What do you think of when you’re thinking of achieving Instagram growth? You may think of photoshop, aesthetics, filters, hashtags, or tricks to better navigate the app. But what if the answer to success on Instagram was not on the platform?
In this Later review, we’ll discuss whether Later is going to have an impact on your social media strategy as a social media scheduling app?
Who Is Later For?
The ideal Later user is a business. Primarily because only business accounts have the option to add third-party apps like Later to Instagram. But also because plenty of the features offered by Later can be beneficial to businesses.
But power users, like entrepreneurs, creatives, and artists, who may not be registered businesses, can take advantage of Later and all the tremendous features it has to offer. Because by using Later, you’re developing your time-management and streamlining the purchasing process for your products.
Note: You can also use Later to schedule Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook posts.
Why You Should Consider Using A Social Media Scheduler
Unless your job is to post on social media, chances are you don’t have time to invest in creating a social media strategy, seeing what works, curating content, and then posting that content at the time that’s most going to facilitate growth. The entire purpose of social media scheduling apps is that you no longer have to do all that work. Even digital marketers and social media managers, that a large portion of their job is to post on social media, use these apps to improve the overall quality of their work and stay on their A-game. Besides, using these apps could partially contribute to the success of their clients because they have access to data that they can use to enhance their posts in addition to information about what content is performing better, so they can replicate that.
LATER REVIEW: FEATURES
Visual Planner
One of Later’s standout features is its visual planner. The visual planner enables you to curate your content in a manner that increases the appeal of your Instagram grid.
Ever wondered how some Instagram users manage to execute fascinating grid art without misplacing a section?
Later makes it possible for you to plan similar posts before publishing or scheduling them. Therefore, you’re certain that they’ll publish as you’d like.
Analytics
Later gives you analytics similar to what you’ll find in your business account dashboard on Instagram. They don’t add any additional insights, however, being able to view your analytics from the same dashboard where you publish and schedule your posts is helpful.
Best Time To Post
There’s a universal best time to post. According to data, that time is between 11 am and 1 pm and 7 pm and 9 pm. But the precise time changes depending on the day of the week. Later gives you this insight so you know you’re posting images at the time that your audience (followers) and other users are more likely to see – and engage with – your posts.
Hashtag Suggestions
We spoke about hashtag research in our Ritetag review but Later has a similar feature as part of their plans. Having hashtag suggestions eliminates the burden of having to research hashtags, research that may be outdated by the time you want to post.
Additionally, Later allows you to save hashtags so you can use the same set of hashtags in future posts.
Stories Scheduling
This is another one of Later’s standout features, that many of its competitors don’t have or are yet to implement. Because Later enables users to schedule Instagram Stories, users can maintain their posting timetable for all of their Instagram content.
Besides, having this feature also enables you to curate stories. This way, your followers are constantly engaging with your content, and you’re able to draw their attention to your posts and profile.
LATER REVIEW: LEARNING CURVE
Later doesn’t have much of a learning curve. For beginners, there’s a plethora of information on how to use Later. You can find this information in their training videos, which they regularly update. Additionally, there are several YouTube videos and tutorials on how to use Later and if you’re familiar with other scheduling apps, you won’t experience any learning curve when joining Later.
Another highlight is that the Later dashboard is user-friendly, making it a breeze to navigate.
LATER REVIEW: PRICING
You can purchase an annual or monthly Later subscription for each one of Later’s plans. Additionally, Later has a free plan which you can use if you only have
Free Plan: $0
Schedule 30 posts per social profile per month
Only one user for the account
Can’t Schedule Stories
No Hashtag Suggestions
Can’t Schedule Videos
Starter: $9/pm or $90/year
Schedule 60 posts per social profile per month
Ability to add users to the account
Stories Scheduling
Hashtag Suggestions
Video Scheduling
Growth: $15/pm or $150/year
Schedule 150 posts per social profile per month
3 Users + Ability to add users to the account
Stories Scheduling
Hashtag Suggestions
Video Scheduling
Advanced: $30/pm or $300/year
Schedule an unlimited amount of posts per social profile per month
6 Users + Ability to add users to the account
Stories Scheduling
Hashtag Suggestions
Video Scheduling
For most creatives the free or starter plan should work. However, if you have a few Instagram accounts, the Growth plan is also a great contender.
LATER REVIEW: ALTERNATIVES
Later has several competitors, but one of it’s most noteworthy competitors is another visual planner: Planoly.
Planoly’s prices are similar – almost identical – to Later and their features are nearly identical. However, Planoly specializes in Pinterest and Instagram, whereas Later also integrates with Twitter and Facebook. Having more variety isn’t necessarily better. But because you can manage all your social profiles through Later, it’s preferable.
However, in terms of standard social media schedulers (that don’t have a visual planner), Later’s biggest competitors are Buffer and Hootsuite. Both Hootsuite and Buffer are geared toward advanced users who are managing several social media profiles; users like digital marketers and social media managers. Because of this, their dashboards are complicated to manage, and there’s a significant learning curve. Later makes it simple for anyone to start scheduling posts and seeing the benefits of visual planning, regardless of their skill level.
Recommendation
Would I recommend Later to you?
Yes.
Later has a treasure chest of valuable resources and worthwhile information that is beneficial to both Later users and other social media users.
Their free tutorials and constant workshops make you feel part of a community that’s invested in your growth.
However, from a technical point of view, Later simplifies posting to social media by enabling you to create, schedule, and track your content on various social media platforms from one dashboard. The idea isn’t revolutionary, but Later’s execution makes it feel accessible and beneficial to a variety of users regardless of their size or their phase in their social media journey.