Once you realise how time consuming managing your social media accounts really is, you will need to look at varied social media management platforms to help with the likes of scheduling posts and tidying up following on your accounts etc. I am sure that you will have heard of HootSuite, Sendible, SproutSocial or MarketMeSuite but what do these companies really offer? Let’s highlight the key benefits and disadvantages of each:
SproutSocial: A management solution that is a great design for those who are very visual and like to digest and process their social media data in an easy to view layout. Allows for comparing your account against others via ‘Twitter Comparison. Smart Inbox allows you to respond quickly to varied social media accounts and post different message types such as mentions, direct messages and wall posts. SproutSocial also allows you to pull out details reports for activity on social media allowing you t o see the work you have done, ie Tweet outs, posts, and it also details the progress you are making such as new followers, #reTweets and even gender and location of new connections you have made.
Hootsuite: You can manage upto 100 accounts with just one log in account. Schedule out social media updates, measure performance of each account and add team members and assign out tasks to ensure no message on any account go unanswered. The interface is very visual and you can bespoke the appearance by pulling data to feed in to columns which allows you to view multiple streams at once from Twitter feeds to keywords to viewing competitor activity. There is a Free version of Hootsuite to use up to an Enterprise account of several hundred pounds a month.
Sendible: Great for brand monitoring and sentiment analysis for business allowing you to view and immediately respond to what other people on social media are saying about you and your brand across the web as well as what they are saying about your competitors! Work across multiple platforms and analyse & track your social media as well as emal campaigns. A really great solution for those who enjoy looking at data to study their business progress against competition etc.
Brand24 has been on the market for almost 10 years buildings it status as one of the best social media monitoring solution. Brands such Uber, Zortrax, Ikea or H&MÂ and companies of all sizes have been able to track online conversations about their brands, products, and competitors.
MarketMeSuite: Similar structure to sending and receiving emails with it’s dashboard designed to work the same way an email inbox works. With MarketMeSuite you are able to look at your messgae in a preview window and then open each up to look in to who sent it, explore their profile etc. It has a built in tutorial that explains the basic functions of their management platform to get you using the software confidently. Like some of the other management solutions, you can also target users by their geographic location, ideal if you rely on local business and connections. Scheduling updates is also another basic function of MarketMeSuite.
Most of these social media management solutions are US based, but as the growth of social media conitinues to grow in the UK many have opened up offices and taken on representatives for you to call and sometimes even meet with. Look out for webinars online for how to use the solutions above or the many other new management softwares being founded with helping you to manage your social media effectively in mind.