In this time and age, no business can deny the importance of social media. Whether it is an eCommerce store or a brick-and-mortar company or a content-based website – leveraging the power of social media has become a norm for every kind of business.
These statistics will tell you why:
34% of buyers would rather engage with a brand on social media than visit their physical store.
Twitter is considered to be the perfect platform to interact with brands. Around 42% of users learn about products and services on Twitter. There is an impressive number of 94% of B2B marketers using LinkedIn to distribute content across the platform.
So it’s proven – social media is indeed a powerful tool for boosting brand visibility and driving revenues. And since the scope of work is vast in the social media landscape, it makes sense for any business – irrespective of size and industry – to hire a marketing agency.
“Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.”
Dave Willis
Why not?
Agencies have multiple resources at their disposal. This includes a team of campaign planners, writers, visualizers and graphic designers, account managers and more.
Providing social media marketing services seems like a job full of fun and excitement, isn’t it? Yes, it is but it also comes with baggage.
Most Common Problems
Most common problems faced by marketing agencies
1) Working with tiny client budgets
Clients are never generous with their budgets, and they want quick results. They would want 60 leads from a Facebook campaign, 1000 new followers on Twitter and an ROI of 15% – all within a budget of $10,000. Yes, it is not impossible but for that, you need to find social media tools. These tools are a boon for social media marketing.
Their money is at stake which is why they are not generous with the budgets and for them, every penny counts.
Marketing agencies have to achieve with whatever they have and ensure they generate revenue from each activity.
2) Lack of communication with clients
Planning social media campaigns is not easy. It involves the agencies to consistently stay in touch with their clients so that both parties are on the same page. However, there are times when there is little or no communication during campaign planning.
At the end moment, the clients may come back with faults in the content or might want to scrap the complete campaign altogether.
This is a big hassle for both parties and it is when social media management tools for agencies come in handy.
3) Over-involvement of clients
Of course! While some clients may give complete freedom to the agencies to carry out tasks in whichever way they want to, there are some who want to be included in every stage of the planning process.
This hinders the workflow of the agency as they don’t get the required flexibility to carry out tasks necessary to achieve client goals.
The decision-making process slows down but the good news is that the best social media tools for the agencies make it happen effortlessly.
Did you know?
- The recall value of an Instagram sponsored post is 2.8x higher than Nielsen’s norms for online advertising.
- 60% of users discovered new products on Instagram accounts.
- A user who saw Promoted Pins observed a 40% increase in awareness of new products on Pinterest.
Social media management tools are a boon for agencies. Recently, I posted about a list of must have tools for digital marketing agencies.
Yes, agencies manage a lot of work and this can get overwhelming not only for them but also for the clients. With social media management software, the agencies can:
- Manage multiple client accounts
- Organize timely conversations with the prospects
- Schedule posts ahead in time
- Curatequality content that resonates with the audience
- Monitor keywords for generating leads and gathering valuable information
- Analyze campaign results
- Achieve pre-decided ROI for the clients
Do you run a marketing agency and looking for an answer to what is the best social media tool for your business?
Are you also looking to integrate a tool in your workflows that will help you complete your tasks better?
I can help you make an informed choice by introducing you to some of the social media marketing software:
Top 4
1) Sendible
This is a social media management tool for agencies. It allows teams to manage social media activities for multiple clients – all from a centralized hub.
Sendible is equipped with an easy-to-use dashboard, analytics, and a full-fledged publishing system.
Managing social media is a time-taking process. The main aim of this tool is enabling social media manager and his team collaboration to save time and focus on what truly matters – content creation and client pitch preparation.
Agency features
a. A single inbox for each brand
Multiple brands have multiple social accounts. To avoid chaos, Sendible has a Priority Inbox that keeps the respective teams focused by bringing all social media messages from a specific client’s multiple accounts – under the same roof.
It doesn’t matter how many members are in a team or how many client social channels one is handling, makes it fairly easy to not only manage but also derive excellent results with efficient team collaboration.
One of the best features about Sendible is that even if someone has not tagged a company yet is talking about it, Sendible will let the company know.
This functionality helps bring more users on board – without being mentioned or tagged.
b. Streamlined scheduling and publishing
Simplification of the publishing process is enabled by scheduling social media posts, images, and videos either individually or in bulk.
It allows the user to keep his best-performing social content scheduled on repeat so that the social media profiles are always active and churning quality posts.
