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Planable is the best client-facing social media tool we’ve ever used and we’ve used a lot.
You can't add links to your Instagram post captions (sorry, sales team). However, if you want to invite your Instagram followers to your other resources to increase traffic to your website, promote products and services, and enhance user engagement, all you need to...
Solid social media management platforms let you easily schedule social media posts across multiple accounts, make informed decisions through advanced analytics, and improve your overall social media marketing efforts through various other features.
HeyOrca does just that, for the most part. However, the $50 per month entry-level price tag may leave you looking for other HeyOrca alternatives.
That’s exactly why I’ve compiled a list with some of the best alternatives available. But first, let’s take a better look at what HeyOrca is about.
HeyOrca is a social media management platform that includes team collaboration, reporting, and community engagement tools. The platform stands out through its no-nonsense interface and emphasis on client collaboration.
You can set up client-specific calendars and invite external stakeholders to your workspace via shareable links.
From there, clients can approve your content, reject it, or leave feedback through comments — all without setting up an account. HeyOrca’s internal comments are also handy if you need to keep specific information away from clients.
As for the main drawbacks, user reviews suggest that the platform’s analytics are sometimes inaccurate, while the pricing model (and what you get for the money) isn’t very appealing for certain use cases.
HeyOrca’s entry-level Basic plan doesn’t include social media reporting capabilities. This functionality is only available in the Pro package, which costs $126.65 per month (billed annually) — just over $75 more expensive than the Basic plan.
Moreover, these packages include a single calendar that accommodates up to 10 social media accounts. If you want to add more, each calendar costs an additional $50.15 or $126.65 per month depending on the selected plan. You get a 40% discount if you include five calendars or more.
Although the lack of a user-based pricing structure seems attractive at first, HeyOrca’s steep gaps between plans and per-calendar model make the platform unfeasible for small businesses working with multiple clients.
Either way, let’s have a look at HeyOrca’s core features and see whether they justify the price tag.
HeyOrca’s calendar is well laid out and easy to use. Scheduling posts is as simple as clicking on a date and creating content directly in the calendar view.
I found the option to mark content as organic, boosted, or advertisement posts particularly handy to track busy schedules that involve multiple social media channels.
You can reschedule content by simply dragging and dropping it across the calendar. The option to schedule events, like promotional campaigns, and see them in the calendar view is also a stand-out.
Other notable features include ideal posting time suggestions, the ability to add comments (internal and external), access hashtag libraries, and add color-coded tags or publishing notes in each content preview.
However, HeyOrca lacks any other views aside from its calendar view. Visualizing posts under feed or list formats would’ve been more than welcome.
HeyOrca’s collaboration features are simple but effective. You can leave feedback through comments and publishing notes under each scheduled post.
I love how HeyOrca lets you toggle between internal and external comments in the content preview — it gives you a side-by-side comparison of client feedback and team progress.
However, HeyOrca lacks the option to leave annotations, which could’ve been useful to leave feedback under specific text fragments.
The platform’s approval features are just as straightforward. You can set up both internal and external approvals, which is handy for having social media posts approved by an in-house reviewer before reaching the client.
But since HeyOrca’s pricing packages mainly make the platform accessible for large teams only, multi-layered approval processes would’ve been an excellent addition. This could’ve helped ensure content is thoroughly examined by team members across each internal department.
Pricing: HeyOrca starts at $50.15 per month (billed yearly), with one calendar included. There’s also a 14-day free trial available.
Full team content collaboration in Planable
Planable is a social media management software solution with excellent collaboration and approval functionalities. The platform’s collaboration tools allow team members to communicate via direct comments, mentions, text suggestions, and annotations — handy for long-form content like video scripts.
Speaking of which, Planable’s Universal Content lets you collaborate and work on any type of written content you wish, including newsletter or ad copy and blog posts, for example. As for approvals, the platform includes multi-level workflows. This helps ensure content is reviewed by team members across multiple departments before reaching the client or their audience.
Just like HeyOrca, Planable’s calendar view is highly intuitive. Scheduling and re-scheduling posts is just a matter of dragging and dropping them across the calendar, while its color-coded labels help you stay on top of busy schedules.
Social media content calendar in Planable
However, Planable allows you to approve content with just one click directly within the calendar, which is a nice touch. In HeyOrca, you would have to click on the post to enter the content preview, open up a drop-down menu, and then click on the Approve option — quite a few extra clicks.
Planable also offers list, feed, and grid views. The grid view emulates Instagram’s layout, which is perfect for organizing content specific to Instagram accounts.
Instagram grid view in Planable
You can also schedule posts across multiple platforms simultaneously via the Sync Content feature. Alternatively, you can turn it off to make individual changes for each network.
Planable also allows for internal and external comments, which provides the option to hide entire posts away from the client’s view until they’re ready for final approval.
