Free Social Media Tools We Love Using
As a tight-knit social media agency, Lil Shameless Plug (LSP) utilizes a mix of paid and free social media tools to support our clients’ campaigns.
However, that got us thinking… why not share the ones we actually love and use ourselves?
On this page, we’ll recommend some of the most reliable and time-saving tools we use here at LSP.
Note: LSP has a fair and honest review policy. When you purchase through links on this page, we may receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.
The graphic design tool we love
Canva
Canva is a graphic design application that lets you create visual images without a steep learning curve. You can use Canva through either a web browser or by downloading it to your PC, Mac, and mobile devices.
Unlike the industry-standard graphic design tools like Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator, Canva has carved its own little niche — social media.
Furthermore, its user-friendly UI and drag-and-drop editor mean businesses can go somewhat heavy on design without investing a lot of time learning all sorts of technical tools or design theory.
Canva’s popular use case involves creating posters, images, presentations, slides, and other visual imagery. You can either pick and choose from its extensive pre-designed template collection or create your own through its editor.
Lil Shameless Plug (LSP) extensively uses Canva on our services. We use it to design client concepts on social media posts, website pages, blog images, and newsletters, to name a few. We love Canva thanks to its:
- Ease of Use with Pre-designed layouts and a wonderful drag-and-drop editor
- Consistency with the use of Brand Kits that allow you to save your brands colors, fonts, logos and more
- AI tools that elevate, not replace, creativity
- More controls for advanced users
- So easy to share! You can send images directly to your social media platforms or share a link with you Fractional CMO biz bestie to get feedback
Why we recommend Canva
If we could describe Canva in just one sentence, we’d say: “It’s a fun, entry-level way to do quick designs without investing in learning too much.”
If you have a graphic designer on board, great! They can perfectly utilize Canva for social media posts and use more advanced apps like Photoshop for design-heavy projects or branding work.
If you’re interested in trying Canva for yourself, you only need to sign up for an account to get started. They also offer a 30-day free trial for Canva Pro, which gets you AI tools and other premium options. After that, it’s around $15/month or $120/year per user.
The premium assets and royalty-free images are a nice bonus, but not strictly necessary for most users. However, the AI tools and expanded download options in Pro are game-changers — especially if you’re using Canva regularly for content creation.
The video marketing tool we love
Wave.video
Wave.video is an all-in-one online video creation and editing platform designed to help users create high-quality videos without the steep learning curve.
This tool is well beloved by small marketing teams and content creators due to its simplicity, somewhat extensive media library, and overall versatility for making all kinds of video content.
Why we recommend Wave.video
The Lil Shameless Plug team has used Wave.video for years now. It’s safe to say that it’s one of our favorites among the free social media tools we use! Wave.video hits the sweet spot between being user-friendly and offering advanced features.
Our team can easily whip up short 1–2 minute videos, but we can also take our time to create more complex edits when needed. It also supports branding customization with features like ticker tapes and custom screen layouts. Wave.video even has shaped camera frames that go beyond the standard rectangles, making your livestreams a bit more personalized.
If you’re curious to try it out, Wave.video offers a free plan that lets you explore the platform before committing to a paid subscription. Just sign up for an account to get started.
That said, the free plan comes with a few limitations: Access to only basic tools, a smaller media library, and a watermark on any videos you download. Still, it’s worth testing to get a feel for the platform’s potential.
Of course, no platform is perfect. Wave.video has its quirks. Editing can also feel a bit clunky. For example, the interface features small buttons that make tweaking fonts or layouts frustrating. This is especially prevalent on smaller screens.
Prefer a hands-off approach? If you’d rather let experts take the wheel, our team at Lil Shameless Plug can handle your social media strategy, content creation, and scheduling for you. Check out our range of services to see how we can support your brand while you focus on running your business.
Social media scheduling tools we love
Pricey, but worth it: HeyOrca
HeyOrca is a social media management tool designed primarily for agencies but works just as well for freelancers and solopreneurs. Its main appeal lies in its clean, intuitive interface that makes planning, scheduling, and organizing content easy, even when handling multiple social media profiles at once.
One of HeyOrca’s standout features is its Media and Content Library, which allows teams to upload, organize, and get client approvals on content. Best of all, we can do that without needing to assign publish dates right away. This is a lifesaver when working with clients who prefer to be hands-on with feedback or want flexibility in their content pipeline.
If you need a no-nonsense, powerful scheduler that makes collaboration a breeze, we highly recommend giving HeyOrca’s 14-day free trial a shot. You can connect up to two profiles and schedule up to 10 posts, plus enjoy integrations with ChatGPT and Canva right out of the gate.
Did we mention that you don’t need your credit card until your trial ends?
Why we recommend HeyOrca
If you’re a business owner or agency that manages multiple profiles or clients, HeyOrca is a reliable workhorse. Its group posting feature lets you schedule bulk content quickly, especially if you’re reusing graphics or tweaking captions for different accounts. It keeps things simple but highly efficient.
The biggest downside we found is that it’s pricier than most competitors.
After your trial, the most basic plan will cost you $50 per calendar, per month. You get unlimited users, scheduled posts, approvals, and up to 10 social profiles per calendar. The more accounts you manage, the higher the cost. That said, you’re paying for simplicity, reliability, and excellent customer support. In our experience, this is worth every penny.
