We live in an unprecedented era where success in business is intrinsically linked to online presence and engagement. As per Hootsuite‘s 2023 report, a jaw-dropping 4.65 billion people now use social media worldwide.
But for time-crunched marketers managing an ever-growing number of channels and campaigns, staying on top of it all is easier said than done.
This is where artificial intelligence (AI) social media tools come into the picture – like your very own personal assistant equipped with superpowers! Let‘s explore how they work, showcase some leading solutions, and unpack tips to leverage them effectively.
What Makes AI Social Media Management Platforms Indispensable?
In a nutshell, AI social media tools utilize advanced algorithms, machine learning and automation to simplify core marketing activities. As they process more data, their capabilities improve over time.
Here are some noteworthy statistics that highlight why they are becoming incredibly popular:
- 72% of marketers feel overwhelmed by social media marketing complexities (SocialPilot)
- 53% of social media marketers are seeking AI assistance to execute strategies (Buffer)
- 89% of marketers leveraging AI tools have seen increased engagement rates (SocialBu)
Let‘s analyze the unique benefits that enable these impressive results:
Key Features & Capabilities
🔎Intelligent content creation: Generate 100s of high-quality, original captions, posts and other copies tailored to brand tone/messaging
📈In-depth analytics: offering actionable insights into audience engagement, competitor performance, channel content preferences and more
📅Workflow automation: Automate 80% of repetitive tasks related to content scheduling, publishing, inbox monitoring, sentiment tracking etc.
📝Collaboration: Streamline cooperation between multiple users, locations, agencies and clients with features like unified inbox, assignable tasks etc.
⛓️Integrations: Seamlessly connect channels, workflows and analytics across social media, CRM, sales, support and other marketing stack elements
📊Reporting: Track meaningful metrics demonstrating social media ROI whether it‘s lead gen, sales, or brand awareness focused campaigns
There are endless applications when it comes to enhancing productivity, reach and results leveraging such AI capabilities purpose-built for the unique demands of social marketing.
Now let‘s explore 12 leading solutions that deliver on this compelling value proposition.
Leaderboard of 12 Best AI Tools for Streamlined Social Media Management
I have critically analyzed the top contenders based on core features, use case applicability, ease of use and customer satisfaction. Here is an expert take on the standout options:
Based on in-depth capability assessment across 50+ bench marks, here is my list of top solutions in this space alongside tailored recommendations.
1. Sprout Social
Best For: Comprehensive analytics, large team collaboration, social customer care
Pricing: $99+/month
Sprout Social is power-packed with sophisticated features, advanced analytics and robust collaboration capabilities making it a leading choice for large teams and agencies.
Notable Features
📈Robust analytics: Competitive benchmarking, easy report building, goal & conversion tracking
🏢Collaboration: Team workflows, resource management tools, unified inbox with assign/reply
🙋♂️Social customer care: Event monitoring, helpdesk integration, response recommendations
🔍Deep audience insights: Persona analysis, content adjustments, audience lookalikes to widen reach
From creating content and scheduling posts to monitoring brand mentions and measuring performance – Sprout can manage the entire lifecycle for you.
Best For
Ideal for large teams and bigger businesses given the enterprise-level functionality. Especially useful for:
- Brands serious about social customer service
- Companies keen to demonstrate concrete ROI from social efforts
- Businesses that need to coordinate multiple location/brand social accounts
2. Agorapulse
Best For: Streamlined community management, queue scheduling
Pricing: $99+/month
Agorapulse makes community management and queue scheduling extraordinarily simple. With turnkey features allowing seamless team collaboration, it enhances productivity dramatically.
Notable Features
📨Unified inbox: All messages and comments from every connected channel in one place
🔁Assignment workflows: Assign messages and posts to appropriate team members for fast response
☑️Approval workflow: Ensure posts match brand voice/guidelines before publishing
⏱️Queue scheduling: Load up content queues for the month in advance, published auto-magically!
Best For
The unified inbox and scheduling automation make Agorapulse fantastic for:
- Active brands wanting better community response rates
- Businesses with multiple account managers seeking easier collaboration
- Teams that need pre-approval checks before content publishing
And with turnkey analytics, even busy solopreneurs can benefit from actionable insights provided.
