Whether you are an e-commerce business owner, agency honcho, or someone who heads a small business with big dreams, you absolutely cannot overlook the importance of social media marketing in today’s world!
When was the last time you were tempted to order that T-shirt with a quirky slogan you saw on an Instagram ad flashing alluringly on your mobile screen?! Not too long ago, I guess (I am guilty of giving in to the temptation, too! 😉 )
You cannot and should not let go of this hot cake. However, you are probably concerned about juggling multiple social media accounts, posting consistently on all of them, replying to all those DMs, and keeping track of brand mentions. Phew!
It sounds like a job for one with a hundred arms and ten brains. Thankfully, many social media management tools (mostly AI-powered) can do the job of publishing, scheduling, analyzing posts, etc., for you.
But does that mean that a tool that works for the neighborhood cakes and flower shop will also work for you? Ahem, not so much!
With years of experience in our portfolio helping brands amp up their social media presence, we are quite familiar with the tools in the market and what clicks for different business requirements.
On that note, we have penned an honest insights blog on the top five best social media management tools.
Here’s what you stand to gain clarity on:
- Top 5 social media management tools
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- Brandwatch
- Sprout Social
- FeedHive
- Factors that help you decide the best one for your business
Towards the end of the blog, you will be better positioned to zero down on the right fit social media management tools for your business. Let’s get the social vibes pouring in, shall we?!
Top 5 social media management tools
1. Buffer
Buffer is one of the best social media management tools for simple post-scheduling, this comes with a Web, Android, and iOS version.
Let’s now delve into the pros and cons of the tool as well as the pricing you can expect.
Pros
- Super simple tool for scheduling your posts across channels like Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Mastodon, Pinterest, and Google Business Profile.
- It also integrates with Shopify to see how your store benefits from social media posts.
- It is awesome for post-analytics, audience management features, and core scheduling.
- Its Start Page or “link-in-bio” service helps you create and update your mobile-friendly store with the latest product/service or content you want to showcase.
- The recent AI Assistant helps you create posts, rephrase drafts, and other AI-powered content generation tasks.
Cons
- The pricing and features of this tool are known to fluctuate quite drastically.
Pricing
If you’re a small business and only need to schedule posts for about a week, Buffer’s free plan works fine. But if you want more features or need to manage more than three social media accounts, you’ll have to upgrade to the Essentials plan, which costs $6 per social channel monthly.
This plan gives you access to detailed analytics and lets you engage with your audience directly from Buffer. However, if you want to add team members, the monthly cost goes up to $12 per social channel.
2. Hootsuite
One of the best social media management tools, Hootsuite, is a great choice if you want something specific to managing your X (erstwhile Twitter) profile!
It comes equipped with Web, iOS, Android, and Chrome versions.
Pros
- A holistic social media management tool for seamless inbox monitoring across channels, scheduling messages, and post-management.
- It also offers the best-in-class X integration option.
- You can also use it to execute post-advertising campaigns.
- With a full suite of analytics tools, it can offer a crystal-clear picture of how well your social media accounts are performing.
- Its OwlyWriter AI can be a welcome accomplice for repurposing posts performing distinctly well, generating post inspiration, creating well-written posts, and transforming your blogs into social media-worthy posts!
- Fast, seamless, and easy to work with.
Cons
- It can potentially cost you an arm and a leg! #ExpensiveAlert!
Pricing
Hootsuite offers a free trial for its services. The Professional plan starts at $99 monthly (if you pay for the year upfront). This plan includes one user and ten social profiles, and you can schedule posts without limits. If you need a plan for a team, it starts at $249 per month for three users (also billed annually).
3. Brandwatch
Brandwatch helps businesses monitor, analyze, and engage with conversations happening across various social media platforms. It provides insights into brand mentions, sentiment analysis, and audience demographics, enabling businesses to understand their online presence and make data-driven decisions. With features like real-time monitoring, customizable dashboards, and competitive analysis, it aims to empower businesses to manage their social media presence effectively.
Pros
- It offers comprehensive social listening capabilities, allowing you to track brand mentions, keywords, and trending topics across social media platforms.
- The platform provides advanced analytics and reporting features, including sentiment analysis, demographic insights, and influencer identification.
