Loomly vs Hootsuite: The Ultimate Showdown for Your Social Media Management Needs

Hey there!

Managing your business‘s social media presence is crucial in today‘s digitally transformed world. But juggling multiple social accounts across different platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more can be chaotic.

This is where using a specialized social media management tool can be a total game-changer!

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive deep into the two leading players in this space – Loomly and Hootsuite.

I‘ll compare their features, pricing, pros and cons, ideal use cases, and more as a seasoned social media expert. My goal is to help you pick the platform that best fits your specific needs and budget.

Let‘s get started!

First, let‘s briefly look at why social media management platforms have become so indispensable:

Save time – Scheduling, publishing, engaging with audiences across multiple networks is hugely time-consuming without a unified tool.
Manage brand presence – Ensure consistent messaging and visual identity across all your social profiles.
Collaborate with teams – Smooth workflows for content creation, approvals, and publishing.
Listen to conversations – Monitor relevant conversations happening about your brand and industry in real-time.
Engage audiences – Respond to customers, promote engagement, and build relationships.
Deeper analytics – Actionable insights into performance of social content, campaigns, ads.
Optimize efforts – Use data to refine strategies, improve ROI, and align social media with business goals.

According to Sprout Social, 97% of marketers are responsible for their company‘s social media efforts. A powerful management platform makes this massive workload easier.

Hootsuite dominates this industry with a 20% market share. But newer tools like Loomly are catching up among SMBs.

Next, let‘s see how the two leading platforms stack up.

An In-Depth Look at Loomly and Hootsuite

Loomly and Hootsuite have some common capabilities, but also key differences. I‘ll provide an overview of each platform and dive deeper into their features.

A Brief History

Loomly was founded in 2018 as a collaboration between social media experts and digital marketers. It swiftly grew popular as an affordable social media manager for solopreneurs and SMBs.

Backed by $1.2 million in seed funding, Loomly currently has over 7,000 customers worldwide. It boasts clients like MailerLite, Barefoot Wine, Lola.com, and Brilliant Earth.

Hootsuite, on the other hand, is a veteran in the market. Founded way back in 2008 by Ryan Holmes, it quickly became the tool of choice for social media marketing.

With $300 million in total funding and 10 million+ users globally, Hootsuite went from startup to social media giant. Its clients include industry titans like Facebook, McDonald‘s, and Microsoft.

Clearly, Hootsuite has greater scale and market presence. But Loomly is catching up among lean startups and SMBs.

Depth of Features

Both platforms allow you to efficiently manage social media accounts from one dashboard. But under the hood, they have several key differences.

Let‘s compare some of their capabilities:

Feature	Loomly	Hootsuite
Content Scheduling	Schedule posts across 10+ networks	Schedule across 35+ social platforms
Collaboration Tools	Shared team inbox, tasks, @mentions	Assign messages, @mentions
Media Creation	Built-in image, video, text creation	Integrate with Canva for design
Audience Targeting	Location, gender, interests targeting	None natively, available via ads
Analytics	Engagement metrics, best times, exports	Customizable dashboards, exports
Ad Management	None available	Manage and optimize social ad campaigns
Mobile Apps	iOS, Android apps	iOS, Android, Windows apps

Loomly stands out for its intuitive collaboration features, built-in media creation, and location-based audience targeting.

Hootsuite shines with its unparalleled scale across platforms, advanced ad management, and mobile app ecosystem.

For a more fair comparison, let‘s look at how their pricing and plans stack up.

Pricing and Plans Comparison

The pricing structure is often what seals the deal for most businesses. Here is how Loomly and Hootsuite plans break down.

Loomly Pricing

Plan	Price/Month	Key Features
Starter	$25	2 users, 10 accounts, content library, analytics
Professional	$99	5 users, 25 accounts, team inbox, permissions
Business	$149	15 users, 50 accounts, workflow approvals
Enterprise	$199	31+ users, unlimited accounts, branded reporting

Hootsuite Pricing

Plan	Price/Month	Key Features
Professional	$119	1 user, 10 social accounts, basic analytics
Team	$599	5 users, 20 accounts, message assignment
Business	Custom quote	Unlimited users, accounts, ad management
Enterprise	Custom quote	Unlimited everything, security, 24/7 support

The above comparison reveals that Hootsuite is far more expensive, especially as your needs grow. Loomly provides great bang for buck across its tiers.