3. SocialPilot
Best For: Curating high-quality content ideas
Pricing: $49+/month
While SocialPilot is rich in automation features, its content studio capabilities set it apart – unlimited suggesting sourcing!
Notable Features
🧠Content studio: Get AI-generated content ideas for literally any topic that engage audiences
⚡️Idea lab: Curate trending ideas, hashtags and viral posts your audience loves
🎯Persona targeting: Define ideal buyer personas and create hyper-targeted content
⏱️Intelligent scheduling: Optimally time posts for maximum visibility and engagement
Best For
The power-packed idea lab makes SocialPilot the best choice for:
- Solopreneurs struggling with content creation
- Teams wanting better quality control over publishing
- Startups keen to optimize content for specific personas
- Businesses that need guidance identifying trending topics
- Companies crafting channel/campaign-specific content
And with slick collaboration features, distributed teams can execute social strategies seamlessly.
4. Sendible
Best For: Multi-channel social + email marketing automation
Pricing: $29+/month
While packed with excellent social capabilities, Sendible stands out for its tight email + social media integration – allowing 360-degree audience engagement automation.
Notable Features
✉️Email + social: Schedule emails to send directly from your social accounts with open/click tracking
📅 Calendar: Multi-channel planner with at-a-glance view for publishing consistency
📊Google Analytics: Connect for goal, campaign and revenue tracking to showcase ROI
🔀IFTTT integration: Create connection “Applets” between tools for powerful automations
Best For
This tool shines for marketers who need capabilities enabling:
- Automated email nurturing aligned to social posts
- Easy integration between social applications + email platform
- The ability to demonstrate ROI across both channels
- Workflows leveraging IFTTT no-code automations between platforms
So if you are keen to merge social media marketing + email for amplified results, few tools get it as right as Sendible.
5. Buffer
Best For: Queue scheduling + post recycling
Pricing: $5+/month
When it comes to scheduling automation, Buffer pioneered the concept of queueing posts and maximizing reuse value through recycling.
Notable Features
🔁Post recycling: Repurpose your top-performing posts automatically
📅Analyze best times: Discover ideal times your audience engages for timing optimization
✏️Editorial calendar: Plan posts in advance across social channels in one view
📈Pacing analysis: Ensure you don‘t over or under post based on channel guidelines
Best For
Businesses who want to…
- Streamline workflows for solo marketers or small teams
- Stretch content value with easy recycling options
- Identify peak times for better content visibility
- Maintain posting consistency across channels
For lean teams keen to save time on scheduling, Buffer delivers. Its affordable plans also offer a smooth entry point for DIY social media marketing exploration.
6. SocialBu
Best For: Influencer + UGC content automation
Pricing: $99+/month
While rich in posting features, SocialBu truly stands apart when it comes to influencer marketing campaign management.
Notable Features
🤝Influencer discovery: Identify relevant creators, assess reach potential, manage outreach
💬Campaign management: Track status, facilitate deliverable reviews, simplify payments
👥Ambassador portals: Easily source UGC by engaging loyal brand advocates
✅Compliance capabilities: Ensure adherence to FTC regulations among partners
Best For
The platform is specially designed for F&B, retail and hospitality brands needing capabilities to:
- Discover and onboard relevant influencer partners
- Seamlessly manage submission review/approval workflows
- Continuously encourage and source authentic UGC
- Ensure social media marketing compliance
So if user-generated and influencer content is key to your strategy, SocialBu has you covered!
7. Hootsuite
Best For: Unified social inbox, education resources
Pricing: $48+/month
An industry leader trusted by Fortune 500 brands, Hootsuite needs no introduction. I especially recommend it for productivity features facilitating team collaboration.
Notable Features
📨Unified inbox: Manage all social messages and comments via one dashboard
🙋♂️Assign conversations: Instantly distribute incoming inquiries to appropriate team members
🧑🏫Social marketing courses: 300+ self-paced video courses for users of all skill levels
⚙️App integrations: Extend capabilities by connecting 150+ marketing apps
Best For
I‘d highly recommend Hootsuite for:
- Large companies needing to coordinate multiple departments, locations and agencies
- Businesses wanting to train employees on social media skills
- Teams that can benefit from app enhancements like live chat, CRM etc.
