Best Social Media Suite Solutions in Comparison

Social Media Tools and the Advantages of Using Them

To effectively use social media, companies need powerful software. Social media suites fulfill all aspects of efficient management of social media channels. The software consists of various social media management programs, the tools of which are explained here in detail. The composition varies depending on the provider, so different software packages are available on the market. Learn more about social media suites to evaluate the use of the software.

Why are social media tools important?

Social media is growing rapidly. Due to their enormous development, they nowadays have a significant influence on customer purchasing decisions. Therefore, companies use social networks in their marketing mix. Social media tools pave the way for easy implementation of online marketing objectives. The software in its basic function serves to manage social media accounts. It connects tools from different social media marketing programs with each other. This results in numerous advantages in everyday work for users.

The advantages of social media for companies now reach far beyond increasing brand awareness. To leverage all the advantages for your own success, you need social media software. With the help of the software, the effectiveness of campaigns can be checked at any time and adjusted if necessary, posts are sent automatically – of course, simultaneously on all platforms. Furthermore, a direct contact to customers is established. Reactions to reviews and comments are part of good manners.

Extensive analysis tools reveal numerous potential for improvement. The data gathered does not only serve marketing staff. Long ago, the data is processed across departments. Because of the easy-to-use analysis tools, company managers like to use social media tools to review advertising campaigns and evaluate the competition. In addition, companies can react to new trends faster and pick them up department-wide. This allows for improved SEO ranking, minimization of marketing costs, acquisition of new customers, and maximization of profit.

The most important advantages of social media tools

In order to evaluate social media tools in terms of their advantages for your own company, a long-term strategic orientation should be in place. Based on the objectives and tasks, the tools of the respective software can be sensibly compared from provider to provider. This approach makes the decision easier. The individual functions of social media software offer the following main advantages for companies and their departments:

• Central control of all social media channels including live updates.

• Combined use of social media management tools.

• Target group definition through analysis of customer habits, interests, and desires.

• Clear response to customer inquiries and complaints.

• Cross-channel controlling of social media campaigns.

• Analysis of competitors by means of social media footprint.

Well-known providers of social media software:

By now, there is a large number of providers and tools for social media management, social media monitoring, social media analytics, and social media advertising:

• Hootsuite

• Later

• Facelift

• Falcon.io

• Emplifi

• Sprout Social

• Fanpage Karma

• Sprinklr

• Buffer

• Iconosquare

Not just a handy everyday tool for marketing

Social media tools are important for the digital marketing of products and services. Therefore, marketers use practical, highly efficient social media marketing toolboxes. However, with their comprehensive functions, the software also offers cross-departmental advantages. For this reason, social media software is nowadays used not only by marketing professionals but also by salespeople, department managers, customer support staff, self-employed people, freelancers, and executives. Each department views the benefit from a different perspective.

For customer support staff, the processing of customer complaints, criticism, and queries is a priority. They can react to positive or negative mentions in forums, blogs, on Facebook, Twitter, and so on, explain and correct facts if necessary. As a result, problems are usually resolved faster, which leads to a reduction in customer frustration. Many target groups now expect direct contact via social networks.

Social Media Suites: Bundling of Social Media Marketing Tools

Social media suites typically consist of at least three of the social media marketing tools listed below. The bundling of programs offers numerous advantages. The social media marketing software ultimately needed in the company depends on the respective objectives. It varies from company to company, as evidenced by long-term strategic planning. In order to be able to evaluate software, we first explain the individual tools before going into detail on the tools.

Social Media Management Software

Companies are active on several social networks at the same time. Depending on the target group, different platforms are available that should be used for digital communication. The respective target group dictates the registrations. But the simultaneous care and nurturing posed enormous challenges for marketers. If content had to be created and published laboriously on the individual platforms in the past, the software now serves as an administration tool – a work simplification that saves time and costs in particular. New content only needs to be planned and implemented once before it goes live on several accounts at the same time. Thus, with the support of social media management programs, new content can be published in a bundled manner.

Social Media Monitoring Software

With the help of social media monitoring software, social media can be searched for keywords. The respective results provide insights into different subject areas. They provide starting points for new trends, uncover thought leaders, and capture influencers that appear interesting for the company and capture customer voices. Moreover, the opportunity to effectively examine competitors and observe their behavior in social networks in the long term presents itself. Thanks to manual settings, results can be refined and changed over and over. This results in new contact opportunities leading to ever new measures.

