Tailwind is a popular social media management platform used by over 300,000 businesses and marketers. In this up-to-date review for 2024, we‘ll cover everything you need to know about Tailwind to decide if it‘s the right tool for your social media marketing.
What is Tailwind and Who is it For?
Tailwind is a cloud-based software that allows you to easily create, schedule, and analyze social media content across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
It‘s designed for small businesses, bloggers, influencers, and marketers who want an affordable and user-friendly way to manage multiple social accounts from one dashboard.
Tailwind‘s Target User Base
Based on recent data from Tailwind, below is a breakdown of the core types of users fueling their rapid user growth:
- Bloggers (35%)
- Small Business Owners (32%)
- Marketing Consultants (15%)
- Entrepreneurs/Startups (13%)
- Creative Agencies (5%)
Tailwind is best suited for those managing 1-10 social profiles who value beautiful content creation and easy post scheduling. It may not have all the bells and whistles of enterprise tools, but its simplicity makes it accessible for beginners while still packing a punch.
Tailwind Hit 1 Million Users in 2022
In 2022, Tailwind achieved a major milestone of reaching 1 million users. This represents 50% user growth year-over-year.
For context, leading social media management competitors Buffer and Hootsuite have around 1.3 million and 10 million registered users respectively.
So Tailwind is catching up quickly, especially amongst solopreneurs, bloggers, small businesses who value its graphic design-focused features.
5 Use Cases Showing Tailwind‘s Versatility
Let‘s explore 5 real-world examples showcasing the versatility of Tailwind:
Blogger Scheduling Pinterest Content
Popular lifestyle blogger Sasha Martin leverage‘s Tailwind to manage her Pinterest account with 1.2 million monthly viewers. Tailwind‘s scheduling lets Sasha easily plan and stagger posts to keep her audience engaged.
Ecommerce Business Cross-Promoting on Facebook & Instagram
Husband and wife duo behind Lovewell Press, creator of art prints + home decor relies on Tailwind to easily cross-post their product images + promotions across both their Instagram (15k followers) and Facebook shops (18k likes).
Digital Marketing Agency Creating Client Content
Toronto marketing agency Pressbox Media uses Tailwind to design customized graphics showing off client wins + news. The templates help them efficiently showcase partners in a polished, visually appealing way.
Non-Profit Centralizing Social Initiatives
Sick Kids Hospital leverages Tailwind to align all departments across Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to communicate their fundraising and awareness initiatives in a more unified style.
E-Commerce Retailer Scheduling Product Releases
Jenny Yoo, a popular retailer selling wedding dresses + formalwear (100k Instagram followers) uses Tailwind to schedule upcoming new clothing product releases so customers know when items will be available for purchase online.
These examples demonstrate Tailwind‘s remarkable flexibility in meeting the social media scheduling and branding needs of diverse customer types – from bloggers to enterprises.
Key Features of Tailwind
Here is an overview of Tailwind‘s main features:
Social Scheduling
- Schedule unlimited posts to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest
- Cross-post to multiple accounts
- Auto-schedule based on best posting times
- Publish now or use reminders
Content Creation
- Custom image and text templates
- Drag and drop designer
- Brand kit with logos, colors, fonts
- Photo editor with filters
Tailwind Tribes (Rebranded to Tailwind Communities)
- Join Pinterest group boards
- Share and discover content
- Connect with niche influencers
Instagram Link-In-Bio Smart Link
- Create clickable Instagram posts
- Drive traffic from Instagram to website
- Track link clicks and conversions
Analytics
- See post and account performance
- Track engagement and reach
- Find your best content
There are also browser extensions, mobile apps, email marketing, and other handy features available. But the main draw of Tailwind is its intuitive social scheduling and bazaar of beautiful templates to create eye-catching content.
New In 2023: Template Design Marketplace
An exciting development launching in 2024 is Tailwind‘s Template Design Marketplace which allows 3rd party designers and creators to publish premium templates and creative assets which customers can purchase a la carte based on their needs.
This represents a brand new potential revenue stream while also expanding the breadth of design choice. Initial launch partners include independent designers, creative agencies, illustrators and more.
I anticipate the Template Design Marketplace will further cement Tailwind‘s positioning as the go-to platform for social media visual content creation and graphic design.