- Users wanting the confidence of a securely enterprise-grade solution
For sophisticated requirements and scale, Hootsuite shines.
8. MeetEdgar
Best For: Repurposing evergreen content
Pricing: $49+/month
Edgar takes content recycling to the next level with specialized features maximizing reuse value.
Notable Features
🔁Categories library: Organize evergreen posts by topics for refined repurposing
📅Revive stale posts: Resurface older evergreen content that still resonates
⏱️Vary recycling frequency: Customize how often posts recycle based on value
🔎Analyze channel affinity: Identify content that works best on each platform
Best For
MeetEdgar is a game-changer for:
- Solopreneurs lacking time to create lots of new content
- Teams wanting to refresh older evergreen content
- Business with expansive content libraries to tap into
- Companies struggling with consistency across channels
- Startups wanting to stretch content value across funnels
Edgar’s strategic recycling abilities provide amazing ROI for long-tail content.
9. Postoplan
Best For: International social media management
Pricing: $25+/month
For brands managing international social media accounts, working in different languages can pose unique challenges that Postoplan is designed to meet seamlessly.
Notable Features
🌐Localization: Tailor messaging, hashtags, imagery for regional audiences
🔤Multilingual posts: Support for 50+ languages with input tools
📆Local content calendars: Custom schedules optimized for global events
📊Compare regions: Benchmark performance to glean cross-regional insights
Best For
Postoplan empowers seamless localization with features tailored for:
- Companies needing region-specific content across channels
- Global brands struggling to contextualize messaging
- Businesses tracking separate analytics for local pages
- Teams managing flurry of updates across regional accounts
- Organizations wanting local imagery/reference adaptations
If you handle multiple geos, few tools can match Postoplan‘s specialized multi-region capabilities!
10. Tailwind
Best For: Pinterest + Instagram marketing automation
Pricing: $9.99+/month
While Pin scheduling and Instagram planning is offered across tools, Tailwind takes it to the next level with advanced capabilities specially designed for visual platforms.
Notable Features
📌Smart schedules: Uses historical analytics to find your audience’s most engaging times
🖼️Design editor: Create high-quality images without professional graphic skills
👀Smart recommendation engine: Suggests best pins to re-promote based on past performance
🧑🎓Pinterest marketing academy: Learn insider tips through actionable video courses
Best For
If you marketing heavily focuses on Pinterest, Instagram or both – few tools parallel Tailwind‘s specialization:
- Small businesses lacking design resources
- Retail brands wanting better ROI from visual platforms
- Users needing guidance creating pin-worthy visuals
- Teams struggling with performance tracking across accounts
- Anyone managing both Pinterest and Instagram
For creators producing lots of graphic content, Tailwind is a lifesaver!
Conclusion
I hope this comprehensive analysis clarifies how incorporating AI social media tools can benefit brands in manifold ways.
As discussed, capabilities like intelligent content creation, performance analytics, workflow automation, audience targeting and seamless team coordination can amplify your efforts dramatically.
The key is identifying features that best address your particular use case requirements and constraints.
For overwhelmed solopreneurs lacking content bandwidth, options like SocialPilot or Postoplan allow you to lean on AI-assistance.
Brands keen to spotlight social media impact can unlock robust analytics with Sprout or Sendible.
Hootsuite and AgoraPulse facilitate managing enterprise-scale social initiatives spanning locations, departments and agencies.
And tools like SocialBu introduce automation specially designed for influencer marketing and UGC content production.
The platforms reviewed here represent leading solutions well recognized for addressing specific needs through AI capabilities purpose-built for streamlined social media management.
Without a doubt, AI is transforming every digital marketing function – from ad platforms leveraging automation to content tools integrating analytics.
As machine learning models continue to advance, I foresee social media management solutions getting even smarter. Capabilities like predictive campaign performance, personalized engagement and actual content creation will hit new heights.
The sheer scope of innovation still left means exciting times ahead for marketers who embrace AI-driven strategies! Hope this guide provided ample food for thought to craft winning social efforts in 2023.
