Best Social Media Marketing Software
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PRODUCTS
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BUYER'S GUIDE
Buyer's Guide
By Hayleigh Breeze, Technical Content Writer at SelectHub
In today’s volatile digital marketplace, clients are constantly looking for fast solutions to imminent problems. Buyers are proactively purchasing products and programs that can simplify business life cycles. The growth and development of social media applications have changed the way people shop for and buy these products. Social media marketing has become a key player in the grand scheme of sales and marketing culture.
Though traditional marketing tactics still flicker through the non-digital atmosphere, social media marketing has become one of the main channels for scaling businesses quickly in the marketplace. There are plenty of ways to manage social media marketing. One of the most popular is via social media marketing software. It provides a digital ecosystem for managing advertising and networking efforts. The enablement of artificial intelligence and automation in social media marketing software has flung advertising capabilities into the future and created an expansive landscape for brand growth and scalability.
Executive Summary
- Visualize various data sets with in-depth reporting capabilities and gain a larger perspective of product perception.
- Increase productivity by focusing attention where it’s needed most and simplify the digital networking lifecycle by automating notifications and task scheduling across multiple campaigns.
- Understand client expectations with predictive analytics and implement changes based on real-time data and analytics.
- Reach customers quickly through various channels and provide answers to time-sensitive questions with a transparent overview of the entire dashboard.
What Is Social Media Marketing Software?
Social media marketing software is a digital ecosystem for managing all social networking and advertising campaigns and data. It provides task automation, content creation tools, workflow management and advanced analytics.
Social media marketing software encompasses features specifically to enhance advertising through social media outlets. Some marketing programs contain social media marketing capabilities, and some focus on improved digital mail communication and traditional advertising efforts.
Different social media outlets require various levels of engagement for optimal customer reach. This involves creating schedules, posting regularly and monitoring engagement at numerous levels for multiple platforms. Social media marketing software can simplify this process and create an organized networking and sales environment.
How Is Social Media Marketing Software Used?
Social media marketing software grows and promotes products and services through a networking medium. Social media is one of the fastest and easiest ways to spread brand awareness and advertise without breaking the bank.
Automation is an essential piece/aspect of social media marketing software. You can automate various tasks, events, notifications, and campaign lifecycles to enhance scheduling efficiency and consistency, improving overall productivity and saving time.
Who Uses Social Media Marketing Software?
Whether it's a single entrepreneur, a large fortune 500 company, or somewhere in-between, social media marketing software can help businesses of any size.
Social media marketing software becomes more helpful as your company grows. Managing multiple social media outlets for one brand can be difficult and can cause delays in various digital processes. You can more easily manage campaigns, monitor your brand presence and engage with your audience using a social media tool.
Primary Benefits
Better Customer Reach
You can connect with buyers on a deeper level by offering new and creative content. Understand client expectations with predictive analytics. With automated segmentation, it’s simpler to reach the best audience at the right time.
Simplified Navigation
You have the ability to move through interfaces quickly without restriction and find data fast. Seamlessly transition between different pages and create posts and ads rapidly.
Expanded Branding
Reach new customers and promote brand recognition with original content and consistent posting. Develop practical plans for posting and monitoring brand awareness with fluent data.
Enhanced Productivity
Using software to automate tasks and speed up the process of managing your social accounts means you’re more efficient. As your brand and needs grow, you can rely on the software to optimize workflows so you don’t fall behind on your tasks.
Key Features & Functionality
Multichannel Management | You can manage multiple social media campaign lifecycles from one dashboard. View and communicate tasks and data assets across numerous channels and enhance communication throughout different departments. |
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Campaign Management | Create and edit digital advertising workflows, and deliver time-sensitive messages using targeted campaigns. AI scheduling simplifies planning and executing promotions. Segment specific groups and extend AI-driven functionality to target individuals. Schedule and automatically send notifications and alerts. |
Content Creation | Access in-house and external content design toolkits. After building mockups and templates, you can save them to reuse. Design unique posts and campaigns and integrate with graphic creation tools like Canva to make quick, valuable content. |
Data Management | This solution can assimilate data from multiple sources into an aggregate view. You can plan campaigns and future events based on the data derived from predictive analytics and task automation capabilities. Use A/B testing to enhance processes and evaluate data faster. Secure and store data with API-friendly architecture and adaptable navigation. |
Integrations | It can integrate with programs like Salesforce, Shopify, Google Analytics and Magento to extend platform capabilities so you can work and communicate more effectively. |
Dashboard | Dashboards let you manage all media campaigns in one location. Data filters make it easy to drill into specific areas. Use drag-and-drop editors to create content and visualize posting schedules ahead of time. |
Software Comparison Strategy
Understanding Requirements
Before any software search, you need to understand what you need from a solution. Those needs — your requirements — should inform the entire evaluation process. Of course, understanding current social media management systems and knowing what to expect in a social media marketing software is also essential to find a solution that can increase traffic and digital presence. Not understanding the types of social media and networking applications you already have and looking for additional support to improve specific aspects increases the likelihood of choosing a product that doesn’t work as well as you need it to.
