Session 10

Social Media Engagement Tools

While social media platforms dictate a significant part of the consumer journey, staying engaged and proactive has never been more crucial. As the number of platforms proliferates and user expectations evolve, marketing executives find themselves at the crossroads of technology and strategy, seeking tools to amplify their efforts and keep them ahead of the curve.

At its core, Social Media Engagement Tools can be envisioned as the command centers for an organization's digital presence. These tools offer an integrated suite of functionalities tailored to monitor and engage with online audiences in real time. From tracking brand mentions and customer sentiments to scheduling content across multiple platforms, these tools serve as the nexus between a brand's digital strategy and its on-ground execution.

Top Social Media Engagement Tools

1. Brandwatch Social Media Management

Plans and Pricing: Specific pricing details require booking a consultation with Brandwatch.

Recognized by a myriad of the world’s leading brands, Brandwatch has rapidly ascended the ladder of social media engagement tools. This software suite is more than a mere tool – it’s a comprehensive solution serving as the central hub for all social media interactions. One of Brandwatch’s standout features is its ‘Engage’ inbox, which aggregates all the brand’s user interactions.

Not only does Brandwatch offer a panoramic view of all customer interactions, but it also offers a granular deep dive. The customizable inbox is meticulously designed to allow brands to craft their engagement narrative. With the ability to design individual feeds, leverage filters, and even ‘Listen’ feeds for brand conversations, this is a masterstroke in making engagement intuitive.

But what truly sets Brandwatch apart is its emphasis on teamwork. Messages can be routed to specific teams or users, ensuring that the right queries reach the right people. Managers also benefit from a clear audit trail that details every team action.

Key features:

• Unified dashboard for Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and YouTube.

• Detailed contact cards for existing contacts, ensuring personalized engagement.

• Gauge the sentiment of conversations for better strategies.

• From welcome to away messages, automation ensures seamless interactions.

• Note sharing, message assignment, and comprehensive reports.

2. Brand24

Plans and Pricing: Brand24 offers a range of plans that cater to diverse needs. Individual plans start at $119/month, with a gradual increase in price for more advanced plans. There is also a free 14-day trial with no credit card requirement.

Brand24 is not just another media monitoring tool; it’s the best-in-class social listening tool for brands wanting to keep track of online conversations. With a comprehensive sweep of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok, Brand24 ensures clients are always in the loop. The analytical prowess of this tool is underscored by its ‘Influence of Social Media Authors’ tab, providing critical insights into a brand’s digital footprint.

The Analysis tab is another treasure trove detailing key metrics like the total number of mentions, reach, likes, and comments. Brand24’s capabilities extend beyond just numbers; it translates data into actionable insights. This makes it not just a listening tool but a strategic ally for brands.

The software’s user-centric design also allows for real-time engagement, ensuring brands can swiftly act on emerging discussions.

Key features:

• Benchmark against competitors and evaluate campaign success.

• Share vital statistics and insights across teams.

• Analyze hashtag campaigns and find influencer connections.

• Engage in relevant business discussions with a single click.

• Proactively identify potential issues or leverage positive publicity.

3. Sendible

Plans and pricing: Sendible offers a 14-day free trial with no card required. Following this, the Creator plan comes at $25/month, with Traction, Scale, Advanced and Enterprise plans available.

Sendible has cemented its place as a top-tier social media management platform, preferred by over 30k agencies, marketers, and brand managers. Their tool isn’t just about managing content but expanding brand reach in the vast social media universe. With accolades from G2, it offers a seamless integration of scheduling, monitoring, and reporting on social engagement.

One of Sendible’s highlight features is direct scheduling. This eliminates the need for timely interventions, as brands can schedule content in bulk for the next 30 days.  Sendible also supplements your content creation efforts with post ideas sourced from dashboards, RSS feeds, and Google Alerts, keeping the content calendar fresh. Social Media Scheduling Tools are seamlessly integrated into the platform, ensuring efficient planning and execution of campaigns. Customizability is another standout feature, allowing users to enhance visuals from platforms like GIPHY, Pexels, and Canva, with options to include team members and enhance collaboration efforts. On that note, the platform has a system to onboard clients without sharing passwords and an in-built approval process.