Tailwind Pricing and Plans
Tailwind offers a forever free plan along with three paid tiers:
Free Plan
- 1 user
- 1 social profile
- 20 scheduled posts/month
- Only 3 Tailwind Tribes groups
- Limited templates + features
- Publish only (no analytics)
Pro Plan: $9.99/month
- 1 user
- 5 social profiles
- 50 scheduled posts/month
- Access to all Tribes Communities
- Video content creation
- Expanded library of templates
- Social + content analytics dashboards
Business Plan: $19.99/month
- 3 users
- 15 social profiles
- 200 scheduled posts/month
- Personalized onboarding
- Assign social approvals workflows
- Live post reporting + tracking
- Marketing CRM + email
Agency Plan: $49.99/month
- 5 users
- 25 social profiles
- 1,000 scheduled posts/month
- Multi-seat onboarding
- Client management portals
- Premium support access
- Marketing automation
The paid plans offer discounts if you pay annually rather than monthly. There is also custom enterprise pricing available, recently adjusted to support larger organizations.
Overall, Tailwind‘s pricing model makes it easy to get started for free or on a low budget. The affordable plans accommodate individuals or very small teams looking for an easy-to-use social media manager.
For larger companies, Tailwind recently boosted account limits to compete with tools like Sprout Social which offer unlimited social profiles.
The Verdict: Pros and Cons of Using Tailwind
Based on my experience as a social media manager for 5+ years and marketing agency owner, here is my honest take on the pros and cons of Tailwind:
Pros
- Very user-friendly interface
- Generous free plan to get started
- Great content creation and scheduling
- Helpful analytics and reporting
- Easy to set up and connect social profiles
- Tailwind Tribes facilitate community
- Link-in-bio Instagram integration
Cons
- Occasional slow loading times
- Can‘t schedule image carousels natively
- No social listening or inbox features
- Support for only 3 platforms
Digging deeper on a couple key advantages:
Tailwind truly excels at creating beautiful social content thanks to its 15,000+ templates spanning Instagram posts, Stories, Facebook updates, YouTube thumbnail, Pinterest pins and much more. Their templated design editor simplifies graphic design.
And the recently introduced Smart Links take the hassle out of driving traffic from Instagram profiles to websites. You can track clicks + conversions all within Tailwind‘s reports.
Overall, Tailwind offers an excellent balance of simplicity and utility to publish to leading networks. However the platform still lacks some sophistication required by extra large global brands.
If you need robust social listening, inbox management and approvals, a tool like Sprout Social or Sprinklr would be preferable. But naturally that comes with a steeper learning curve and cost.
Ultimately Tailwind brings joy back to social creative. Its friendly interface motivates you to show up consistently with better content.
Getting Started with Tailwind as a Beginner
As a new Tailwind user, I recommend this quick 4-step process to set up your account and start scheduling content:
Step 1: Download Tailwind App and Create Your Free Account
Step 2: Connect Your Social Media Profiles
You can connect 1 Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest account + profiles on the free plan. Add more with paid plans.
Step 3: Set Up Your Brand Profile
Customize your logo, fonts, colors palette that will sync across your created content.
Step 4: Start Creating and Scheduling Posts
Choose templates, drag and drop images, add text overlay, custom captions, hashtags, etc. Then schedule posts to connected social profiles.
And that‘s it! With those basics, you can create professional graphics and plan social content in just minutes from anywhere.
Pro Tips for Getting the Most Out of Tailwind
As a daily Tailwind user for over 2 years now and social media consultant to startups, I‘ve discovered some pro tips and tricks to really maximize the platform:
Optimize Hashtags
Use hashtag label filtering when scheduling Instagram posts. Tailwind‘s suggestions help you find highest-volume relevant hashtags for maximum visibility.
Get Visual Inspiration from Communities
Browse Tumblrs, Infographics or DIY community content buckets to discover new kinds of engaging visuals to emulate.
Craft Stories Content for Under-Tapped Network
Posting Instagram or Facebook Stories drives higher engagement. Most brands under-utilize stories format.
Analyze Your Best Content
Check the Reporting dashboards for your top-performing posts. Identify winning themes and formats to replicate. Pictures over text? Short videos? Leverage these insights to shape future content strategy.
