Social Media Marketing Software Shortlist
Here’s the list of the best social media tool options that I’ll cover in this article.
- Loomly — Best for content suggestions
- Agorapulse — Best for social listening
- HubSpot — Best all-in-one marketing software
- Brandwatch — Best for managing brand reputation
- Buffer — Best for social scheduling
- Sprout Social — Best social collaboration tools
- Hootsuite — Best for social media advertising
- Sprinklr — Best for content marketing
- TweetDeck — Best for Twitter planning & campaigns
- Emplifi Social Marketing Cloud — Best for AI-automation
Social media marketing software is a vital component of any ecommerce marketer’s promotional armory. In today’s world, social media networks have a profound influence on how people think and act. So spreading the word on social media has become critical to business success.
But with so many platforms to communicate on, sharing content manually is a challenge. That’s why so many companies use software to help them spread the word. In this article, I’ll discuss my top picks in the world of social media marketing tools for ecommerce and show you what’s unique about each one.
What Is Social Media Marketing Software?
Social media marketing software refers to a range of tools and platforms designed to assist businesses and marketers in managing and optimizing their social media marketing efforts. It provides features such as content scheduling and publishing, audience targeting and segmentation, performance analytics and reporting, social listening and monitoring, and engagement management. The software aims to streamline and automate social media tasks, enhance audience reach and engagement, analyze campaign performance, and make data-driven decisions for more effective social media marketing strategies.
Overviews Of The 10 Best Social Media Marketing Software
Here’s a brief description of each social media marketing app to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface.
1. Loomly — Best for content suggestions
Loomly is a cloud-based marketing solution that helps businesses manage content on their social media platforms. Core features include automated publishing, post scheduling, keyword filtering, and multi-account management. The software provides users with a master calendar that helps them manage multiple social media calendars, post overviews, and calendar views.
Why I Picked Loomly: Loomly is a social media marketing software that stands out for its robust capabilities in content curation and recommendations. It excels at assisting businesses in finding, organizing, and publishing engaging content across various social media platforms. Loomly offers intuitive features for content curation, allowing users to discover and gather relevant content from different sources and arrange it into a cohesive content calendar. Loomly provides valuable content recommendations and insights based on user preferences, industry trends, and audience engagement data.
Loomly Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include advanced post optimization tool allows users to preview and refine their posts with visual mockups, ensuring consistent branding and visual appeal across different social media platforms. This feature helps marketers visualize the final appearance of their content before publishing, saving time and maintaining a cohesive brand identity. Loomly also offers a robust collaboration and approval workflow feature, enabling teams to collaborate seamlessly on content creation and obtain feedback and approvals from stakeholders.
Integrations include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
PROS
- Content recommendations and curation
- Collaboration and approval workflows
- User-friendly interface
CONS
- Lean analytics suite
- More integrations welcomed
2. Agorapulse — Best for social listening
AgoraPulse is a cloud-based social media marketing tool that helps you manage social influencers, social profiles, and social analytics. Thanks to the social inbox feature, you can combine social media interactions across all platforms in a single, unified mailbox. The software also sifts through social interactions to identify key influencers and ambassadors.
Why I Picked Agorapulse: Agorapulse stands out as a social media marketing software with its exceptional social media inbox feature. It excels at consolidating all social media interactions, such as comments, messages, and mentions, into a unified inbox, providing users with a centralized hub for managing and responding to engagements. Agorapulse's social media inbox streamlines the process of monitoring and engaging with audiences, ensuring that no message or comment goes unnoticed. Its intuitive interface allows users to efficiently track and respond to interactions across multiple social media platforms from a single dashboard.
Agorapulse Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include a comprehensive social inbox that combines all social media interactions, including comments, messages, and mentions, into a single unified stream. This feature simplifies the process of monitoring and responding to social media engagements. Additionally, Agorapulse provides robust team collaboration and workflow management tools, enabling efficient content collaboration, task assignment, and approval processes within organizations.
