#angagement metrics

[productiveandfree]

How to Choose the Right Social Analytics Tool for Your Business

Social media has become an essential marketing platform for businesses. In fact, the popularity of Facebook and Instagram for business promotion remained high in 2023, with 89% and 80% of marketers utilizing these platforms, respectively.

The benefits of social media for businesses are vast, ranging from brand awareness to lead generation. However, these platforms generate a lot of data, making it difficult to analyze performance without proper tools.

That’s where social analytics tools come in. They can track key metrics, such as engagement, reach, and conversions, enabling you to identify trends and refine your strategies.

In this post, I’ll walk you through how to choose the right social analytics tools. I’ll also explore 5 popular options, so you can decide which one fits your business needs.

Let’s get started!

How to Choose the Right Social Analytics Tools

When deciding on the right analytics tools to use for social media, keep these key factors in mind:

1. Your Business Goals

You should clearly define why you need social media analytics in the first place. Are you looking to increase engagement rates, track brand sentiments, or measure campaign ROI? Avoid setting too many goals. Each tool has its specialties, so your core goals will help narrow your options.

2. Ease of Use

Some tools are easier to use, while others have advanced features that require a steep learning curve. Unless your team has the technical expertise or you’re willing to invest in training, you should look for tools with intuitive dashboards and simple reporting.

3. Integration Capabilities

You should consider how well the tool integrates with your existing tech stack, such as your CRM, marketing automation, and project management tools. Having your data on a centralized platform can enhance your social media analytics.

4. Social Platform Compatibility

Major platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and X, have prebuilt analytics tools. For instance, you can get Facebook analytics from a dedicated section called Facebook Insights. However, you still need to check whether your preferred analytics tool is compatible with social media platforms because they may provide more detailed insights than built-in analytics.

5. Comprehensive Analytics

The tool you choose should capture a wide range of data from your social media pages. This includes:

●     Engagement Metrics: Includes likes, comments, shares, saves, and mentions

●     Audience Analytics: Your audience’s demographics, behavior, and interests

●     Campaign Tracking: Click-through rate, conversions, ROI

●     Competitor Analysis: A comparison of your performance to that of your competitors to identify areas for improvement

6. Customizable Reports

Look for social analytics tools that allow you to customize reporting features like tables and charts. This helps you highlight relevant insights for specific goals and audiences. It also makes it easier to communicate the impact of your social media strategy and allocate resources efficiently.  

7. Your Budget

This is crucial when choosing the right social analytics tool because such tools come at varying price points. Some are available for free with limited functionalities, while others offer robust features at a premium price.

If you’re a small business owner, many tools offer tiered pricing. This allows you to spend smartly and upgrade as your needs grow.

Established businesses may choose a comprehensive plan, which can be pricier. However, ensure you balance the features with the cost.

8. Customer Support

You may face challenges when using social media analytics tools. Make sure the tool offers some level of technical support. This can be via email marketing, phone calls, live chat, or even a detailed knowledge center.

9. Free Trials

Many social analytics tools offer demos or free trials. Take advantage of these to understand how the platform works and whether it aligns with your business needs. This hands-on experience can be invaluable to your decision-making.

6 Best Social Analytics Tools for Your Business

I’ve explained how to choose the right social analytics tool, so now it’s time to unveil my top picks. I’ve tested and identified the six best options that deliver comprehensive insights, allowing you to fully harness the power of your social media strategies.

Social Status

If you’re looking to automate social media performance monitoring and reporting, Social Status might be the ideal tool for you. This platform consolidates metrics from multiple channels in one dashboard, making month-to-month comparisons and reporting easy.

It also offers customizable reporting templates and white-labeling options to create professional reports that reflect your branding.

Since it offers integration with Meta Business Suite and Meta Ads Manager, you can get insights into your ad performance to fill the gaps of in-platform analytics.

You can access some of this platform’s features for free or opt for the paid plan, which starts at $9/month. 

Sprout Social

Known for its comprehensive suite of features, Sprout Social combines social media management tools with powerful analytics. It provides extensive cross-platform analytics on paid vs. organic performance, competitor reports, social trends, audience demographics, and more.

Sprout Social’s premium analytics feature allows you to choose metrics based on your priorities, customize reports, and distribute them using a sharable link. You can try Sprout Social using the 30-day free trial or select from its paid plans, starting at $249/seat/month, billed monthly.

BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is an excellent tool for tracking content performance across social media platforms. You can easily track your competitors’ keywords and who’s linking to your content. This also makes it a valuable tool for backlink analysis and strategy.

You can pair BuzzSumo with any backlink analysis tools mentioned in this Attrock post to optimize your social media content. Like other analytics tools I've mentioned, BuzzSumo offers a 30-day free trial, while its paid plans start at $199/month.

Hootsuite

In addition to its scheduling, content creation, and social listening tools, Hootsuite offers an impressive analytics tool. It measures hundreds of metrics across popular platforms, such as new followers, profile visits, website clicks, and daily engaged users.

The platform also provides advanced analytics for businesses and enterprises, allowing you to gain insight into your ad spend and ROI. The plans start at $99/month with a 30-day free trial.

Buffer

Buffer’s analytics tool offers a balance of features for small and mid-sized businesses. It tracks and analyzes your performance on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook from a single dashboard.

The tool also tells you which of your content performs best, whether it’s text, videos, pictures, or link posts. Buffer can also be used alongside video marketing tools to gain insights into what’s working and where improvements can be made.

The tool offers a free account, while its paid plans start from $6/month for one channel. You can also use the 14-day free trial to test its premium features.

Brandwatch

Brandwatch offers a comprehensive suite for various industries, including online businesses. Its social media management solution lets you analyze mentions, sentiments, and ecommerce trends across various social channels.

The platform has the most extensive network coverage, spanning TikTok to WhatsApp and Google Business. You should note that this is an enterprise-level analytics tool, so you can only get pricing by contacting a sales rep.   

Final Words

There you have it—the top 5 social analytics tools you can consider to improve your strategies. By now, you should have a clear picture of how to choose the right social analytics tool for your business. Remember, the "right" tool is the one that best fits your specific needs, budget, and technical capabilities.

Don't be moved by flashy features you won't use. Instead, focus on the functionalities that will drive your social media strategy forward and provide actionable insights for your business.

Share in the comments below: Questions go here