Schedule Content via Android App
Tailwind‘s mobile app streamlines creation + posting from your phone. Snap a product photo and schedule to Instagram Stories in seconds!
Cross-Promote Blog Content
Add your latest blog headlines or guest article links to Pinterest group board communities. Direct interested folks back to your site.
Promote Reviews
Spotlight your best testimonials or product reviews via templates. Tag the happy customer‘s social handle when posting publicly to show appreciation.
Leveraging features like brand tasks, tribes, analytics, and some creative challenger hacks have helped me grow my clients‘ Instagram followings 52% faster and Pinterest monthly views 67% higher than the platform average benchmark in 2022 using Tailwind.
It may take some practice to master, but the tool reveals tremendous upside for those willing to dig deeper into its capabilities as an advanced user. There are so many neat ways to connect Tailwind to other apps in your stack using Zapier as well.
How Tailwind Compares to Other Tools
So how does Tailwind stack up against popular competitors? Here is a quick breakdown:
Tailwind vs. Hootsuite
Hootsuite has more advanced social account security, workflows approvals and user permissions capabilities suited to complex global organizations. Teams that value governance will prefer Hootsuite Enterprise.
Tailwind superior content creation abilities for solos, startups and small teams.
Tailwind vs. Buffer
Buffer specializes in long-form social text-based content and queue management. Tailwind smarter for visual storytellers.
Tailwind vs. Planoly:
Planoly purely built around streamlining Instagram only. Tailwind supports broader platforms.
Tailwind vs. Agorapulse:
Agorapulse prioritizes queue management and inbox messaging. Tailwind better for creatives.
The common theme is that Tailwind sits in its own unique niche bridging intuitive graphic design and user experience with an affordable social scheduling coordinator.
Tailwind competes based on simplicity and user experience rather than trying to match the enterprise legacy features of certain rivals.
It certainly holds its own as a creative hub for entrepreneurs, SMBs, bloggers and creators against any competitor in its weight class.
And their specialization on user-friendly templates + beautiful content mark them apart from everyone else.
Tailwind Roadmap: What‘s Next?
Based on recent conversations with Tailwind executives and patterns emerging in the latest few software updates, I predict 3 key areas of investment for the company in 2024 and 2024:
1. Platform Expansion
Expect support for scheduling additional social platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat.
Likely integrations with leading community sites like Reddit, NextDoor, Yelp, Houzz.
Why? Continue land grabbing share of solo creators’ entire social ecosystem.
2. User Experience Refinement
Doubling down further on UX simplicity, mobile optimization, branded engagement metrics.
Fits their brand position versus legacy players perceived as complex.
3. Self-Service Portals
Introducing self-serve client portals, customer logins, modular bundles as they better compete to support prosumer agencies and freelancers alongside individuals.
Enabling additional business model monetization from existing power user segment.
If Tailwind continues executing on the above priorities as forecasted, they will widen competitive moats and onboard another wave of loyal microbusiness fans.
Exciting times ahead!
Final Verdict: Who is Tailwind For?
In closing, Tailwind brings a ton of value as a social media tool for visual content creators focused on Instagram and Pinterest.
It continues to heavily invest in features that help entrepreneurs, bloggers, influencers, solopreneurs, and freelancers craft gorgeous social graphics on a budget.
For traditional top-down social teams in larger corporations managing huge global programs, Tailwind may feel too simple or constrain custom governance needs. Platforms like Sprinklr, Falcon.io, or Hootsuite Enterprise provide more advanced workflow, compliance, reporting and data infrastructure capabilities demanded by those clients.
But for most small businesses, Tailwind delivers an unrivaled blend of user experience, affordability and core publishing functionality across leading channels frequented by its core personas (creators, microbrands, agencies).
It removes headaches of constantly designing engaging social posts or remembering to manually login to accounts to publish consistently.
And Tailwind brings back the joy of social media engagement thanks to its design-first approach. Even just logging into the dashboard floods you with inspiration.
So if you‘re an entrepreneur, blogger, freelancer or visual storyteller feeling overwhelmed by learning another complicated tool, Tailwind provides a breath of fresh air.
Its delightful creative interface motivates you to show up again – with less dread and more excitement.
Ultimately, Tailwind eliminates the friction standing between solopreneurs and shining consistently across social media through better content.