Integrations include Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
PROS
- Easy content scheduling in one "inbox"
- Social listening capabilities
- Find influencers in your brand space
CONS
- Lean reporting capabilities
- May not be affordable for small biz
3. HubSpot — Best all-in-one marketing software
HubSpot marketing software provides time-saving tools to help you make the most of your social media interactions. It allows you to spend less time monitoring social media and more time nurturing relationships. You can run all your social media campaigns from one location, using HubSpot to publish content, monitor keywords, and link interactions back to your CRM.
Why I Picked HubSpot: HubSpot stands out as a social media marketing software due to its robust features and its ability to provide seamless customer engagement through its live chat feature. With HubSpot's live chat, businesses can interact with website visitors in real-time, offering immediate support, answering inquiries, and nurturing leads. This feature enhances customer engagement, boosts conversion rates, and builds stronger relationships. HubSpot excels at integrating social media marketing efforts with customer relationship management (CRM) tools, allowing businesses to track and manage interactions across channels and deliver personalized experiences.
HubSpot Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include a comprehensive suite of marketing, sales, and service tools, all integrated into a single platform. This all-in-one approach sets HubSpot apart from competitors and enables seamless collaboration between marketing, sales, and customer service teams. Another standout feature is the HubSpot CMS (Content Management System), which allows users to create and manage their website content effortlessly, incorporating it with their social media marketing efforts.
Integrations include Slack, Dropbox, Stripe, Shopify, and Calendly.
PROS
- Some features are available for free
- Up to 1,000 automation workflows (Enterprise plan)
- Scalability when combined with other HubSpot products
CONS
- Numerous features can take some time to master
- Pricing structure for multiple products is a bit complex
4. Brandwatch — Best for managing brand reputation
Brandwatch is a social media listening solution that scans the web for reviews, articles, and conversations. It separates data into categories, analyzes it, and sends emails. The software also includes a data visualization platform for displaying social and marketing insights. It allows users to create and customize visuals or combine various data sources.
Why I Picked Brandwatch: Brandwatch stands out as a social media marketing software with its exceptional social media reputation management capabilities. It excels at monitoring and analyzing online conversations, sentiments, and mentions across various social media platforms, enabling businesses to proactively manage their brand's reputation. Brandwatch provides robust social listening and sentiment analysis tools that allow users to track brand mentions, identify trends, and gain valuable insights into customer perceptions.
Brandwatch Standout Features & Integrations
Key features advanced data visualization and reporting system that enables users to present social media data in visually engaging and meaningful ways. The platform provides customizable dashboards and real-time visualizations, empowering users to uncover actionable insights and share key findings with stakeholders. Another standout feature is Brandwatch's AI-powered image recognition capabilities, allowing users to track and analyze visual content and understand how their brand is portrayed through images shared on social media.
Integrations include Hootsuite, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
PROS
- Powerful data analytics capabilities
- Robust social listening features
- Excellent customer support
CONS
- Learning curve for utilizing advanced features
- Expensive for smaller businesses
5. Buffer — Best for social scheduling
Buffer is a popular social media management platform that helps businesses publish content, engage clients, and analyze social media performance. It can post content to a wide range of platforms, including
Why I Picked Buffer: You can customize every social media post for each platform, then schedule content to be sent out at predetermined times. The software includes advanced analytics for tracking social media performance on a weekly or monthly basis. You can also export analytics data to do further calculations or create reports. Buffer also provides advanced analytics to track social media performance and see weekly or monthly results. Analytics data can also be exported to do further calculations or to create reports.
Buffer Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include a browser extension that enables users to easily add content to their social media queues while browsing the web. Using the Buffer chrome extension, you can share and create social media posts from anywhere. Buffer provides comprehensive analytics and reporting features, allowing users to track engagement, reach, and performance metrics for their social media posts.