Automation and AI Capabilities
Task automation and AI are central capabilities of social media marketing software. They power the program to automate different tasks and promote product awareness and market visibility with predictive data. Finding the right match for your needs in this area is crucial in making social media marketing software your ally.
Growth Goals and Expandability
Another vital thing to consider when looking at viable solutions is the end goal. Here are some questions to consider throughout the stages of choosing software.
- What are the top three social media platforms that could enhance the product or service?
- How will a new software affect posting on the three platforms listed above?
- Are organization and data management important? Do they already exist in the current product or service landscape?
- What should the outcome look like after purchasing a social media marketing program?
Platform Flexibility and Migration Capabilities
Social media marketing software ranges in platform flexibility. Whether you’re opting for a hands-on or hands-off approach will influence the products and capabilities you need. On top of that, data migration and the combination of systems during transition can impact how quickly you can get up and running with a new product.
Cost & Pricing Considerations
Once requirements have been clearly defined, choosing software is a matter of finding a solution that compliments current services and products within your set budget. Social media marketing software was created to simplify the process, not make it more painful. Any “solution” should be just that — a solution.
Some things to think about regarding cost and pricing are the number of users that will be accessing the software daily, and what type of additions and features may not be included in the base package. Many social media marketing software products offer basic packages with add-ons and extra features stuck behind paywalls. It is super important to find a solution with the most beneficial features included and understand if those add-ons are what you’re looking for before you pay for them. Data migration is also an important factor. It can be pricey to move a large quantity of data from one system to another, knowing how much data you have, and the price to transition it can save your company time and money.
Just like social media itself, there's no limit to the number of features and add-ons you and your business might need in a social media marketing software. Make sure you choose wisely!
The Most Popular Social Media Marketing Software
Having the social media marketing software available will help to ensure that a business is optimally managing its digital platforms as efficiently as possible. Without social media marketing software, new trends and exciting changes to the virtual marketplace may go unnoticed.
Here is a list including three of the most popular systems in the industry.
Marketo
Marketo is a cloud-based ecosystem for managing the digital advertisement lifecycle. It provides workflow automation and content creation tools. Mobile marketing capabilities help you reach a broader audience. You can automate digital advertising campaigns and access advanced analytics and reporting.
Dashboard for Marketo.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a comprehensive software that includes management and design tools. Organize and manage data, monitor prospects and generate content. It uses user-friendly interfaces to simplify content creation processes and promote seamless navigation.
Analytics Dashboard for HubSpot.
Zoho Marketing Automation
Zoho Marketing Automation is an all-in-one dashboard that provides administrative, digital mail marketing and social media management. Access various networking platforms from the user dashboard and monitor analytics to improve customer experience. Integrate with third-party programs and reply directly to customers from the product site.
Dashboard for Zoho Marketing Automation.
Questions to Ask
Use these questions as a starting point for conversations in your team:
Yourself
- What is my ideal time frame for implementation?
- What type of plugins does this product support?
- What additional integrations do I need?
- Will I need features or services available post-implementation?
- Is the software pay-as-you-go or licensable?
About the Software and Vendor
- What kind of software support is offered?
- When are product updates, and how often?
- Are training or learning opportunities available?
- What other resources are available?
- Are there additional charges for any features or services?
In Conclusion
Social media marketing software is necessary for growing brand awareness and promoting increased traffic and sales. It can alleviate everyday stresses associated with using multiple digital platforms without a management system. Understanding the requirements, current systems in place, and the product marketplace before purchasing social media marketing software is crucial.
Use this guide as a reference point for social media marketing software to find the best solution for your organization.
Product Comparisons
Additional Resources
Products found for Social Media Marketing Software
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is a web-based marketing platform that specializes in email marketing, sending, monitoring and personalizing communications. Given its pricing point, it’s great for small or medium businesses who want a fully-featured marketing implementation. Standout features include an intuitive website builder with a drag-and-drop interface, an integrated database, as well as robust landing page builders for web and social media traffic. It also facilitates the creation of digital ads as well as physical postcards to reach customers via postal services.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a web-based email marketing application suitable for small businesses. It enables businesses to import data from spreadsheets or email clients such as Gmail, Microsoft Outlook and other popular vendors. It provides built-in email templates with drag-and-drop elements and real-time reporting features to track email opens, clicks, forwards, social shares and more.
