Last updated January 19, 2019
I legit get asked every week or so to check out new social media tools. Usually, I’ll just go to the website and read about it. Rarely do these new tools grab my attention, and hello, if you want me to check out your new tool, maybe give me a trial period or extended trial to really test things out. If you don’t I probably won’t sign up.
In October-ish 2016 I got a message from Vlad Calus in a Slack social media marketing community I’m a member of. Vlad is the Chief Marketing Officer of Planable, a new social media planning and approval tool. He asked me to check out Planable and send him my thoughts. I was like, yeah, okay, whatever, I’ll go look. BUT what immediately made me want to sign up was this copy on the front page: “Visual, fast and simple. Because we all hate spreadsheets.” It was a “Fuck yeah!” moment so I gave it a shot.
Planable Social Media App Video
Here’s a video walkthrough of me showing you Planable.
The Planable Dashboard
Planable is actually visually appealing and very easy to use. One of the reasons so many people like specific scheduling tools like Buffer, is because there’s no clutter, you get in, schedule your posts and GTFO. As a dedicated Buffer user, I was surprised to see this simplicity translated again into another planning tool. Planable, in my humble little opinion, nailed this no bullshit user experience.
Basically, the page where you schedule in your content looks like the platform you’re posting on (see above Nutella image). This is helpful because you can preview what your feed is actually going to look like.
Down the left-hand side there’s an arrow that shows a post is approved and when it’s going to be published.
On the right-hand side there’s a little chat box type thing where you can leave comments or recommendations on the post, and other users that you assign to your account can respond to. This makes the whole approval process seamless and I love how it’s right there, no need to click to open new pages – comments and notes are just “there”.
Supported Social Media Channels
Currently, Planable supports scheduling for: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Which leads me to a possible deal breaker with Planable, see the “Cons of Planable” section below.
Planning Tool for Social Media Managers and Agencies
A priority feature that I think should be implemented on all scheduling tools is grouping of accounts. For example, different groups for each client, and within that group the social media platforms they are managing for said client. Sprout Social and Buffer both do grouping together specific accounts for specific businesses really well. It was a surprise when I realized Planable also offers grouping of accounts, which they call “Workspaces”.
Quick Social Media Approval Process and Workflow
Because you can leave comments directly next to the proposed posts, and see the stream of conversation on that same screen, the approval process is quick. As someone who started the social media offering at a large digital marketing agency, I can tell you that waiting for clients to give feedback in a spreadsheet or receiving feedback/changes in an email, takes forever! Then you have to make the changes, notify the client, get them to look at the changes, then once you have approval, you can go upload them to be published. Snoreface.
Planable Cons
Instagram direct posting is NOT available
This is a huge blocker for me, not only do almost 99% of my clients use Instagram, and it’s not really negotiable.
My Thoughts on Planable for Social Media Management
Something worth noting is that Planable was launched May 2016, so not super long ago. But as new as it is, it already has the tools and workflow that makes each day working with clients and approving content easier.
I’d love to hear your honest thoughts of Planable, give it a shot and leave me a comment below or connect with me on Twitter.