- Users can create customizable dashboards to visualize data, monitor key metrics, and track performance in real time, making it easier to stay informed and make informed decisions.
- It enables you to benchmark your performance against competitors, identify industry trends, and uncover new growth opportunities.
- The platform integrates with various third-party tools and services.
Cons
- Its pricing may be higher than some competitors, making it less accessible for businesses with limited budgets.
- Some users may find Brandwatch’s interface and features complex, requiring training and support to utilize its capabilities fully.
Pricing
While the platform offers a free trial version, it doesn’t offer a permanent free plan. Brandwatch offers tiered pricing plans based on the features and capabilities businesses require. The entry-level plan starts at $800 per month, with higher-tier plans available for larger teams and advanced features. Custom enterprise plans are also available for businesses with specific needs and requirements.
4. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a social media management tool designed to help you manage, monitor, and analyze your social media presence. It offers a range of features, including content scheduling, social listening, analytics, and engagement tools. With an intuitive interface and customizable dashboards, Sprout Social aims to streamline social media management for businesses of all sizes.
Pros
- It features an intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to navigate and manage their social media accounts.
- The platform offers an all-in-one solution for social media management, including content scheduling, monitoring, analytics, and engagement, eliminating the need for multiple tools.
- It provides social listening capabilities, allowing you to monitor conversations, track brand mentions, and identify trends across social media platforms.
- You can generate customizable reports to track key metrics, measure campaign performance, and demonstrate ROI to stakeholders.
- It offers collaboration features such as team assignments, task management, and approval workflows, making it easy for teams to work together efficiently.
Cons
- Sprout Social’s pricing may be higher compared to some competitors, particularly for businesses with limited budgets.
- There is a learning curve to it. Some users may find Sprout Social’s advanced features and analytics capabilities challenging to learn and utilize effectively.
- While it offers automation features for content scheduling and publishing, some users may find its automation capabilities less robust compared to other tools.
Pricing
While it does offer a 30-day free trial, here are the rest of the plans!
- Standard ~ $199 per seat/month (Billed annually)
- Professional ~ $299 per seat/month (Billed annually)
- Advanced ~ $399 per seat/month (Billed annually)
- Enterprise ~ Custom-built plan with price on request
5. FeedHive
FeedHive is one of the best AI-powered social media management tools available, it is great for content recycling and conditional posting.
Pros
- Packed with a whole bunch of AI features, such as;
- AI-driven performance predictions assist in optimizing your posts for optimal engagement levels.
- AI-powered content repurposing enables the reuse of previously published posts in new content for the same or different platforms.
- Using AI-powered conditional posting, you can configure the AI to evaluate engagement metrics for a post and, if deemed sufficient, automatically comment on the post with a link to a relevant offer or content piece.
2. The app is intuitively built and has a powerful feel to it.
3. It’s quite affordable!
Cons
If you opt for the lowest-paid plan, you will not be able to take advantage of AI hashtags and AI performance prediction capabilities.
Pricing
- Creator: $19/month
- Brand: $29/month
- Business: $99/month
- Agency: $299/month
Factors that will help you decide the best one for your business
Now that we are familiar with the best-in-class social media management tools, let’s look into the features that you should consider before investing in a tool that’s best suited to your unique business requirements.
- Publishing and scheduling: Managing posts across various platforms can be challenging. Therefore, it’s essential to seek software that offers streamlined publishing and scheduling features that require minimal effort.
- Unified social inbox: Customers often prefer communicating through their preferred platforms. Managing multiple customer interactions across various platforms becomes crucial for efficiency, so having a unified social inbox is essential.
- Social monitoring: Monitoring your brand’s reputation across social platforms is crucial to understanding customer sentiment. It’s also useful for tracking keywords related to your brand or industry.
- Campaign tracking: Monitor your posts, ads, target audiences, etc., to optimize your marketing strategy accordingly. Analyzing campaign performance helps make data-driven decisions.
- Competitor analysis: Stay ahead of the competition by tracking and comparing real-time data with competitors. Social analytics and reporting tools assist in understanding competitor strategies and identifying opportunities for improvement.
The road ahead
If you’d rather like to outsource your social media management or other digital marketing requirements, here’s a guide on the factors that you should consider when choosing an offshore digital marketing company.
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