Integrations include Canva, WordPress, Feedly, Pocket, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
PROS
- Comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities
- Effective collaboration and team management
- Easy-to-use interface
CONS
- Limited features in the free version
- No social media listening and sentiment analysis
6. Sprout Social — Best social collaboration tools
Sprout Social is a social media management tool that assists organizations in managing their audience interactions and social marketing routines. Core features include automated publishing, social content management, conversation tracking, and social media analytics.
Why I Picked Sprout Social: Sprout Social stands out as a social media marketing software with its exceptional social collaboration tools, which enable seamless teamwork and communication among marketing teams. It excels at providing a centralized platform for collaboration, allowing users to coordinate social media strategies, assign tasks, and provide feedback within the software. Sprout Social's social collaboration tools streamline the content creation and approval process, enhance workflow efficiency, and promote effective teamwork. By facilitating collaboration, Sprout Social empowers businesses to create cohesive and impactful social media campaigns while ensuring consistent brand messaging and high-quality content.
Sprout Social Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include their Smart Inbox consolidates messages and notifications from different social media platforms into a single stream, making it easy for users to engage and respond to audience interactions in real-time. The Asset Library feature allows users to store and organize their digital assets, such as images, videos, and brand logos, within the software. This streamlines content management, facilitates collaboration, and ensures brand consistency in social media marketing efforts.
Integrations include Slack, Dropbox, Shopify, and Google Analytics.
PROS
- Robust social media scheduling and publishing
- Comprehensive social listening and monitoring
- Advanced analytics and reporting
CONS
- Reporting features could be more customizable
- Limited integrations
7. Hootsuite — Best for social media advertising
Hootsuite is a cloud-based social media management solution that helps businesses carry out campaigns across multiple social networks. Using this tool, you can manage organic and paid social content, keep track of customer conversations, and gain real-time insights from social media.
Why I Picked Hootsuite: Hootsuite stands out as a social media marketing software with its exceptional capabilities in social media advertising. It excels at providing users with a comprehensive platform to plan, create, and manage social media advertising campaigns across multiple channels. Hootsuite's advertising features enable businesses to target specific audiences, set budgets, track performance metrics, and optimize their ad campaigns for better results. With Hootsuite, users can streamline the process of creating and monitoring ads, ensuring maximum reach and engagement with their target audience, and ultimately driving conversions and ROI through effective social media advertising strategies.
Hootsuite Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include a centralized dashboard where users can manage and monitor their social media advertising campaigns across various platforms. This feature provides a holistic view of ad performance and simplifies the process of tracking and optimizing campaigns. Plus, Hootsuite's Ad Creative Library allows users to store and manage their ad assets, such as images, videos, and copy variations.
Integrations include WordPress, Canva, HubSpot, and ZenDesk.
PROS
- Comprehensive social media management capabilities
- Robust social media analytics and reporting
- Scalability for businesses of all sizes
CONS
- Learning curve for new users
- Free plan is quite limited
8. Sprinklr — Best for content marketing
Sprinklr is a cloud-based marketing platform that can help you with social media management, content marketing, paid advertising, and website management. It allows you to post messages on Facebook profiles, place reviews on websites, or tweet about your brand.
Why I Picked Sprinklr: Sprinklr stands out as a social media marketing software with its exceptional capabilities in content marketing. It excels at providing users with robust tools and features to create, manage, and distribute engaging and personalized content across various social media channels. Sprinklr's content marketing features empower businesses to streamline their content creation processes, schedule posts in advance, and leverage data-driven insights to optimize content strategies. With Sprinklr, users can centralize content planning, collaborate with team members, and ensure brand consistency while delivering impactful and targeted content that resonates with their audience.
Sprinklr Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include a collaborative workspace where teams can ideate, create, review, and approve content assets seamlessly. This feature promotes effective teamwork and streamlines the content creation process, ensuring consistency and quality. Sprinklr leverages artificial intelligence to analyze data and provide intelligent content recommendations. This feature helps users identify relevant topics, optimize content performance, and deliver tailored content experiences to their audience.
