From Facebook to TikTok, there’s no stopping the influence of social media, with Statista reporting 4.7 billion active social media users worldwide as of July last year. To put things into perspective, our global population is around 8 billion, so social media users dominate our entire population. Hence for businesses, social media is a coveted revenue stream. However, with all the noise online, expertise and technology are integral if you want your brand to conquer the lucrative digital space.
So, what are social media tools you can embrace to drive leads and fortify your social presence? Let’s explore the best of the best.
#1 Sprout Social
Sprout Social is widely regarded as one of the best social media management tools out there. The platform wields powerful analytics and intelligence with the help of AI to uncover valuable insights that genuinely influence businesses. It is a one-stop shop for all of your social media requirements, including writing, planning, engaging, scheduling, listening and analyzing detailed reports. On top of all these, Sprout Social is one of the few social media management software with customer relationship management (CRM) features that lead to a seamless workflow.
Points to consider:
• Standard pricing starts at $89 per month per user.
• Unified inbox particularly aids eCommerce businesses with managing inquiries and driving product sales through social media.
• A forerunner of social media analytics tools, Sprout Social gives you cohesive cross-channel data.
• Custom URL tracking for better insights into how your posts and campaigns are performing.
• Its ViralPost feature aids in increasing social presence visibility and reach by publishing your content when your audience is most likely to interact with it.
#2 CoSchedule
CoSchedule is championing social media scheduling tools that guarantee a straightforward marketing calendar. The company started as a content marketing firm and later added a calendar and social media tools to its repertoire. CoSchedule’s main objective is to assist marketing teams by equipping them with powerful tools to manage and schedule content, including blogs, social media posts and events, using its calendar. You can use its calendar’s basic features through the free plan; users who require more features must engage with the sales team.
Points to consider:
• Headline Studio – An assistive feature for writing better headlines.
• A single dashboard allows you to manage and schedule all your content.
• You can automatically determine the optimum publishing times with the ReQueue feature.
#3 Hootsuite
Hootsuite can be used for scheduling, managing, analyzing and social commerce, making it a multipurpose social media platform. But it particularly shines as one of the best social media scheduling tools. You can use social media streams in addition to scheduling and publishing features. You can keep an eye on your accounts by using these streams to keep track of your overall social presence: new followers, likes and mentions. It’s one of the best social media management tools for small businesses and content marketers because it’s simple to use.
Points to consider:
• Social listening tools: streamlined single inbox wherein you can manage and respond to incoming mentions and messages.
• You can run social media ad campaigns through the platforms, tracking your engagement and returns with its social media analytics tools.
• Over 18 million users and more than 800 Fortune 1000 firms utilize Hootsuite.
#4 Buffer
Among the top social media management tools for small businesses or newly established enterprises is Buffer. This is the ideal choice for setting up your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter because they provide a free plan for your first three social media channels. You can publish your posts on the site, evaluate their performance, respond to mentions, and interact with users directly on the social media tool. Keep in mind that this social media scheduling tool has limited features, such as the number of channels and posts to manage and schedule.
Points to consider:
• Plans start at $6 per month (considerably more affordable among the top social media management tools).
• With a detailed performance report, Buffer serves as a solid social media analytics tool.
• Buffer’s customer support and informative content are on-point if you’re trying to learn how to increase brand awareness on social media.
#5 Zoho Social
Similar to other top social media management tools, Zoho has a native feature for Instagram post scheduling. With this local social media marketing tool, you may initiate conversations, share reports, assign team roles and encourage feedback directly on the app; this enables sharing valuable performance insights and updates within your team. Zoho also serves as a social listening tool that allows you to track mentions of your brands with reviews or other branded keywords.
• Zoho’s CRM product allows streamlined management of your emails, projects and even accounting.
• Individual plans to use this social media tool start at $10 per month.
• A free version of Zoho’s social media management software is available with limited features.
#6 Agorapulse
Agorapulse is among the best social media management tools for scheduling, reporting and responding to comments and messages. This social media tool stands out from the competition since it offers various special features at a very reasonable price, including competitor analysis and Facebook contest apps, serving as a powerful social media analytics tool. In addition, marketers also use Agorapulse as a social listening tool, keeping track of mentions and interests surrounding their respective brands.
Points to consider:
• You can explore its free plan with limited capabilities if you want to learn how to increase brand awareness on social media with the tool.
• The social media management software’s standard plan starts at $59 per month.
• To enjoy all of Agorapulse’s social media management services and features, you need to avail yourself of its Advanced plan at $149 per month.
#7 Later
Initially well-known for being ahead with its Instagram integration and features, Later has expanded to other local social media marketing channels like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok and many more. Its content calendar allows you to conveniently drag and drop images to schedule for posting, enabling you to map out a month’s worth of posts. Additionally, it has a free link tool that you can use to link to other websites like a shop or blog.
Points to consider:
• Plans start at $15 per month with a 14-day free trial.
• Its visual calendar allows you to preview how your feed would appear.
• On top of regular posts, you can also schedule Instagram stories in advance.
#8 Sendible
One of the best social media management tools for marketing agencies, Sendible has vast capabilities to accommodate a large number of social media profiles. Sendible lets you customize your dashboard according to your branding to pique the interest of potential clients. On top of that, the local social media marketing tool offers flexible automation features to save your team time; this includes features such as Canva graphics editor and royalty-free image search.
Points to consider:
• It has a team approval system for content.
• Single dashboard with a quick view of valuable performance insights.
• It provides reports that your clients can easily understand and is presentation-ready.
• Sendible plans start at $29 to $199 per month with a free 14-day trial.
#9 SocialPilot
If you’re only getting started with a management tool, SocialPilot is a user-friendly yet comprehensive social media solution. The application includes a curated content list based on keywords and categories that you can automatically share with your feed. With the tool’s content performance and audience data, you can identify what audiences are interested in while evaluating trends. In-depth analytics allows you to identify opportunities to drive leads through your content.
Points to consider:
• You can access content inspiration through its content curation platform.
• Roles and responsibilities settings for streamlined team access.
• White-label reports that you can readily share across your team or clients upon download.
#10 eClincher
eClincher’s social media management platform boasts of its round-the-clock customer assistance. Looking to simplify processes and save users time, the team behind the software heavily focuses on their agility to improve their tool for the needs of their clients. Like most of the software on this list, eClincher has an illustrative calendar, a cross-platform social posting tool, a publication queue and an inbox. Moreover, it offers sentiment research and brand monitoring across social media, news and blogs.
Points to consider:
• Its basic plan starts at $65 per month, while its Agency plan reaches $425 per month, with a 14-day free trial.
• Round-the-clock customer support claims to help with strategy, optimization and return on investment (ROI) evaluation.
But what are social media tools if you don’t have the time to familiarize yourself? With this, you can benefit from the help of experts.
Drive Leads With Thrive’s Social Media Management Services
As you take the time to weigh your options, consult with an expert like Thrive. Equipped with the right tools, Thrive knows how to increase brand awareness on social media. If you’re not yet ready to commit, we offer a complimentary social media analysis.
Talk to our team — know the best social media tool for your brand!
