Look at these stats from a recent study released by Altimeter:
• 178 accounts: The average number of social media accounts that a single global corporation has.
• 48 percent: The percentage of global companies that coordinate their social media strategy across the enterprise.
• 70 percent: The percentage of companies who say that their social media strategies are meeting their objectives.
• 43 percent: The percentage of companies that has established metrics for social media campaign performance.
Now, think about what these stats are saying.
First, 178 accounts, one company. Just think about that, and try to quell the sensation of panic in your gut. Second, 70 percent say that their social media strategy is meeting its objectives, but only 43 percent have established metrics that crystallize what those objectives are. Also, only 48 percent are coordinating social media across the company. If you look at these statistics carefully, a narrative emerges. Most businesses have social media strategies that are completely out of control.
Many companies think that smart social media strategy means purchasing the perfect software and running with it. However, as Jay Baer says, subscribing to social media software doesn’t guarantee you anything but a monthly invoice. Getting into social media is about changing the way you do business. Decide how your company wants to be social. Ask yourself who your audience is, where they hang out online, and what you want them to do as a result of your social marketing campaign. Second, choose one of these six social media platforms to help your company be social — as long as it helps you be social in the way that you need to be.
1. Socialbakers
Best for: Comparing your brand’s social presence to your competition.
Socialbakers offers a tool called Analytics Pro that helps you compare your brand to your competitors, particularly across YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. You can monitor your engagement rates and see which of your followers is most engaged, which can help you to build relationships with people who can amplify your content.
2. Crowdbooster
Best for: Understanding your Facebook and Twitter audiences.
If your social strategy centers primarily on Twitter and Facebook, Crowdbooster can compile stats on who is more likely to read each of your posts. You can also get aggregate stats like reach, impressions, and engagement, and you can get an alert when someone who might like your business joins Twitter.
3. Tagboard
Best for: Monitoring brand-related conversations.
Tagboard is a free tool that monitors hashtags across multiple social media channels. Using the hashtags, it creates a board of content from multiple social media channels. You can examine the board for information relevant to your brand, and you can use the board to curate content to share with your followers. If you monitor hashtags to get leads, those leads will post to your tagboard, and you can immediately contact them.
4. Buffer
Best for: Scheduling social media posts in bulk.
Hootsuite allows you to upload scheduled posts, but you have to use Excel spreadsheets, and it’s extremely frustrating. Buffer lets you schedule posts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+. You create a post, select a time, and it will roll out on the appropriate account. Buffer shortens and customizes your URLs so that you can track their performance. Buffer is free for the first 10 accounts.
5. SocialFlow
Best for: Big companies that juggle multiple social media accounts.
Having 178 different social media accounts can’t be a good thing, but if you used SocialFlow, you’d certainly corral them. SocialFlow manages your Twitter, Facebook, Google +, and LinkedIn accounts. It tracks not only good times of days to post but also when people who might read your posts have congregated online. You’ll have a great shot at publishing the right content for the right people at the right time, starting at $99 per month.
6. Hootsuite
Best for: Comprehensive social media management.
Hootsuite is the most popular social media management platform for businesses. Small companies can manage up to five social media accounts for free, and Hootsuite also offers professional and enterprise subscriptions. You can upload scheduled posts to multiple accounts, review multiple social streams on a dashboard, and even break down streams, like Twitter lists, under separate tabs. Hootsuite also has analytics tools to help you understand how your posts are performing.
Crowdbooster screenshot by ACJ1 from Flickr Creative Commons.
Hootsuite screenshot from IvanWash.com from Flickr Creative Commons.
