What makes a social media management tool effective for teams
Social media management tools shape how teams operate and the goals they can achieve. Finding the right fit depends on which tool best supports the team’s day-to-day tasks as well as the long-term agenda. Your solution should make planning and analysis easier and simplify communication. Teams should be improving quality rather than just increasing quantity.
Compare tools to choose the best one. Focus on specific areas where a solution could boost efficiency by supporting:
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Planning: Figuring out how to take action over time to meet business objectives
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Creating: Supporting content creators as they craft text, edit videos, or create graphics
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Posting: Providing adjustable calendars and timelines to make scheduling and publishing easy
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Collaborating: Allowing multiple people to work together without confusion or mistakes
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Tracking: Showing performance metrics from across platforms so you can monitor progress
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Reporting: Making reports and data exporting a straightforward process
Effective social media management tools allow teams to level up in multiple areas. Even if an option covers the basics, you’ll want to dive deeper to make sure it does everything you need. Some solutions may use the newest tech or have an impressive number of features. But if they don’t directly improve your results, they’re not the best fit.
1. Pick a tool that supports your channels
Make sure the tool supports all of the social media platforms you’re using. This may sound basic, but some tools may cover some major platforms like Facebook and TikTok but leave out LinkedIn or Pinterest.
In some cases, you may not have a presence on a given platform. But if you think you may expand to it later, your social media management tool should include it. Choosing a tool that doesn’t support one or more platforms you’re using can lead to wasted time and effort. You’ll need to switch back and forth between applications for information, creating extra work for yourself.
Common social media platforms include:
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Facebook allows users and brands to post photos, text, links, updates, and videos. It’s great for community building and promoting events.
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X, formerly Twitter, is for short text posts. It works well for providing news, real-time updates, and fast discussions.
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YouTube is mainly a long-form video platform. However, it does support other content formats, like livestreaming and short videos. YouTube videos can range from educational breakdowns to movie reviews to travel vlogs.
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Instagram users can easily follow friends, family, and influencers from around the world. Everyone can post their own Stories, Reels, and photos. The mix of real-life connections and influencer content gives Instagram a unique feed.
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TikTok is known for short and fast videos. This platform presents a lot of opportunities for viral posts or jumping on board new content trends.
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LinkedIn is a social platform geared toward professionals. Users can use it for networking and career development.
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Pinterest is a discovery-driven platform. Users can add images and photos to boards for others to see. These are often based on lifestyle themes such as travel ideas, cooking recipes, and fashion.
Each platform has its own rules, formats, metrics, and styles. An effective social media tool integrates all of them in a single space.
2. Stay ahead with user-friendly scheduling
Scheduling is one of the most important aspects of social media management. Helpful tools offer simplified content calendars that allow team members to simply drag and drop posts into time slots.
Tools with advanced scheduling features also allow leaders to assign responsibilities and tasks to specific team members. It’s a great way to plan days, weeks, or months ahead and keep everyone on the same page. Powerful solutions can even analyze your specific channel to give suggestions on the best times to post.
3. Keep the team on the same page
Both small and large teams depend on excellent communication. Helpful tools include features that support shared work. This can range from shared documents and calendars to internal commenting and chats. Clearly defining responsibilities and limiting conversations to a single channel creates a more seamless workflow.
4. Make quality checks simple
Prioritizing quality control minimizes mistakes, protects the brand’s reputation, and avoids legal issues. But certain tasks are more important than others.
When leadership needs to sign off on something, a useful tool lets them review and approve things easily. For example, teams may need to have management approve all content before posting. Or managers may need to OK a plan before a filming session can get underway. Social media management tools that support approvals simplify this process and save teams time.
5. Track performance with ease
Analytics are vital for measuring performance. But when you’re using multiple social platforms, it can get complicated. Each platform has its own metrics and measures different things.
Instead of switching back and forth between apps and manually converting metrics to compare them, you can use an analytics tool. These bring all the information and data into a single space. Deeper analytics also make for more detailed reporting.
Bonus features that can take teams to the next level
Certain tools will come with extra features. Some teams may benefit from these added insights, while smaller teams may find little use for them until they’ve scaled.
Social listening allows brands to monitor what’s being said about their brand beyond their direct mentions, messages, and comments. In addition, it tracks new trends and competitor movements.
Social media inbox tools are optimized for sorting, filtering, and responding to messages across multiple platforms. Organizations with large online presences can benefit from this feature, especially when multiple people are responsible for community management. The tool helps keep responses organized and tracks conversations.
Most tools use AI and automation to some extent already, and more features are coming. Teams shouldn’t use AI as a human replacement, but as support. It’s able to automate repetitive tasks, enhance brainstorming, and identify patterns that could lead to opportunities. Smaller teams or single-person managers may find AI and automation options especially helpful.
