4 Steps to Find the Perfect Social Media Management Tool

Social media has the opportunity to connect with current and potential customers, expand an audience, increase ROI, and more. With the number of social media apps steadily increasing, organic posting has become an uphill battle for brands with multiple platforms. Many professionals use a social media management tool like Hootsuite, Hubspot, Sprout, Monday.com, Social Pilot, or Sprinklr to assist with scheduling. How do you choose the right social media tool that will work for your needs but not against your time?

1. Must-have features
Some features are nice to have, but some features make or break decisions. Based on your social media platforms, scheduling and posting demands, a social media management tool should work for you. Here are some questions we suggest asking yourself when looking for the right tool: What media do you schedule out? Do you need to schedule multiple posts ahead of time? Do you want a tool that can suggest your optimal posting time for better reach? Is AI generative text needed or inconvenient? We dive into some answers from the top social media marketing (SMM) tools below. 

From Sprout, a must-have feature that stands out from other social management tools is the option to schedule multiple days and peak times.

Another must-have feature comes from Monday.com, where their social and sales CRM platform are seamlessly integrated. Monday offers sales, social, email marketing and more all through their tool. This option could be a must-have feature for B2B in-house marketing and sales, where their all-in-one platform options are wrapped into one place. 

A household-name tool is Hootsuite. Many marketers know the name or have worked on this site because of the ease of use. This is another must-have “feature” for marketers. When time and ease is valuable for social media relevance, Hootsuite’s user-friendly focus platform stands out as a feature that has to be considered. 

When it comes to selecting a social media management platform, your brand’s social needs compared to what tools fulfill those requirements is a major decision that needs to be placed first. 

2. Research
After finding which features are non-negotiables and “just nice to have”, it’s time to select which platform ticks all the boxes. An underrated platform to use for research are forums and communities. These somewhat-anonymous platforms can have the best reviews from authentic users, or ex-users. Before you take the time to set up a pitch or sign a contract, ask real-users online.

Reddit topics and Facebook communities focusing on social media, social platforms, marketing tools and other topics are great spaces for authentic perspectives. Ask questions like, “Is the cost worth it?” or “Is this platform up to date on all social media platforms offered?” without any filters or biased opinions. 

By asking questions to these users about your potential SMM tool, you can learn about important pros and cons that you didn’t even know to question. 

3. Test Drive Before You Buy (Or Sign)
Social media management platforms aren’t cheap for a reason, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask for a trial run before you sign a year long contract. Many social management tool pitches look similar; they offer everything you could want or possibly need, a price that is feasible, and a UX back-end that is easily trainable for your teams day to day. But this demo is coming from someone that knows the ins and outs… so, what does the tool look like and act like on your desktop instead? 

Ask for a trial-run to make sure that what they showed and offered can actually be implemented. You’ll want to check that your must-have features or requirements are met just as the tool and pitch promise, from day zero, not day 29 into the contract. 

4. Analytics & Reporting
One of the most time consuming aspects of social media is reporting on post and profile performance. Although rewarding when content performs, having access to reporting analytics should not be an add-on feature; it’s a must-have. One must-have feature is the flexibility to create reporting analytics. Each platform shares their analytics in their own way, which means your SMM tool should be able to reflect that as well. 

Looking at Sprout’s reporting, they offer multiple reporting options from post performance to competition performance. One feature of profile performance reporting is the total and network breakdown analytics. Are you looking for an in depth post performance report? Sprout goes into the analytics per platform to show how your posts performed.

Determining the right SMM tool for your social posting needs can be overwhelming, especially when price is top of mind. There are many options available, so by identifying your must-have features versus your nice to have, asking the right questions, and making sure the platform isn’t in the beta-step of development, there is a social tool worth the cost for your team and brand.