The platform’s annotations and text suggestions are also a stand-out. They allow you to leave precise feedback under specific paragraphs of text — just like Google Docs.
Collaboration on a Facebook post in Planable
Other notable collaboration features include the ability to create separate workspaces dedicated to each client, collaborate and approve content while on the go via the platform’s mobile app, as well as custom user roles and permissions.
Unlike HeyOrca, Planable includes four approval workflow types: none, optional, required, and multi-level.
Multi-level approval flow in Planable
No approval is the perfect option if you’re a one-man army and want to spare yourself from a few extra clicks — you can schedule posts as soon as you have them ready.
Optional approvals are ideal for small multi-purpose teams that can’t afford to have a dedicated approver on standby.
Multi-level approvals are the standout, though. They allow you to set up multiple approval layers, with each layer including as many team members as you need.
A post would have to pass through each distinct layer and get approved by all members involved before publishing. For instance, a post would first have to pass through the content and design team, and then reach the social media manager, while the client does the final sign-off.
You can also set posts to be locked and automatically scheduled on approval, as long as they have a date and time set in advance.
Pricing: Paid packages start at $11 per user per month (billed annually). Planable’s pricing structure is flexible, meaning the price tag varies based on the number of users and workspaces you add. There’s also a free plan that allows you to schedule up to 50 posts.
Drawbacks: Despite letting you work on content like blog posts, Planable doesn’t integrate with CMS software.
Takeaway: Planable’s extensive collaboration tools and multi-level approval workflows make it one of the best alternatives to HeyOrca for social media marketers who prioritize content creation.
Sprout Social is an all-in-one social media management software solution with powerful social inbox management and analytics capabilities. The platform pulls incoming messages from all popular social platforms and neatly organizes them under a unified inbox.
Sprout Social also allows you to conduct cross-network performance reports, complete with ad campaign and boosted post analytics. This makes it one of the best HeyOrca alternatives for enterprise-level companies seeking to closely monitor and manage their social media presence across multiple channels.
Pricing: Pricing starts at $199 per user per month (billed annually), with a 30-day free trial available.
Drawbacks: The platform’s Link in Bio tool is only available for Instagram, while other useful features like social listening and influencer marketing tools are locked behind additional paywalls.
Planoly is a social media management tool that makes scheduling content a breeze. Its Auto-Post feature allows you to schedule content across all social channels, while the platform will automatically post it once its due date hits — no extra clicks needed.
The platform can also easily repurpose TikTok videos for other platforms like Instagram Reels or YouTube shorts.
Pricing: Pricing starts at $14 per month (billed annually), with a seven-day free trial available.
Drawbacks: Analytics, social inbox management, and the option to search and add stock photos are strictly limited to Instagram.
For those considering alternatives, Sked Social is also an option worth exploring.
Cloud Campaign is a social media management software solution specifically designed for agencies and SaaS companies. It includes free white-labeling services starting from the platform’s Studio plan, which costs $191 per month (billed annually).
Just like Planable, the platform allows you to set up separate workspaces dedicated to each specific brand you manage. Each workspace can contain a brand’s connected social media accounts, as well as its own team members and analytics dashboards.
Pricing: Cloud Campaign starts at $41 per month (billed annually) with one brand workspace included. There’s also a 14-day free trial available.
Drawbacks: Cloud Campaign lacks multi-level approvals, which could’ve been handy for social media agencies.
Hootsuite is an all-in-one social media tool with excellent advertising features. The platform can identify best-performing organic posts and automatically turn them into boosted posts for maximized reach and engagement.
Hootsuite also includes the tools necessary for marketing teams to monitor and manage ad campaigns across various social media platforms — from side-by-side reports to audience targeting, and more.
Pricing: Hootsuite starts at $99 per month (billed annually), with a 30-day free trial available.
Drawbacks: The entry-level plan lacks important functionalities despite its steep price tag. Some examples include the lack of approval workflows, digital asset libraries, Hootbio, and more.
HeyOrca is a solid social media management platform, but there are certainly other options that might suit your needs better. Sprout Social, Cloud Campaign, and Hootsuite are excellent choices for larger social media marketing agencies seeking tools with more complex functionalities, while Planoly is a straightforward tool suitable for freelancers or small businesses.
On the other hand, if you’re on the lookout for a platform with an intuitive content calendar that makes teamwork a breeze, Planable’s got your back. Especially if you’re a small business on a tighter budget, Planable’s flexible pricing plans help ensure you get the best value for money possible.
So why not try it? You can schedule your first 50 posts completely for free!
Digital marketing enthusiast, language nerd, and content writer. Horea loves writing about SaaS and anything that involves boosting online presence – from SEO to social media, web design, and more. His content is allergic to fluff and eats research for breakfast.
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