- 42% of small businesses have less than an hour a day for marketing. Scheduling is how you make that hour count.
- Free option: Meta Business Suite schedules posts to Facebook and Instagram.
- Paid schedulers post everywhere at once: Buffer from US$6 per channel a month, Metricool from US$20 a month billed yearly, Later from about US$19.
- Canva is where you make the posts. Its own scheduler doesn't cover TikTok or YouTube.
Social media is the main marketing channel for most new small businesses: 63% of owners in a 2024 survey said they rely on it more than anything else. The trouble is the time it eats. The fix is to stop posting "live" and start batching.
The one-sitting weekly routine
- Pick one time each week. Put it in your calendar like a client appointment.
- Decide three to five posts for the week (ideas below).
- Make the images or short videos in one go, in Canva or on your phone.
- Write the captions. AI is good at a first draft if you tell it who your customers are (see How to ask AI for help).
- Schedule them all.
- Then spend ten minutes a day replying to comments and messages. That part can't be scheduled, and it's where the enquiries come from.
Pick one main channel
One channel done well beats five done badly. Choose the one your customers actually use: Facebook for many local services, Instagram for anything visual, LinkedIn for business-to-business, YouTube and TikTok if you're comfortable on video. Share to the others if your scheduler makes it easy, but put your effort into one.
The schedulers compared
| Tool | Price (US$) | Posts to | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Business Suite | Free | Facebook, Instagram | The place to start if you only use those two |
| Buffer | Free for 3 channels; Essentials $6 per channel a month | Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, Threads, YouTube Shorts, Google Business Profile and more | The cheapest way to cover lots of platforms |
| Metricool | Free (1 brand, 20 posts a month); Starter $20 a month billed yearly | Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Business Profile; LinkedIn on paid plans | Strong reports on what's working |
| Later | Starter $25 a month, or about $19 billed yearly; no free plan | Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat | Good visual planning grid |
| Hootsuite | $99 per user a month, billed yearly | Almost everything, including WhatsApp | Built for teams; overkill for most sole traders |
| GoHighLevel Social Planner | Included in GoHighLevel | Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest | No X. Worth it if you already use GoHighLevel for bookings and follow-ups |
| Canva | Pro US$144 a year on Canva's US page | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and others; not TikTok or YouTube | Brilliant for making posts; its scheduler is a bonus |
Prices from each company's pricing page. Several change by country, so check in your own currency before you buy.
Rules that trip people up in 2026
- Instagram now allows a maximum of five hashtags per post (since December 2025). Choose small, specific ones over huge, generic ones.
- Hashtags on Facebook do very little for reach. Two or three is plenty.
- Label realistic AI images and video. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok all ask for it. See Using AI safely.
What to post when you've got nothing to say
- The question every new customer asks, and your answer.
- A job, session or project, before and after (with permission).
- One useful tip your customers could use today.
- Behind the scenes: your tools, your van, your desk, your day.
- Why you do what you do, in two sentences.
Rather hand it over?
That's what I'm for. Book a free 30-minute call and you'll leave with a plan for your website and marketing, whether or not you hire me.
Book your free call More guidesSources (10) · facts and prices checked 27 September 2026
- Constant Contact: Small Business Now 2025
- Constant Contact: State of Small Business Marketing, Sep 2025
- Buffer pricing
- Metricool pricing
- Later pricing
- Hootsuite plans
- GoHighLevel: Social Planner
- Canva pricing
- Canva: Content Planner
- Social Media Today: Instagram hashtag limit
Prices change often and vary by country. Always check the company's own page before you buy.