For marketers wanting a more hands-on view of campaigns, they have the tool’s robust reporting to thank, designed to showcase results and spotlight best-performing posts. 

Key features:

• Content customization with integrated image editors.

• Centralized inbox for streamlined audience engagement.

• Measure engagement across social media platforms.

• Sentiment analysis to monitor brand mentions across various platforms.

4. Agorapulse

Plans and pricing: Agorapulse offers a free 30-day trial without needing a credit card. Subsequent plans include the Standard plan at $49 per user/month with up to a Custom plan tailored for specific business needs.

For businesses keen on tuning into the pulse of their social media presence, Agorapulse serves as an impeccable tool. With renowned brands opting for its services, this platform stands tall with an array of features aimed at social listening. Whether brands are concerned about staying ahead of competitors or keen on rapid response to urgent mentions, Agorapulse is designed to cater to their needs.

This tool is tailored to precision, with the ability to block social noise and focus on key conversations, thanks to the specialized search parameters on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The additional advantage of boolean operators ensures brands sift through the social chatter and find precisely what matters to them. Furthermore, the tool’s ability to label significant content means that strategy remains organized and efficient.

However, a standout feature of Agorapulse is the instant engagement action. Upon spotting a monitored item, brands can immediately like, reply, label, bookmark, and even assign the task to a team member. 

Key features:

• Comprehensive social listening across social platforms.

• Prioritization of crucial social conversations.

• Mobile app availability for Android and iOS for on-the-go monitoring.

• Unlimited keyword tracking on YouTube, with Instagram hashtag tracking as permitted by its API

5. NapoleonCat

Plans and pricing: NapoleonCat offers a two-week free trial and three plans, with the Standard plan at $27/month and an option to curate your own custom plan.

Businesses worldwide recognize the necessity of real-time engagement on social media platforms. NapoleonCat steps in as a comprehensive solution for those who face challenges in managing the deluge of comments, reviews, and messages. 

Having carved its niche among well-established brands and emerging entities alike, NapoleonCat’s reputation shines for simplifying multi-platform social management. The tool finds mentions in notable success stories where brands have elevated their customer social media game.

NapoleonCat’s Social Inbox stands out by presenting an integrated dashboard for managing engagement across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Messenger, TikTok, and Twitter. With this feature, brands can monitor comments, likes, and shares and even bookmark specific posts. Simply put, this tool helps brands curate an environment where users feel heard and valued, thereby solidifying the brand’s digital presence.

Key features:

• Efficient tagging mechanism for messages to categorize them as complaints, praises, or spam.

• Time-saving features, reducing reply durations by up to 66%.

• User-tagging to differentiate between loyal fans and potential spammers.

• Ability to monitor Google My Business reviews, an invaluable feature for businesses with physical locations.

• Intuitive workflow mechanisms that encourage cross-team collaboration.

Rating

Factors to Consider When Selecting Social Media Engagement Tools

Several critical factors demand careful consideration when selecting the optimal Social Media Engagement Tool. Foremost is platform integration. Given the vast diversity of social media platforms, choosing a tool that effortlessly melds with channels that resonate with your brand is paramount, thereby anchoring a cohesive strategy and trimming operational bottlenecks.

Equally crucial is the realm of real-time analytics. The fluidity of the digital environment underscores the indispensability of having finger-on-the-pulse data. Insights gleaned from these timely analytics illumine emerging trends, granting brands the agility to recalibrate their strategies in real time.

Navigating these tools, however, hinges significantly on their user-friendliness. The sophistication of a tool is measured not just by its features but by its ease of use. Marketing teams should find a balance where the potency of the software meets an intuitive interface, ensuring seamless harnessing of its capabilities sans formidable learning barriers.

Beyond the present, scalability becomes a beacon for future-proofing. As enterprises burgeon, so does their digital imprint. Software solutions prioritizing scalability cater to this growth, ensuring that brands can stretch their outreach without transitioning to an entirely different platform.

Conclusion

As the digital landscape continues its relentless evolution, the need for brands to stay engaged, agile, and proactive remains constant. Social Media Engagement Tools emerge as the linchpin in this endeavor, providing marketing executives with the arsenal to lead the digital charge. As you navigate through this listicle, remember your brand's unique needs, challenges, and aspirations to make an informed decision that drives engagement and fortifies your brand's digital narrative.