“If you are on social media, and you are not learning, not laughing, not being inspired or not networking, then you are using it wrong.”
― Germany Kent
Somebody: But what about businesses, eh? We are here to sell. We don’t need any education about pop-culture.
We: Fair enough. But why should I follow your page? Will you add value to my feed?
Somebody: Yes, of course! Our product suite will disrupt the banking sector, and….
We: No, thanks, man. I’m here for the memes.
Someone who wants to help: Now, if you still can’t figure out what went wrong with your sales pitch, here’s a pro tip: You can’t win over someone you don’t know.
Because, in the world of social media, successful business profiles have figured out their target audience, understood their interests, and have built a relationship.
And, this didn’t happen overnight. The leaders who stand-out, started early–when tools were heavy metal and were found inside a box.
Having said that, it doesn’t mean you’ve lost the battle. Now, you have new weapons in your armoury.
Yes, these modern-day tools can help businesses better connect with their audience, automate social posts, provide insight and many more. In short, sit, look, analyse and report.
Sounds like an upgrade? Yes?
Let’s uncover the most popular social media tools used today, and are recommended by many.
1. Hootsuite
After a White House endorsement, Hootsuite added Facebook and Linkedin integrations, becoming the fully fledged social media dashboard we know it as today.
The platform helps users find, schedule, manage and report on social media–all under a single platform. It allows users to auto-schedule posts, and even upload bulk messages, all at once.
Unique features:
- Probably the most famous name in the social media community
- Hootsuite extension – Allows users to schedule posts as they surf
- Users can connect content tools that they already use
- Measure team performance
- Tool mastery certification
Find the latest insights with the largest selection of social analytics integrations
2. Buffer
From being a side project of CEO Joel Gascoigne, Buffer is now an intuitive, streamlined social media management platform trusted by many brands and businesses.
The platform boasts of a clean, simple, minimalistic and straightforward dashboard that allows users to cut through the noise.
Unique features:
- Shared team inbox for social customer care
- Helps assign social conversations to the right person on your team
- Avoids duplicate response
- Add notes for the team to pick up specific tasks
- Custom reports
3. Sprinklr
Kickstarted with the philosophy to deliver more human and intuitive experiences, at every touchpoint, for every customer, Sprinklr helps large organisations collaborate in real-time across businesses.
The tool is a good fit for large consumer brands that want to communicate and respond quickly across many digital channels.
Unique features:
- Single unified platform
- Access public data from 350M sources via Sprinklr Social Listening
- Enables one-to-one, human connections – at scale – across 26 different social media channels
- Brands can turn insights into action via Sprinklr social engagement, social advertising, customer care, and social advocacy
4. HubSpot
The brainchild of Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan, HubSpot was created to make marketing and sales processes more human.
HubSpot offers a social media tool, as part of the Marketing software, to help users publish and monitor content, and create real connections.
Unique features:
- Free HubSpot CRM
- Best post time suggestion
- Analyse the performance of different platforms, campaigns, and publishing times
- All in one inbound marketing software for your entire team
- HubSpot certification
5. Salesforce Radian6
It’s crucial to know what your consumers have to say about your company, products and competition if you are running a campaign on social media.
Results, brands can run more effective campaigns by driving conversations, and they can also use this information to make valuable decisions about future product offerings.
Salesforce Radian6 is something that most brands would like to have in their arsenal.
Unique features:
- Hear conversations from 650 million sources
- Monitor your channel and participate in discussions at scale
- Manage your social strategy from any device
- Salesforce Einstein – Helps users make sense of the humongous data
Somebody: Amazing stuff! These tools can simplify any marketer’s challenges, eradicate drudgery and rain insights like never before. And…
Someone who wants to help: Wait. Tools will simplify your job. But the data you collect won’t work on its own. So how are you going to use it?
Humanise, optimise and improvise — every time.
So are you an enterprise or an SME? Which tool would like to use for your brand?