Social Media Analytics Software

Reach, reports, top posts, response times, engagement. Social Media Analytics Software as a powerful analysis tool measures the success or failure of marketing campaigns in social networks. The software continuously collects data. These are then transformed into easy-to-understand marketing reports. Practical visualizations such as graphics or tables are automatically part of the respective evaluations. They underline the results at a glance. This way, performance can be improved in the long term. Social media managers thus receive a data basis for discussions with superiors and department heads.

Software for Social Media Advertising

Advertising tools allow for the planning and placement of ads on the Internet. They enable the promotion of posts on social networks and in addition offer suitable analysis tools that provide information on the success of the respective advertising campaign. Therefore, it makes sense to integrate the tools into social media suites.

Software for Customer Service on Social Networks

Companies are increasingly coming into contact with their customers via social networks. In doing so, they cater to the wish of their target group. Especially young customer circles desire the fast exchange via social media. Therefore, the program offers numerous functions that facilitate the work of the support team. Notifications show the receipt of new customer inquiries. In addition, the software searches social networks for new posts that concern the company. Thus, customer service can quickly react to positive or negative opinions. This promotes customer loyalty and indirectly brand awareness in the long term.

How Social Media Tools Work

After introducing the respective programs, a profound look at the working of the tools is offered next. Social Media Management Tools support marketing professionals in a variety of activities related to the implementation of social media strategies. The tools range from managing social media accounts, planning new posts to analyzing campaigns. Social media analysis tools are used for success measurement and provide the marketing department with useful figures, which are of great importance for internal evaluation and communication with superiors. Moreover, target groups can be identified and interesting consumer practices can be analyzed in real-time.

Collecting relevant content across a variety of social media offers an entirely new view on future opportunities and risks. Thus, social media monitoring tools serve to identify trends, track competitors, and understand customer sentiment. With the information, content can better be tailored to the target group. Companies receive targeted insights into the emotional worlds of their customers, what concerns them and really interests them. This results in product extensions or improved service concepts, ultimately increasing customer satisfaction.

With advertising tools, advertisers can buy, manage, and place social ads accurately. Customer service tools improve direct customer contact and enable new service solutions. By creating tickets, support staff can respond specifically to mentions on social networks and thus provide their customers with appropriate service.

Free & Paid Social Media Tools

There are both free and paid social media software. Free programs offer users some helpful functions. However, they show deficiencies in the detailed analysis of marketing campaigns. Moreover, the number of social media channels that can be linked with the program is limited. Therefore, a paid package upgrade is usually the better option. By means of price graduations, even small business owners, solo entrepreneurs, and freelancers find the appropriate social media suites software for their company. Our tip: Use free trial versions of different software providers to familiarize yourself with the tools, test them and compare them in practice. After the trial period, the decision is then much easier. Note: Before buying, definitely look to the future and consider the long-term social media strategy. It dictates the scope of the software.

Current Challenges with Social Media Tools

Social Media Suites provide companies with numerous tools. At the beginning, the familiarization process can seem challenging. But after a few weeks, the routine settles in. However, it becomes difficult for companies that lack thorough preparatory work. A detailed marketing plan forms the basis for targeted work with the program. In addition, the number of team members who want to access the software can bring disadvantages – as it is limited by most software providers. This point is particularly challenging for larger companies, as they have large marketing departments with many staff members. Additional users come with higher costs. To avoid additional costs, the number of team members should be determined before the purchase.

Conclusion: Why Companies Should Use Social Media Tools or Social Media Suites

Social media is a cost-effective variant with high potential for marketing products and services for companies. With the increasing popularity of social networks as advertising carriers, social media software has proven its worth in everyday work. The advantages of the software lie in its high functionality. Social Media Suites offer bundled tools in a single, highly efficient program. Especially small businesses, solo entrepreneurs, and freelancers without a marketing department benefit from their use. The easy-to-understand social media tools make everyday work easier and help in optimizing advertising success, while at the same time reducing working hours and costs.

The all-in-one platform offers customers the possibility to plan, implement, and analyze the company's marketing strategy with just one product. A social media manager can plan new content via the central provider platform and publish it simultaneously on all platforms. Widespread possibilities in the support of positive and negative customer reviews follow. Analysis tools facilitate the easy creation of marketing reports to check the advertising success of the campaign. Moreover, they serve for trend, competitor, and influencer analysis. Furthermore, paid advertising can easily and quickly be activated via the software.

Ultimately, companies can optimize their brand presence cross-platform by combining management, monitoring, and advertising tools. This improves brand awareness, and as a result, customer loyalty increases. This, in turn, leads to increased sales. The holistic view is the key to success for companies and offers decisive advantages over the competition.