Asana
Asana is a cloud-based marketing solution that helps teams of all sizes manage and organize projects while increasing communication and collaboration. It helps teams stay aligned to goals, locate risks and hit project deadlines. It offers marketing, HR, engineering and design on a unified dashboard. It simplifies work, automates processes and assists with developing efficient strategies and plan of action. Other workflow interactions include Agile, Scrum, task management and more.
HubSpot
HubSpot provides a cloud-based platform built around inbound methodology and designed to help businesses be more customer-centric. It offers a free CRM package along with marketing, sales, service and CMS hubs, which can be deployed individually or together for full flexibility and scalability. Timeline segmentation provides users with an overview of their prospect’s journey from the attraction stage to closing. Additional capabilities include funnel automation, lead targeting, analytics and reporting, email templates and more. It caters to small businesses but has paid versions robust enough to support the needs of larger organizations.
ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo provides a detailed contact directory for simplified marketing outreach. It supports lead generation, sales management and revenue tracking, and helps improve productivity by systematizing work. Users can leverage analytics and prioritize marketing efforts, sales prospects and align teams for effective outcomes. The ability to locate and align required contacts from desired domains reduces anonymity rates. Data-driven, it helps businesses make insightful strategies, connect with the right audience, boost business growth and provide custom solutions.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo provides businesses in a variety of industries with e-commerce marketing solutions. It allows integrations, market segmentation, tracking, analytics and more. Personalized according to the requirements and scale of a business, it helps drive growth and optimize customer reach.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign provides cloud-based marketing services, with robust capabilities ranging from automation and reporting to lead scoring and contact segmentation. It’s ideal for businesses of any size, as it offers a flexible, device-agnostic deployment model. It also functions as a marketing-oriented CRM with different integrations and exporting options to assist sales. It provides machine learning that can be used on data including phone calls, emails and sales. Machine learning enables predicting win probability and using predictive sending. Customers can also take advantage of a consultant directory with certified consultants from different countries.
Marketo
Marketo Engage offers a cloud-based marketing platform for companies to manage and monitor customer relationships. Its integrated modules include marketing automation, social marketing, email marketing, lead nurturing, budget management, analytics, sales insight and website personalization.It’s designed to serve both B2B and B2C environments. There’s also an active marketers’ community named the Marketo Marketing Nation in which marketers around the globe share their knowledge, ideas and best practices.
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) aligns marketing and sales to meet KPI goals. A variety of tools help users measure and optimize efforts to produce better results. It offers powerful features like lead management, automated email marketing, analytics generated by AI to help augment the user experience, landing page generation, lead generation and more.As part of the Salesforce ecosystem, it can seamlessly connect with other offerings to enhance data flow and more easily extend capabilities.
monday.com
Monday.com uses a visual, collaborative approach to help teams manage a range of marketing tasks. As a cloud-based platform, it syncs all information on a single, accessible dashboard and eliminates manual entry errors. This enables team members to make important decisions together, keep track of details and deliver projects on time.Organizations can customize it for the management of projects, tasks, people, ad campaigns, bug tracking, CRM, customer projects and more. Monitor project statuses off-site using mobile devices. It integrates with Microsoft Teams, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud and more.
Thryv
Thryv offers all-in-one management to support business operations, receive marketing input and handle customer interactions. Users can make and schedule appointments, communicate with clients and get paid with easy invoicing. A perfect fit for small businesses, it helps meet customer needs and scale the business. It automates tasks, aligns workflow, adds up the marketing ROI and customer experience. It covers online listings, rating and review evaluation, customer sentiment analysis, social media relevance and more. A dedicated app provides on-the-go access to take care of tasks at any time.
SharpSpring
SharpSpring is a cloud-based sales and marketing platform that facilitates building automation rules to send customers with dynamic content or targeted emails based on their interests. It also provides adequate support for marketing agencies.Features include behavior-based email, campaign tracking, dynamic landing pages, a blog builder, anonymous visitor ID, a form builder, reporting and analytics, social media management, and integrations. Lead scoring helps track a lead’s page visits, demographics and engagement to enhance nurturing efforts.