Best social media management tools like Sendible consistently analyze the social media profiles of the clients to suggest content that will best resonate with the audience. It also suggests an optimal time to post.
c. Social collaboration made easy
Sendible helps turn social interactions into actionable tasks. It helps the team leader to supervise his team’s social media posting activity. Sendible allows others to contribute to the Content Library and create the best content together as a team. Due to its transparent and easy dashboard, Sendible enables the creation of smoother workflows.
d. Detailed progress reports
Sendible delivers dynamic reports featuring social media analytics data in easily a digestible format.
From Facebook and Twitter to Instagram and LinkedIn, it generates in-depth reports that help the users in spotting trends easily.
Google Analytics forms the foundation of Sendible. It helps tracks the impact of social media activities on website visits, landing page views, content popularity, demographic performance, and more.
e. Social prospecting
Sendible’s CRM is so advanced that it enables the users to target and collect prospects through social media based on specific interests and their level of influence. Share on XOn Twitter, this social media management tool searches for the most relevant prospects and starts conversations even when the user is not on his desk.
Sendible is not just a social media management platform but also a lead nurturing tool.
Customers using Sendible
Sendible is currently being used by more than 20,000 brands and caters to a variety of clients including Isango!, JWT, Qebot, Idunn, Pan Macmillan, VisitBritain, Queensland University, Kings Hill Directory, and Cruise Planners.
Pricing
Sendible offers four types of packages for – growing brands, small teams, and big brands. Depending upon the size of the team, the user can opt for a 30-day trial to see if Sendible is apt for his team.
In case the scope of work increases or decreases, the user can upgrade or downgrade (and even cancel) the account at any point in time.
Check out the pricing plans:
Integrations
Sendible integrates with a number of systems and applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Analytics, WordPress, Pinterest, Canva, Tumblr, Google Drive Flickr, Google My Business, Paybis , Dropbox and more.
GDPR and CCPA Update: Sendible has updated their terms and policies agreement as per the new GDPR and CCPA guidelines. The website has clearly mentioned all the steps they have taken to make their platform GDPR and CCPA compliant. To review the changes you can visit here.
2) AgoraPulse
This social marketing software is a social community and moderation tool that helps businesses manage all their social media accounts from a single dashboard. AgoraPulse is user-friendly, flexible and has top-notch customer support.
It is a top choice of social media tools for digital marketing agencies.
The tool ensures the user doesn’t miss a tweet, comment or even a message.
AgoraPulse is well-equipped with tools that help gather critical data such as statistics and reporting necessary to devise quality social media campaigns.
Agency features
a. Engagement
AgoraPulse patches content from everywhere in one place so that it is easy for the user to reply, review, assign or tag.
The tool also syncs with Facebook’s Marketing API and Graph API so the comments are in real-time.
b. Multi-platform publishing platform
AgoraPulse allows the user to publish on multiple social accounts from one place on timelines set by him. Top-performing social content can be queued repeatedly so that the social accounts never lack good content.
The AgoraPulse dashboard allows the user to take a glance at all his published, scheduled, queued and yet-to-be approved posts.
c. Social media monitoring
From the moment Agorapulse is connected with social networks, it is possible to monitor all kinds of activities such as comments, tweets, messages, hashtags, etc.
This information can be further used to improve social strategies and start a conversation with the customers.
d. Analytics and reporting
A noteworthy aspect of this social marketing software is that it highlights the ROI with instant report generation on the audience, social engagement, and brand awareness.
This social media tool for agencies also gives a report on trending hashtags and content tags. AgoraPulse also gives a bird’s eye view on competitor analysis and performance.
Agency features
a. Client involvement
Used by global brands such as CGR Communications, Digital Republik, Ogilvy, TBWA and Geeky Brands, AgoraPulse allows even the clients to be a part of the social media strategy.
They can be invited to approve the draft posts and give feedback. They can be assigned questions to answer so that the tasks are completed on time.
b. Restricted access for teams
It is not necessary for everyone on the team to have the same access to social media accounts. Some members would have greater flexibility than others. AgoraPulse understands that and therefore has this feature specifically for agencies.
Pricing
There are four kinds of payment options offered by AgoraPulse:
- Standard ($69/month)-10 social profiles,
- Professional ($99/month)- 10 social profiles & 9 more features
- Advance ($149/month)- 10 social profiles & 21 more features
All the subscriptions are on an annual basis and the user can cancel anytime. AgoraPulse also has a 100% no-questions-asked refund monthly subscriptions. Here’s a screenshot of its payment plans:
Check out the complete pricing details here. AgoraPulse works best for small and fast-growing agencies and it is equipped with many features favorable to an agency.
