the crucial bridge between brands and audiences.
And while community management may not always be the easiest task, it’s an impactful one that brings value both to brands and the people who love ‘em.
So it’s time to clearly define, explore, and, yeah, celebrate the humble community manager label. Today, we’re breaking down exactly what a community manager does (and how they differ from social media managers), and what the future holds for this thrill-a-minute position.
Are you paid enough?
Download our Social Media Career Report for stats on social media manager salaries, benefits, job satisfaction, mental health, and more.
A community manager is the caretaker of a brand’s online presence, the “digital custodian,” if you will.
Community managers are responsible for curating and nurturing communities around a brand, product, or cause. They’re the party hosts with the most, there to strategically make sure everyone’s having a good time.
If you’re here on this social media strategy blog, you’re probably most interested in community management for platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X), but online communities can also live on forums or blogs.
Wherever your fan community hangs online, a skilled community manager understands the interests and needs of that community, engages with members, and ensures that it remains a positive and productive space. In other words, community managers are guardians of the vibe.
A community manager is in charge of responding to comments and DMs on social media. They’ll provide answers to questions and offer customer support.
They may also be proactive about fostering a sense of community on a social media platform: crafting content that prompts responses or conversations, coordinating contests, or producing other interactive content.
The goal, overall, is to build both the engagement rate and your customer loyalty. (No pressure.)
The less fun aspect of the job is moderating and dealing with any issues or troublemaking trolls — in a polite and professional way that upholds your brand’s values, of course.
Community manager vs. social media manager
Community managers and social media managers work side by side to make a brand’s social media presence the best it can be. But their focus is pretty different.
A community manager’s focus is to build relationships within online communities. They create, curate, and moderate content specifically designed to engage followers.
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Community managers answer questions, review comments and DMs, and resolve issues to keep the community vibrant (and ideally harmonious).
On the other hand, a social media manager will concentrate on executing the overall content plan. That means crafting and scheduling posts, advertising, and analyzing metrics to enhance brand awareness on social platforms.
A successful community manager will possess a variety of skill sets, such as…
Excellent communication
Are you responsive and talented at expressing the right tone? Are you known for your top-notch communication skills? This might just be the job for you.
You’re gonna be typing up a storm in this role, so the ability to clearly express yourself (and the voice and values of the brand) is absolutely essential.
But communication isn’t just an important skill to have to connect with the community. You should also be able to clearly communicate with the internal team about what exactly is happening online at any given moment.
Problem-solving
A community manager doesn’t just spend all day swappin’ memes and running contests. Sometimes, they have to deal with issues and conflicts (uggggh).
Having the ability to problem-solve effectively and efficiently is super important. You’ll have to navigate all sorts of surprising situations with grace and professionalism and be adept at finding solutions that satisfy community members and align with the brand’s values.
Bonus: Save time and download 20 free, customizable Instagram DM templates for your brand, including greetings, partnership requests, FAQ responses, replies to complaints, and more.
Empathy
A good community manager is patient and kind. After all, the job really is about being a good pal and making your followers feel both welcome and heard. Understanding the needs, concerns, and emotions of community members is crucial for building trust and rapport.
Moderation
As important as it is to be a shoulder to cry on, sometimes, a community manager needs to lay down the law.
Without moderation, a comments section can quickly turn into a toxic free-for-all. Strong community management requires a little bit of enforcement — managers need to follow through on any community guidelines and policies to help ensure these online spaces feel welcoming and safe for all their fans.
Analysis
Some of these “skills” are definitely on the softer side, but having an analytic brain is important for successful community management, too. What’s working? What’s not? How can success be quantified? Community managers should be able to thoughtfully analyze engagement metrics via tools like Hootsuite Analytics in order to refine their strategies and measure their impact.
Obviously, a community manager’s job description can vary wildly, depending on the industry and company size. That being said, a community manager’s role typically includes responsibilities like:
- Developing and implementing community engagement strategies
- Moderating discussions and content
- Responding to community inquiries and feedback
- Collaborating with marketing and support teams
- Analyzing data to assess community engagement
If you’re creating a community manager job description for a job posting, you might want to seek out a candidate with an education in online marketing or marketing communications, but a degree certainly isn’t necessary for success in this role. It’s more important to find someone who can demonstrate skills like communication, problem-solving, and analytical thinking.
Like any position, the salary for a community manager varies by location, work experience, and industry. According to Glassdoor, in the United States, entry-level community managers can earn anywhere from $41,000 to $65,000 per year.
Of course, professionals with more experience or those working for large companies could earn even more, with some online community managers on Glassdoor reporting annual salaries of $115,000.
For more details on salaries in the social media marketing industry, including salaries for community management roles, download our Social Media Career Report for 2023.
Are you paid enough?
Download our Social Media Career Report for stats on social media manager salaries, benefits, job satisfaction, mental health, and more.
To evaluate a community manager’s performance, consider the following metrics:
- Engagement rate (likes, comments, shares)
- Growth in community size
- Response time to community inquiries
- Net promoter score (NPS) from community members
- Sales conventions
Ultimately, a community manager should be evaluated on metrics that align with your brand’s overall social media goals. If growing your community size isn’t important to your business objectives, it doesn’t really make sense to focus your time and attention on racking up the follows, right?
Like everything else in the social media landscape (RIP, Nexopia), the role of a community manager has evolved significantly over the past decades.
Initially, the role of a digital community manager was to respond to comments, monitor social channels for negative sentiment, and moderate content. Today, a community manager is expected to practice strategic planning, customer service, and data analysis, too. It’s about going beyond being reactive and being proactive, intentionally encouraging engagement and building loyalty along the way.
We’re at an interesting time in Internet History, with this new influx of accessible AI technology. The future of community management will likely be shaped by this sort of automation. It’s possible chatbot technology will take a big leap forward in the next few years to provide even richer, multi-platform customer support that goes beyond answering FAQs.
But while AI can absolutely assist in data analysis, common questions, and routine tasks, we’re confident that a human touch will remain essential to quality community management. No matter how convincing AI may get, it’ll always take a real person to foster genuine connections and resolve complex issues for your (human!) community.
In the future, it’s likely the role will evolve, and we’ll see community managers handling the bigger-picture ideas. They might use AI to help with more mundane or repetitive community management tasks and spend their time practicing more strategic decision-making and deeper integration with overall business objectives.
But whether they’re working in the trenches or dreaming big, as technology advances, community managers will always continue to find new ways to connect, engage, and create meaningful experiences for their communities. Um, excuse me, are community managers both party hosts and heroes? The facts don’t lie.
Save time managing your social media presence with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversions, engage the audience, measure results, and more. Try it free today.
Do it better with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.
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