Here’s Why Brands Needs to Invest in Social Media Management Tools
I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again: being successful on social media is not as easy as it seems! Navigating each platform and trying to understand what posts work and what don’t, require a lot of time and effort. But luckily for us, there are social media management tools that can help any type of user in any industry, maximize their social presence.
Social media management tools possess so many important qualities that every social media specialist in their field need to know about. These tools are able to help users and brands keep up with social engagement, manage multiple social relationships, monitor relevant key words, assist with community engagement and social listening, and more (Patterson, 2015). Achieving maximum community engagement and social listening skills is key for any brand or user. “Consistent posting is important, but so is the spontaneous engagement. The unplanned conversation you jump into or the question you help answer. In a world of automation, this type of engagement is becoming more rare. You might be wondering, how does an automation tool help me be less automated? The answer is simple: through the automation of certain tasks, you give your business more time to engage in real-time. You should use this time to connect with new people, engage in conversations and answer people’s questions” (Eclincher).
There are many management tools out there that vary in functionality in price, so it may be overwhelming for brands to decide which platform to use. Two of the best social media management tools that call help with community engagement and other social media efforts are HubSpot Social Media Management Software and Sprout Social. The two platforms have many similarities, but also differences, that should be acknowledged.
HubSpot Social Media Management Software is a social media management tool that empowers users to “easily monitor interactions, conversations, and audiences on social media” (Baker, 2020). Initially, you would think that you would have to directly post, or schedule a post, through a social media management tool in order to see engagement data that populates through the tool. What’s nice about HubSpot is that users can post from anywhere, even outside of the social media management tool, and still see the results and analytics. A con of the social media management tool is that it’s a bit pricey. “HubSpot can seem expensive when compared to other social media marketing and management tools, but that’s because it’s not one of them. HubSpot is an all-in-one solution that brings together all of your marketing, sales and customer service activity, including social media, blogging and content creation tools, SEO and content strategy, landing pages, marketing automation, website traffic analytics, campaign reporting and much more” (Enahoro, 2019).
Other HubSpot Social Media Management Software’s features and tools include:
- “Prioritize social engagement.
- Integrate your social tool with your Contacts Database and CRM.
- Schedule social posts in advance, cross platform.
- Report on your video strategy with YouTube reporting if you’re an Enterprise user.
- Manage social profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts from one tool” (Baker, 2020).
Sprout Social, is another social media management tool that is similar to HubSpot. Sprout Social is also considered to be “pricier than other social media management software, but advocates rave about its gorgeous design, advanced discovery and contact management options, and great customer support” (Marrs, 2018). The platform’s interface is incredible and is considered very easy to use. Its functionality along with its customer support, makes for a head-ache free experience that helps users achieve their goals and make it fun while doing so. With that being said, a negative to the platform is that its scheduler feature isn’t as advanced as other platforms. Additioanlly, Sprout provides everything you need and then some, but if you’re big into customization, another platform may be better for you (Marrs, 2018).
Other Social Sprouts’s features and tools include:
- “Monitor and manage engagement across social networks in the unified Smart Inbox.
- Map out content strategy and schedule posts with the Publishing tool.
- Uncover trends in social conversations, learn about your audience, and gain actionable insights to inform your marketing strategy with the integrated social listening tool” (Baker, 2020).
HubSpot and Sprout Social have so much to offer when it comes to helping with social media and community engagement efforts. However, there are so many other social media management tools out there that are just like HubSpot and Sprout Social. These tools can greatly benefit any individual or brand. Not only do social media management tools make navigating the social media algorithm easier, but everything about how to improve an accounts social presence is clearly provided to you. There are so many pros to these types of platforms, that it’s absolutely worth the investment.