Free tools
As a tool, AgoraPulse is inventive. The social media tool for agencies offers three free tools to further improve social media marketing results of the agencies.
a. Facebook page barometer
This tool specifically supports Facebook and gives a relevant and clear sense of a page’s reach and engagement level in comparison with competitor accounts.
b. Twitter report card
Just like Facebook, this tool for social media management enables the user to compare tweets of one brand to its competitors. It also provides inputs on areas where further improvement is required. Twitter is also one of the important social platforms and one needs to take it in account too.
c. Facebook page contests
Ran a contest but are facing difficulty in selecting a winner? This social marketing software helps manage contests like never before.
The user can pick three templates – quiz, photo contest or sweepstakes.
Integrations
This tool for social media management AgoraPulse integrates with a number of business applications and systems: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Google Apps, Flamory, LinkedIn and Google My Business.
Update: AgoraPulse is fully GDPR and CCPA ready and has made some essential changes to abide by the new GDPR and CCPA guidelines.
They have updated and created a new privacy policy and revised their data protection addendum. All their products have undergone modification as per the requirement of GDPR and CCPA.
3) Missinglettr
This is a social media tool for agencies that lets the user create targeted and automated social media campaigns for the clients with a focus on blog posts.
The user can review, approve the social updates pre-filled with quotes and images and schedule posts for the next 12 months.
Remember how Buffer pulls out images from the link inserted in the dialog box? That’s how Missinglettr works but here it pulls out content from within the blog and converts the text into an image.
I can’t think of any other tool that allows the users to maximize the engagement potential of every blog post published.
Agency features
a. Supreme hashtag functionality
Missinglettr has the ability to determine the popularity of hashtags used on Twitter. One of the biggest concerns for any marketer is to choose the right hashtags to boost audience engagement.
With Missinglettr, it is possible to note which hashtags perform the best based on the number of retweets.
b. External approval
The involvement of clients is important even if the agency is just promoting their blog posts. With Missinglettr “external approval” feature, the user can send the client link to the social campaign and get subsequent feedback or approval.
There is no hassle of creating a separate Missinglettr account for the clients. They just need the link to make an informed decision.
This way, the clients can never be left behind in the campaign planning process.
Plus, both the team can enjoy a greater level of transparency. There will be smoother and faster communication.
c. Easy social media connection
With Missinglettr it is easy to promote published blogs consistently across all social media channels – all year long. This social media tool for digital marketing agency enables branded content that is designed to specifically encourage clicks.
Continuous promotion of blog posts through major social media platforms ensure increased website traffic and growing audience engagement. It is an integral component of any good social media tools for content management agencies.
d. YET TO BE RELEASED: Custom campaigns
Missinglettr is in the process of creating a custom campaign option where the user will be able to tweak durations, frequencies, and auto-repeat rules on his posting activities.
Pricing
Missinglettr caters to two kinds of end-users – individuals(3 social profiles) and teams(10 social profiles).
It is available in 2 plans solo and pro.
In each of the options, the user can enjoy the benefit of external campaign approvals by the clients.
For each plan, it encourages a 14-day free trial without credit card details. The user is free to cancel his subscription at any point.
Integrations
Missinglettr integrates with the following social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business.
It doesn’t have integration with Pinterest and Instagram currently, but as per the website, Missinlettr would soon roll out Pinterest integration.
Update: Missinglettr is GDPR and CCPA compliant and it has taken all the steps to ensure the adherence to the new data protection laws.
4) Commun.it
Most social media tools support Facebook but finding a tool that focuses on one platform is a bit hard. Twitter is a tough social platform to crack and to improve your social presence there you need Twitter-specific tool.
Since the timeline is changing rapidly, it is difficult to ensure the tweets reach the right kind of audience.
This is where Commun.it enters the picture and gets added to our social media tool list.
Often called the ONLY CRM of Twitter, this social media management tool helps the user in identifying influencers, prospects, and interested audience.
This means Commun.it is a boon for marketing agencies as it enables them to drive traffic, boost audience engagement and grow followers and likes for their client brands.
The content management tool Commun.it is currently being used by more than 1 million users across 175 countries. Some of its major customers are Nike, Cisco, SONY, TEDx, Coca-Cola, SAP, TNW, Microsoft and Lenovo.
Agency features
a. Free Twitter analytics
Since the core of the tool is Twitter, this social media management tool offers actionable insights on Twitter followers and measures social engagement (followers, RTs, likes) for each client brand.
b. Multiple Twitter profiles
The comprehensive dashboard of Commun.it allows the user to better manage all Twitter social profiles and schedule tweets easily – all from a centralized hub. The user doesn’t need to go back and forth on the client Twitter profiles.
Commun.it allows the user to invite team members to manage and view reports or analytics.
c. Identify valuable members
One of the best features of Commun.it is that it not only focuses on the general Twitter engagement, it also puts emphasis on influencers, engaged members and supporters.
