From Planning to Posting: The Top Tools Every Social Media Manager Swears By

Ever felt like your social media tasks are multiplying faster than you can handle them? Discovering what tools do social media managers use is the first step to mastering this chaos.

In 2025, the average social media professional manages seven different platforms while spending over two hours daily on content and engagement. Finding the right tools is no longer optional—it’s essential for survival.

Research shows that 93% of marketers will spend more time on social marketing this year. This makes finding efficient tools more critical than ever before. The social media management tools market is projected to reach $276.7 billion in 2025, a dramatic increase from previous years.

This guide breaks down the essential tools that transform overwhelming workloads into manageable workflows, helping you move from chaotic manual processes to a strategic, efficient system that scales with your success.

All-in-One Management Platforms: The Command Center

For many social media professionals, an all-in-one platform serves as the foundation of their tech stack. These tools consolidate various tasks – publishing, engagement, analytics, listening, and reviews – saving precious time and reducing dashboard fatigue.

Vista Social

Vista Social stands out as a comprehensive platform with unlimited post scheduling across all plans. It excels in:

• Publishing with unlimited posts
• Robust engagement tools
• Detailed analytics dashboards
• Integrated social listening
• Comprehensive review management

Vista Social offers competitive pricing and extensive integrations with tools like Canva and Google Drive. Its AI Assistant (powered by OpenAI) adds even more value. This makes it an ideal solution for everyone from solo entrepreneurs to large agencies.

Other Platforms

Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social offer similar core features to Vista Social. However, they differ in several key ways. Most charge per user or per account, and their feature bundles vary significantly. When comparing these platforms, consider the following:

• Post limits
• User counts
• Depth of features like listening and reviews
• Platform integrations

Vista Social often provides more flexibility in these areas compared to competitors.

Content Planning & Strategy Tools

Effective social media starts with a solid plan. The right planning tools help visualize, organize, and research content ideas that resonate with your audience.

Editorial Calendar Solutions

A visual content calendar is non-negotiable for success. Vista Social’s integrated calendar allows drag-and-drop planning and easy visualization of published, scheduled, and draft posts.

What tools do social media managers use for planning when specialized platforms aren’t available? Project management tools like Trello, Asana, and Monday.com can be adapted for content calendars, though they lack social-specific features like post previews.

[Must Read: Shared Calendar: The Ultimate Social Media Content Planner]

Social Listening Tools

Understanding conversations about your brand is vital. Vista Social includes social listening tools to monitor keywords, hashtags, and brand mentions, helping identify content opportunities and track sentiment.

Other specialized tools like BuzzSumo help find trending topics and high-performing content, while Feedly can aggregate industry news feeds.

Content Creation Arsenal

Once your plan is set, it’s time to create thumb-stopping content. These tools help you craft visuals and copy that capture attention in crowded feeds.

Visual Design Tools

Platforms like Canva have become essential for creating social graphics quickly. Vista Social offers direct Canva integration, allowing you to design visuals without leaving the platform. Other popular tools include Adobe Express for templates and easy editing, and Picsart for mobile-first editing features.

Video Creation Tools

With video dominating engagement (with users watching an average of 14 hours of video content weekly according to Synup), the right editing tools are crucial.

For short-form content, mobile-friendly editors like CapCut and InShot shine. For longer formats, professional software like Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve deliver advanced capabilities.

AI Content Assistance

When examining what tools do social media managers use for efficiency, AI tops the list. Vista Social’s AI Assistant helps with:

• Brainstorming content ideas
• Writing engaging captions
• Suggesting relevant hashtags
• Optimizing post timing

Other writing tools like Grammarly and Hemingway ensure copy is clear and error-free, while AI image generators like DALL-E and Midjourney can create unique visuals when used responsibly.

Asset Management

Organizing media assets prevents creative chaos. Vista Social includes a media library to store and organize images, videos, and other assets. Cloud storage solutions like Google Drive and Dropbox provide external backup options.

Publishing & Scheduling Essentials

Getting content out consistently across platforms requires robust scheduling tools.