But Hootsuite justifies its steeper pricing with more sophisticated features, expansive platform integrations, compliance and security tools.

Ease of Use and Learning Curve

Another key difference is how easy the platforms are to use and learn, especially for beginners.

Loomly prides itself on usability with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Managing calendars, creating and editing posts, monitoring mentions all take just a few clicks.

For users with no prior experience, Loomly‘s workflows are easier to pick up. It provides handy tooltips, walkthroughs, and tutorials.

Hootsuite has a much steeper learning curve by comparison. The extensive feature-set and configurable options can seem overwhelming. Mastering the advanced functionalities has a learning curve even for experienced users.

The platform does offer a library of training videos and articles. But Loomly wins in terms of inherent usability.

Ideal Use Cases for Each Platform

Based on their strengths and limitations, Loomly and Hootsuite are ideal for different user profiles. Let‘s look at their best-fit use cases.

Loomly Works Best For:

Solopreneurs managing their personal brand and social media
Early-stage startups with limited budgets
Small businesses that need just the core features
Single social media managers handling multiple brand profiles
Cross-functional teams needing smooth collaboration

Loomly hits the sweet spot between features and affordability for lean teams. It lets you start basic and scale up flexibly.

Hootsuite Shines For:

Large enterprises with complex needs and dedicated social teams
Agencies managing social for multiple client accounts
Regulated industries needing strict permissions and audit trails
Global brands running multilingual social campaigns
Sophisticated marketers running advanced campaigns and ads

Hootsuite prevails where scale, security, compliance, and global support are critical. Its extensive capabilities require significant investment.

Key Benefits and Drawbacks of Each Tool

Before picking a platform, it‘s important to weigh up the unique pros and cons.

Loomly Pros

Affordable plans suitable for any budget
Very user-friendly and easy to get started
Handy media creation and editing built-in
Location-based audience targeting
Real-time monitoring and response
Activity log tracks every change

Loomly Cons

Less third-party integrations compared to Hootsuite
Maximum 50 connected social profiles
No advertising or lead gen capabilities
Analytics not as advanced as enterprise tools

Hootsuite Pros

Unmatched scale for large, complex organizations
Advanced analytics, dashboards, and reporting
Sophisticated security and compliance features
Global 24/7 customer support resources
Hundreds of integrations with marketing apps

Hootsuite Cons

Very expensive, especially for multiple users
Steep learning curve even for experienced users
No built-in image, video, or text creation
Content creation requires paid Canva plans

As you can see, both platforms have distinct advantages and limitations depending on your needs.

Key Factors to Consider For Your Business

Here are some key considerations that can steer your decision when choosing between Loomly and Hootsuite:

Current size and scale – Existing social media workloads and future needs
Budget allocation – Funds available for the tool as a business investment
Team structure – Solo manager versus collaborative team workflows
Primary need – Core scheduling or advanced analytics and tracking
App ecosystem – Need for integrations with other marketing tools
Audience targeting – Location-based or interests-based targeting needs
Ad campaigns – Current or future needs around social advertising

Analyzing these factors will help determine the right platform fit.

Both tools offer free trials so you can experience them firsthand. Reach out for demos and consult their customer support to clarify doubts.

The Verdict: My Recommendation

Now for the final verdict – which tool comes out on top?

For most solopreneurs, early-stage startups, and smaller teams, I recommend Loomly. It provides fantastic core features at very affordable pricing. The interface is a breeze to use with handy media creation built-in.

For larger companies, sophisticated marketers, agencies, and global brands, Hootsuite is worth the investment. You‘d struggle to find another platform that scales as flexibly across regions, languages, users, and features.

But ultimately, think about what your current and future needs are. Try out each platform extensively and get user feedback before deciding.

Hope this detailed showdown helped provide clarity! Let me know if you need any other advice in setting up the ideal social media management workflow for your brand.

Happy marketing!

Why Do Businesses Need Social Media Management Tools?