It understands how important it is to engage the audience interested in the content being posted on Twitter.
Commun.it groups the interested audience on the basis of engagement history, followers/following ratio, retweets and brand mentions.
d. Prioritize and schedule weekly posts
The user can schedule “thank you” tweets for top three most engaged followers on a weekly basis. This is a great feature to boost audience interaction with a simple tweet.
e. Social intelligence
Thanks to the detailed dashboard, the user would instantly know who to follow, respond to or thank. The campaign insights help in making changes to the strategy.
Pricing
There are four types of payment options offered by Commun.it – pro-2 social profiles, business- 6 social profiles, business plus- 10 social profiles, and corporate- 12 social profiles.
The most popular one is the business plan, and currently, it is running an offer of 60% off. All the plans are perfect for an agency – depending upon the scope of work and team strength.
Commun.it also has a limited free plan where it allows only one social profile to be integrated.
Since it is Twitter-specific, it is best if the user tries the tool before making a purchase.
Integrations
What commun.it does, it does well. It focuses majorly on the content management and automation of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. It doesn’t allow integration with any other social network like YouTube or Google My Business.
If you want to know what is the best social media tool that is Twitter oriented then Commun.it is the answer.
It focuses on all the Twitter-related social media activities of the client and is equipped with the right reporting abilities; if there are other platforms you want to focus then you can skip it.
An overview of all the social media management tools discussed in this guide:
Social media tools | Pricing | Quick Round-up |
---|---|---|
Agorapulse | Agorapulse offer 4 plans: Standard: $49 per month Professional: $79 per month Advance: $119 per month All the pricing is based on annual billing | Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram. What is Good? All in one social media management tool Multiple team users One of the best data reports What is not good? Expensive No Pinterest integration Does not allow for blog schedule |
SocialPilot | SocialPilot offer 4 plans: Professional: $30/mo Small Team: $50/mo Agency: $100/mo Agency+: $200/mo Enterprise: Custom plans All the pricing is based on annual billing | Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok and Vk What is good? An affordable value for money tool Browser extension for Chrome and Firefox What is not good? No advanced features like chatbot creation and social listening No automated posting with Instagram |
Sendible | Sendible offer 4 plans: Creator: $29 per month Traction: $89 per month Scale: $240 per month All the pricing is based on monthly billing | Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business, Instagram, Pinterest, WordPress, Foursquare,Blogger and Youtube What is good? Support popular as well as less common social platforms An intuitive and easy to use platform In-built CRM What is not good? It is expensive Not a tool for entrepreneurs |
Buffer | Buffer offer 3 plans: Essential: $6/mo Team: $12/mo Agency: $120/mo All the pricing is based on monthly billing | Integrations: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn What is good? Great for blog promotion. Create and schedule posts automatically. Helps create new content around existing blogs. What is not good? Hashtag generator very basic. Analytics not very thorough . |
Commun.it | Commun.it offer 4 plans: Corporate : $299/mo Business: $49.99/mo Business+: $29.99/mo Pro: $19.99/mo | Integrations: Facebook, Twitter What is good? Dashboard very clear and understanding. Let’s you keep an eye on your competitors. In-depth Twitter details and analytics What is not good? Limited integrations. Not a tool if you want to focus on other media channels other than Facebook and Twitter. |
Sendible vs AgoraPulse
Sendible is definitely much more than just posting and sharing on social media. It has all the relevant functionalities related to publishing, analytics, auto-response and following, and much more.
The user can easily track social media activities such as tweets, comments and follows, upload HTML for email campaigns and set auto-responses on emails.
The biggest advantage of using Sendible is that the user can manage multiple client profiles – all from a single dashboard. It’s cost-effective and its free plan is for 30 days which is enough for any agency to gauge the scope of work. The user can start a monthly plan – starter – for just $29 per month.
Speaking of AgoraPulse, its social inbox is more organized as it allows a single inbox for every social media channel.
With this social media management tool, everything is grouped properly.
The messages sent to the user and posts mentioning the brand go in separate boxes. AgoraPulse enables the user to analyze the competitor’s social activity.
The competitive pricing option of AgoraPulse starts at $69 per month and offers 30 day free plan .
However, it’s most popular package can be availed at just $149 per month.
Our Experience
Choosing the right social media management tool can be a hassle especially if your agency is growing at a rapid pace. If the focus of most of your clients is on Twitter, then choose a tool that specializes in this social media channel.
If you are looking at larger teams and more team members, multiple clients and several social networks, then choose a social media scheduler tool that can sustain your requirements.
What are your thoughts on these social media management tools?