Integrations include Adobe Experience Manager, AppsFlyer, Arabot, and Bazaarvoice.
PROS
- Social media management and engagement tools
- Advanced analytics and reporting capabilities
- Scalable for large enterprises with global operations
CONS
- Steep learning curve for new users
- Pricing can be relatively high for small biz
9. TweetDeck — Best for Twitter planning & campaigns
TweetDeck is a Twitter management platform that aims to enhance follower engagement. This is achieved through scheduled social media posts, account monitoring, filter management, and customizable fields. Using the scheduling options, you can plan post distribution well into the future. Detailed analytics give you a better understanding of what's working, and what's not.
Why I Picked TweetDeck: TweetDeck stands out as a social media marketing software, primarily focusing on Twitter, and excels at providing users with a powerful and customizable platform for managing and monitoring their Twitter presence. What sets TweetDeck apart is its real-time column-based interface that allows users to create custom columns to track specific hashtags, mentions, lists, and other Twitter activities. It provides a comprehensive dashboard where users can view and engage with their Twitter feeds, monitor conversations, schedule tweets, and manage multiple accounts seamlessly.
TweetDeck Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include custom columns that display specific content, such as tweets from select accounts, hashtags, or lists. This feature provides a highly personalized and tailored Twitter monitoring experience.TweetDeck offers real-time updates, ensuring that users can stay on top of the latest tweets and conversations without having to manually refresh their feed.
Integrations include Twitter, Bitium, and Dataminr.
PROS
- Free to use
- Streamlined Twitter management and monitoring
- Real-time updates and notifications
CONS
10. Emplifi Social Marketing Cloud — Best for AI-automation
Emplifi is an end-to-end social media marketing tool for multi-channel campaign management. You can set up marketing efforts in a simple drag-and-drop calendar, collaborate on and annotate docs, and access a unified inbox for customer support. You can tap into pre-built or start-from-scratch analytics dashboards to track social marketing KPIs.
Why I Picked Emplifi: Emplifi stands out as a social media marketing software with its strong focus on AI-fueled automation, enabling businesses to streamline their social media operations and enhance efficiency. Emplifi excels at harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to automate repetitive tasks, optimize content strategies, and drive personalized customer experiences. By leveraging AI, Emplifi enables users to automate social media scheduling, content distribution, and customer engagement, freeing up time for marketers to focus on strategic initiatives.
Emplifi Standout Features & Integrations
Key features include AI algorithms to analyze social media data and provide content recommendations based on audience preferences, trends, and performance metrics. This feature helps users create targeted and engaging content that resonates with their target audience. Emplifi's AI capabilities enable automated customer engagement, including personalized responses, sentiment analysis, and real-time social listening.
Integrations include Google Data Studio, Google Analytics, Salesforce, Bitly, Dropbox, OneLogin, Tableau, OneDrive, Okta, and Creative Cloud.
PROS
- Robust AI-powered automation
- Comprehensive social media management and engagement
- Integration with various social media platforms
CONS
- Pricing can be high for small biz
- Learning curve for new users
Other Options
Here are a few more tools that didn’t make the top list.
- Click Analytic - Connects you with top social media influencers and creators
- ThumbStopper - Helps brands amplify content through their retailers’ social media presence
- Kontentino - Create, schedule, and publish social media content
- Facelift Cloud - Social media engagement platform with detailed analytics
- Hypefury - Helps you grow and monetize your Twitter audience
- Appusocial - Share your brand’s story on social media
- Audiense - Advanced segmentation to optimize social media reach
- Constant Contact - Email marketing platform with social media capabilities
- Thryv - Marketing management software for small businesses
- RecurPost - Distribute evergreen content effectively
- Later - Turn social media bios into mini web pages
- Sked Social - Cross-post Instagram content to other platforms
- MeetEdgar - Social media calendar and content curator
- Sendible - For managing social media at scale
- SocialPilot - Social media marketing software with a white-label option
How I Selected The Best Social Media Marketing Software
Core Functionality
These are the basic core functions that all social media marketing software must cover to be considered worthwhile.