Cost-effective tool: MeetEdgar
MeetEdgar is a social media management app designed to simplify how you queue and automate content across multiple platforms. It’s especially cost-effective for businesses, freelancers, and small teams that don’t need complex dashboards or detailed analytics.
Simply put, MeetEdgar lets you set the days and times you want to post from each of your social accounts. Once you have enough approved content, a queue will automatically be created based on your schedule and content categories. This helps you post consistently without needing daily check-ins.
A feature we love is its ability to auto-generate variations of posts, which is perfect for evergreen content. You can also set specific post times and dates for greater control.
Why we recommend MeetEdgar
LSP 100% recommends MeetEdgar to anyone looking to streamline their content scheduling. It’s very user-friendly and doesn’t require much of a learning curve when compared to other free social media tools. This makes it an ideal tool even for non-tech-savvy users.
That said, MeetEdgar feels lackluster to us. It doesn’t have features like social listening, a centralized inbox, and in-depth analytics. Yes, it provides basic performance stats, but we can’t go data-heavy on it when crafting social media strategies.
If you’re mainly looking to automate content posting, MeetEdgar is still a strong choice. Although this is a freemium tool, we still recommend trying their 14-day free trial to get a feel for how well it fits into your workflow.
After the trial, you can choose between the Eddie Plan for $29.99/month. This is ideal for solopreneurs, small businesses, or marketers managing one brand. If you’re an agency like us that manages dozens of social profiles, the Edgar Plan ($49.99/month) is your best bet.
For Pinterest Marketing: Tailwind
An alternative to Meet Edgar for Pinterest posting is Tailwind. This is a streamlined social media scheduler offering support for Pinterest and they have expanded to include Instagram and Facebook. Though it works across multiple platforms, Tailwind has truly carved out a niche in Pinterest marketing among creators, bloggers, and small businesses.
Its core features let you upload images and videos, create pins or posts, and schedule them for optimal reach in just a few clicks. One of the standout features is bulk scheduling, allowing you to plan out days or weeks of content in a single session, saving valuable time.
Even better, SmartPin automatically refreshes your content by generating new pins from your existing uploads, complete with auto-written captions and titles. This lets you focus on creating high-quality content without having to manually repeat posting tasks.
Why we recommend Tailwind
Now, can LSP recommend Tailwind? 100% yes!
This tool is perfect for brands with a strong Pinterest audience. It saves time, boosts visibility through (Tailwind Communities), and gives access to helpful analytics like Pin Inspector and Brand Profile Performance so you know what’s working.
Tailwind also offers one of the most generous free trials we’ve seen among free social media tools out there. You can schedule up to 100 Pinterest pins and 30 Instagram posts, with access to essential analytics tools. That’s around a month’s worth of social media content for free.
After that, the Pro plan is affordably priced at $12.99/month (billed annually), making it an ideal option for solopreneurs, small businesses, and tight-knit marketing teams. We also don’t see any particular cons for this tool — all the more reason to use it!
For Instagram: Later
Later is a marketing and scheduling tool designed to help you keep your social media posts organized and published on time.
Our network of brands (and other agencies) loves Later thanks to its easy-to-use interface and affordability. This tool also supports nearly every major social platform, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Threads, and even Snapchat!
One thing we absolutely love is the calendar layout, which makes it super easy to visualize what’s being posted, where, and when. Need to change something? The drag-and-drop feature makes rearranging posts a breeze.
Later is also perfect for managing multiple profiles and client accounts, thanks to its visual grid preview. This is why we highly recommend using it to grow Instagram profiles.
If you’re curious, Later offers a 14-day free trial to test drive its features. Its Starter Plan lets you connect up to 9 profiles and schedule up to 30 posts per profile. After the trial, plans start at $25/month or $16.67/month when billed annually.
Why we recommend Later
We highly recommend Later to businesses of all sizes. It’s simple, intuitive, and even suggests the best dates and times to post for maximum engagement. Plus, it’s more affordable than the other tools we’ve covered above.
However, in our opinion, Later works better for smaller teams. While it excels at straightforward post-scheduling, it lacks some advanced features like in-depth analytics, social listening, or team collaboration tools that more robust platforms (like HeyOrca) offer. This makes it a fantastic tool for solopreneurs just starting to build their online visibility, but less ideal for expanding brands.
Wrapping up
All in all, these are just some of the free social media tools we absolutely vouch for at LSP. Sure, almost all of them are technically freemium tools, but the free versions can absolutely get the job done.
They’re also great for “testing the waters” to see if a tool fits your workflow before committing to a monthly investment. You or your social media team just needs to put in a bit of time learning the ins and outs of each platform.
If you don’t have the time or budget to learn these tools, you can still manage just fine using the built-in scheduling features on your business accounts for each platform:
- Meta Business Suite for Instagram and Facebook
These free, built-in features are simple, reliable, and decent for keeping your content consistent without committing to a third-party tool (for now).
But if you’d rather skip the learning curve and get straight to results? Lil Shameless Plug already knows these tools like the back of their hand. Book a discovery call with us today, and let’s get started on your social media campaign.