Are you also struggling to buy the most appropriate tool for your team?
I hope this review can help you make an informed decision.
Is there a tool that we can add to our social media tool list? Let us know.
FAQs
What functions do social media management tools provide for an agency?
Social media management tools help agencies schedule posts, track analytics, engage with followers, and manage multiple accounts. They streamline workflows and ensure consistent presence across platforms.
What is a social media management platform for an agency?
A social media management platform for an agency centralizes the management of multiple client accounts, providing tools for scheduling, analytics, and engagement across various social networks from a single dashboard.
What are the top social media tools for marketing agencies?
Top social media tools for marketing agencies include Agorapulse, Sendible, SocialPilot, and Sprout Social. These platforms offer comprehensive management features such as scheduling, analytics, and collaboration tools tailored for agency use.
How do I efficiently manage multiple social media accounts for clients?
Efficient management of multiple client accounts requires using social media management tools like Agorapulse or Hootsuite, planning content in advance, and utilizing team collaboration features to maintain a consistent posting schedule and engagement strategy.
What are the top three tools used for social CRM?
The top three tools used for social CRM include Salesforce Social Studio, Sendible, and Agorapulse. These platforms combine social media monitoring with customer relationship management features.
How do CRM and social CRM differ?
CRM focuses on managing company relationships and internal workflows, while social CRM integrates social media data, enhancing customer interaction and engagement across social platforms.
What are the top five metrics for measuring social media performance?
The top five metrics are engagement rate, reach, impressions, follower growth, and click-through rate. These metrics provide insights into how content performs and how users interact with it.
What metrics are important for tracking Facebook performance?
Important metrics for tracking Facebook performance include engagement rate, reach, impressions, click-through rate, and conversion rate. These help understand audience interaction and content effectiveness.
What services does a platform like Hootsuite offer to an agency?
Hootsuite offers post scheduling, real-time analytics, team collaboration tools, and social media monitoring, helping agencies manage various client accounts efficiently.
What is meant by a Social Media Marketing (SMM) tool?
A Social Media Marketing (SMM) tool refers to software that assists in the creation, scheduling, and analysis of content posted on social media platforms, enhancing marketing efforts and engagement.
What tools are used for Social Media Optimization (SMO)?
Tools used for Social Media Optimization include BuzzSumo for content insights, Google Analytics for traffic analysis, and Hootsuite for scheduling and engagement metrics.
How can social media be leveraged as a strategic tool?
Social media can be leveraged as a strategic tool by targeting specific demographics, engaging directly with customers, promoting content virally, and gathering real-time market feedback to inform business strategies.
How can I effectively handle my business social media presence?
Effectively handling your business social media presence involves regularly updating content, engaging with followers, using targeted advertisements, monitoring analytics, and adapting strategies based on audience feedback.
How do marketing firms optimize their social media strategies?
Marketing firms optimize their social media strategies by using analytics to track performance, experimenting with content types, segmenting audiences for targeted ads, and continuously refining tactics based on data-driven insights.
Which social media tool is ideal for small agency?
For a small agency, Loomly is an ideal tool due to its user-friendly interface, affordable pricing, and essential features like post scheduling and engagement analytics.
How do public agencies engage with social media?
Public agencies use social media to communicate directly with the public, share timely information, engage in community feedback, and manage crisis communications effectively.
What defines a social media management agency?
A social media management agency specializes in handling all aspects of a client’s social media presence, from content creation to strategy implementation and analytics monitoring.
What are effective strategies for marketing a social media management service?
Effective strategies include showcasing successful case studies, offering free trials, focusing on unique technology or expertise, and emphasizing the ability to drive engagement and growth.
How do you build a thriving social media marketing business?
Building a thriving social media marketing business involves staying ahead of trends, offering scalable services, maintaining high client satisfaction, and continuously improving your strategy based on analytics.
What strategies help in expanding a social media marketing firm?
Strategies for expanding include diversifying service offerings, forging partnerships with influencers, investing in new technologies, and enhancing your team’s skills and capabilities.
What are effective ways to pitch social media services to potential clients?
Pitch social media services by focusing on ROI, demonstrating past success, tailoring proposals to client-specific needs, and showcasing how your services can solve their unique challenges.
How do I determine the best social media management tool for my agency needs?
Determine the best tool by evaluating features like scalability, support for multiple platforms, analytics capabilities, ease of use, and integration with existing tools, ensuring it aligns with your agency’s goals and client needs.
Great information.. Really helpful… Keep it up
thank you, sir, for this post, this is very helpful post and we get to know many things by this post. I hope you will regularly upload posts on these topics
Thanks for the comment Divyanshu.