Keap
Keap, formerly known as Infusionsoft, is an integrated platform that helps empower business growth through improved client organization, smooth automation, integrated apps and minimized repetitions. Available in Lite, Pro, Max and Max Classic, it caters to businesses of all sizes across different industries. Lead collection, client conversion, marketing and sales automation, in-depth analytics and sales pipeline management are some of its notable attributes.
Meltwater
Meltwater is a cloud-based tool that helps PR, communications and marketing professionals deploy a data-based approach to customer engagement. It comprises media intelligence, outreach management, social listening and social media management capabilities to gather relevant insights and execute strategic brand management. It has a rich visual interface, AI-enabled media monitoring technology and data-based reporting capabilities to analyze media and social media coverage. The customizable and scalable model suits businesses of all sizes.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers B2C and B2B cross channel marketing to a large number of industries. Available as a standalone or as a part of the Salesforce Customer 360 suite, it’s easy to plug into a larger ecosystem as required. Digital marketing, advertising, email marketing, social media marketing and customer engagement are among its many features.
Measured
Measured organizes marketing data in data warehouses to perform advanced analysis and reporting. It ingests, unifies and stores data for measurement while providing extensive customization, active monitoring and secure data management capabilities. Deploy and manage experiments using audience-split and geo-matched market testing to determine incrementality and use opportunities for business growth. Deliver actionable insights to boost media performance.
Trumpia
Trumpia is a multichannel solution that automates the communication process for individual and business needs. It extends advanced technological features along with enterprise-grade automation, integration and messaging capabilities.Users can leverage it to coordinate deliveries, manage shipments, send alerts and provide one-on-one support. It helps engage customers and drive measurable results that support organizational growth. The mass texting feature assists in marketing and sending alerts to clients for both departments and industries. There’s a free trial that provides 100 emails and messages, one automated workflow and two data sets.
Act-On
Established in 2008, Act-On is a comprehensive platform that offers marketing professionals all the standard features in an automation tool, alongside several other unique features.Sophisticated email automation, landing page construction, analytics, automated campaigns, useful templates, and social channels are just some of the features that are available to users. This product is ideal for medium to large enterprises, especially those that have dedicated marketing departments.
Kentico
Kentico is a cloud-based solution that helps manage content and digital experiences. It streamlines tasks, content production, business collaborations, content delivery and integrations. Users can ensure engaging and personalized experiences for existing and potential customers by creating digital touchpoints across websites, online stores, email campaigns and mobile devices. They can also leverage the .NET MVC architecture to build new and developed life cycles. Workflow management helps match business processes and align internal operations.Its built-in AI and analytics optimize digital initiatives by allowing users to track the most visited pages, create customized websites, send newsletters and identify recurring visitors. It enables businesses to remind customers about abandoned shopping carts and notify them to reorder favorite products. It also includes flexible payment and shipping options, automated checkout processes, marketing integrations and multi-store management.
Survicate
Survicate is a web and app-based tool built to streamline and optimize customer feedback management. It provides a single hub to store and manage feedback from multiple sources. Users can access insights throughout the customer journey to improve engagement and retention.It offers collected data via customizable email, link, web and mobile surveys. Track, filter and analyze responses and view automated reports. Its native integration with various CRM platforms allows users to export survey results.
emfluence
Emfluence is a cloud-based software focused on automated marketing. Designed from a digital marketing perspective, it helps marketers create, track and deploy successful digital campaigns. Website tracking, email marketing, social media, reporting, surveys and analytics are some of its core capabilities. It offers particularly robust email functionality, including customizable variable data, A/B testing, UTM tracking, automated drip series campaigns, list segmentation and device-level reporting.
EngageBay
EngageBay is a customer relationship management platform that helps businesses engage and convert leads, acquire customers and nurture existing relationships. Key features include SMS marketing, automation, web analytics and live chat.
Sugar Market
Sugar Market, formerly Salesfusion, is an enterprise-grade platform that enables companies to automate their marketing efforts. Based on the cloud, it’s suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. Features include email marketing, advanced automation, campaign builders, reporting, social media management, AdWord management, lead scoring and nurturing, analytics, and resource management. Unlimited custom fields provide options for advanced segmentation and personalization, allowing marketers to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. It helps set up multi-step nurture campaigns and measure success with BI-grade analytics and reporting.
SALESmanago
SALESmanago is a complete AI-powered solution that delivers configurable, personalized experiences across a range of native and integrated marketing execution channels. It accomplishes this by combining advanced analytics and AI automation. Users can deliver enhanced customer experiences and improve metrics and KPIs. Capabilities include web push, website personalization, social proof, live chat, predictive analytics, advertising, a data management platform, A/B/X testing and optimization, loyalty programs and more.
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