- Provide robust content management capabilities, including features like content creation, scheduling, and publishing across multiple social media platforms
- Analytics and reporting; it should offer comprehensive insights into key metrics and performance indicators to help businesses measure the success of their social media campaigns
Key features
Here are the main features I look for when evaluating social media marketing software:
- Scheduling & publishing: Scheduling tools to allow you to queue up multiple pieces of content for automated distribution on a schedule of your choice.
- Social listening & monitoring: The best tools keep you up to date with brand and product mentions across the web.
- Sentiment analysis: You should be informed about how your brand is perceived online.
- Keyword tracking: Your software must allow you to track important topics across social media platforms by keyword with SEO in mind
- Multi-channel management: It’s a given that your software should track activity across all the popular social media platforms.
- Multi-account management: If you use a different social media account for different ecommerce brands, you need your social media marketing software to support this strategy.
- Campaign management: Your software should provide all the features you need to manage your campaigns effectively.
- Reporting & analytics: Any digital marketing software must provide detailed insights into how your campaigns perform.
- Collaboration tools: Members of your social media team should be able to work together efficiently to get the best results.
- Smart posting: Good software will help you determine the best time to schedule posts in various regions and countries.
Usability
Usability is a crucial consideration when choosing social media marketing software. A user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation make it easier for marketers to quickly learn and navigate the software. Look for features like a centralized dashboard that provides a comprehensive overview of all social media accounts and campaigns, drag-and-drop functionality for seamless content creation, and a scheduling system that allows for easy scheduling and rescheduling of posts. The ability to customize and save templates for consistent branding, a social media calendar for visualizing content schedules, and collaborative features for team members to work together efficiently are also important.
Software Integrations
Software integrations are essential when considering social media marketing software as they enable connectivity and collaboration between different tools. Integration with social media profiles from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn is fundamental, allowing users to manage and publish content directly from the software. Integrations with social media advertising platforms such as Facebook Ads Manager and Google Ads can streamline the process of creating and managing paid campaigns. Integration with popular analytics tools like Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics enables deeper insights into social media performance and its impact on overall marketing efforts. Integration with customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Salesforce or HubSpot allows for effective lead tracking and management.
Customizability
Customizability is a crucial consideration when selecting social media marketing software. This includes the ability to customize features like post templates, color schemes, and branding elements ensures consistent branding across social media channels. Customizable reporting and analytics allow marketers to focus on the metrics that matter most to their business and create personalized reports with the desired level of detail and visualization. The option to customize content scheduling and publishing allows for flexibility in aligning with specific time zones and optimal posting times. Advanced customizability might also include the ability to create custom audience segments for targeted advertising campaigns or personalized social listening features to monitor specific keywords or industry trends.
People Also Ask
Here are a few questions on the topic of social media marketing software that I wanted to cover before wrapping up
What are the benefits of social media marketing software?
What is the easiest social media marketing software to use?
How much does social media marketing software cost?
Other Social Media Software Reviews
Below, you’ll find other marketing software reviews that discuss and evaluates other tools that empower others to promote your organization.
Social Media Software
- Social Media Management Software
- Social Media Marketing
- Social Media Scheduling
- Social Listening Tools
- Social Media Analytics
Social Advocacy Software
- Customer Advocacy Software
- Affiliate Marketing Software
- Influencer Marketing Software
- Employee Advocacy Software
The Takeaway
With over 3.5 billion monthly active users worldwide, social media is simply too big to ignore. The fact is that social media marketing works. According to 90% of marketers, social media marketing has increased their ecommerce business exposure.
The world of ecommerce marketing is always fascinating and constantly changing, so stay tuned for more helpful articles on how to grow your brand.