Social media management should be a priority for you as a critical building block, whether you are a company that needs to get their feeds in line or someone posting on behalf of someone else. There’s nothing worse than trying to handle everything manually, but by using scheduling features and the various other reporting tools that come with the most popular social management tools you can get a handle on it.

But which one do you go with?

There are a handful that stand out from the rest. Choosing between them can be a nightmare. We’re not going to go through the pros and cons of all of them because, quite frankly, we could write a book on it. But we’re going to show you what you really need to be looking at.

The Big Names

There are so many big names that you have to take into account. The Sprinklr, Adobe, Oracle, and Salesforce platforms are among the big names, but others like Sprout Social are also bringing up the rear. It can feel like a nearly impossible task to actually settle on one.

So how do you go about deciding on one?

The Scheduling Features

A guaranteed way of creating social media success for your business is to take advantage of certain scheduling features. These features will allow you to plan far in advance what you want to post on practically every social media feed. Thankfully, most of the big names offer a platform where you can take advantage of advanced scheduling features.

For example, you can plan weeks in advance what you want to post. This is ideally combined with blog publishing automation, so the content marketing part of your company is largely covered without your input.

Advanced Analytics

What separates the big names from everyone else is the advanced analytical options available. For example, Sprout Social allows you to find out how people have reacted to each social media status at the click of a button. You can find out how each status has done, which is perfect for split testing.

But don’t be overwhelmed by the range of features on a platform like Salesforce. A lot of the metrics you’ll come across are not that relevant. You don’t need to take them into account.

It makes no sense to choose one over the other because of a set of metrics that you will never use. This is a common problem because one third of marketers say they don’t know which metric or tactic gives them the biggest return.

Can a Rep Use It?

The reason why we’d always recommend you stick with a platform like Adobe or Salesforce is so that anyone you employ to manage your social media accounts can use it. Most companies these days are promoting their way to social success through employing someone else to manage the time consuming work for them.

When you try to use a lesser-known platform, or you try to use a platform that isn’t friendly to others, you can find it hard to find someone to do the job. Make sure that you’re using a widely-used platform.

What about Satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction is an essential part of it all. What do others who have used these platforms before think? The truth is that platforms like Sprinklr and Sprout have had fairly low ratings. They don’t rank highly for customer satisfaction, whereas Salesforce has succeeded in this category.

But before you run away from something like Sprinklr, think about what certain high-performers don’t have. They may not be designed for your niche. They may be in niches that aren’t relevant. The big names we’ve mentioned here are all general platforms designed for everyone.

Do You Want a Market Leader or a Niche?

Another smaller platform like Hootsuite has managed to establish itself as a market leader. That doesn’t mean a market leader should be your first choice. Popularity doesn’t always equal something that’s going to fulfill your needs. Sometimes you need to look at some low-key options.

For example, not everyone knows that Adobe even offers social media management options, yet it comes with a high satisfaction rates and many of the same features that the so-called market leaders already have.

Try Before You Buy

One of the best things about most social management platforms is that you can try before you buy. Most of them offer free trials that you can take advantage of. Try them out before you settle on one and see how well they suit the needs of your business.

It’s the best way to do it.