Advanced Scheduling

Vista Social offers customizable scheduling options that can be tailored to your specific needs:

• Configure posting times based on platform-specific audience data
• Choose between content queue (automated publishing) or calendar view (manual placement)
• Use cross-platform publishing to save time with simultaneous posting
• Optimize timing based on engagement analytics

These advanced features help ensure your content reaches audiences when they’re most receptive.

Content Recycling

Maximizing high-performing content is a smart strategy. Vista Social’s content recycling features allow certain posts to be added back into the queue, extending the lifespan of your best content without constant creation.

Workflow Automation

Integrating social with other marketing efforts boosts efficiency. Vista Social connects with tools like Zapier and Make, enabling automations like posting new blog articles to social media or adding leads from social forms to your CRM.

Engagement & Community Management

Building relationships with your audience requires tools that make interactions manageable.

Unified Social Inbox

Managing messages across multiple platforms can be overwhelming. Vista Social’s Engagement inbox pulls all interactions into one stream, facilitating team collaboration and ensuring no comment goes unanswered.

Response Management

What tools do social media managers use for handling customer interactions? Features like response templates for FAQs, automated replies, and integration with customer service platforms for escalating support issues are essential in today’s fast-paced environment.

Review Management

For businesses with physical locations or products, managing online reviews is essential. Vista Social offers consolidated review management from platforms like Google, Facebook, and specialized review sites.

Analytics & Reporting Tools

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Robust analytics prove ROI and inform strategy.

Performance Measurement

While basic metrics are available within platform-specific dashboards, Vista Social provides a consolidated analytics view with several advantages:

• Cross-platform performance comparison in one dashboard
• Custom metrics aligned with specific business goals
• Visual data representations for easier reporting
• Audience insights across multiple networks

Automated Reporting

Manual report compilation wastes valuable time. Vista Social offers automated reporting with customizable templates and scheduled delivery – especially valuable for agencies providing client-ready reports.

Competitive Analysis

Understanding competitor performance provides valuable insights. Vista Social includes benchmarking features to track competitor activity, content strategies, and key performance metrics.

Specialized Tools for Specific Needs

Beyond core functions, certain strategies require specialized tools.

Influencer Management

Is influencer marketing part of your strategy? Sprinklr reports that 83% of American B2C marketing executives want unified social media tools in 2025. Dedicated platforms make influencer programs easier to manage by helping you identify relevant partners, streamline outreach, track campaign results, and calculate accurate ROI.

Employee Advocacy

Empowering employees to share content extends reach significantly. Vista Social’s Advocacy feature provides a platform for distributing approved content to employees and tracking sharing activity.

Audit Tools

Regularly auditing social media profiles and content performance is essential for optimization. While core platforms provide performance data, dedicated tools offer deeper insights into optimization gaps and comprehensive frameworks.

[Must Read: Access your Canva Media Directly from Vista Social]

Building Your Perfect Tool Stack

Choosing the right tools and ensuring they work together seamlessly is key to an efficient workflow.

Start by assessing your specific needs:

• What are your primary challenges?
• Which platforms matter most to your audience?
• What’s your budget?
• Do you need collaboration features for your team?

For many teams, a comprehensive platform like Vista Social serves as a core hub, consolidating major functions. Then, add complementary specialized tools for specific needs not covered by the core platform (e.g., a high-end video editor).

Remember that social media evolves rapidly. What tools do social media managers use to future-proof their strategy? They choose options that are adaptable and scalable, keeping pace with emerging trends and able to grow with business needs.

What Tools Do Social Media Managers Use for Maximum Impact?

The mark of a successful social media manager isn’t just creativity; it’s efficiency. Strategic tool selection is the bedrock of an optimized workflow. All-in-one platforms like Vista Social dramatically reduce time spent toggling between dashboards, freeing up energy for strategy and creative work.

Understanding what tools do social media managers use is critical for both newcomers and veterans in the field. Specialized tools work well for niche needs. However, a powerful all-in-one platform provides the essential foundation for most social media work. This includes planning, publishing, engagement, and analytics across all your channels.

Ready to transform your social media management? Sign up for a free Vista Social trial today and experience the difference an all-in-one platform makes.