One of the reasons that marketers, business owners, and professionals enjoy and employ social media for marketing purposes is that it provides a wealth of measurable data. On top of that, it’s easy to work with, so that even novice small business owners can master the basics with relative ease. Most social media platforms come with helpful dashboards built-in that can be especially useful for beginners or smaller organizations. However, when it becomes necessary to track campaign performance across multiple platforms, as is usually the case, you need the help of advanced social engagement software.

Social media marketing has exploded in recent years, and for good reason. Almost half of the world’s population is active on social media. Every type of demographic is represented on one social platform or another. Business professionals and entrepreneurs frequent LinkedIn, while millennial freelancers publish their work on Instagram. There’s a platform for everyone, and businesses have taken advantage of this online gathering place for years now.

Content marketing in this day and age is heavily dependent upon the success of a brand’s social media marketing efforts. Social campaigns and content strategies are intertwined in most instances, and when these two areas work in harmony with one another, great things begin to happen for a brand of any size.

Content marketing greatly supports social media efforts. Keran Smith from Lyfe Marketing summed up the impact content has on other facets of marketing.

Yet another importance of content marketing is that consistent, quality content helps support every other part of your digital marketing strategy,”* said Smith. *”Most small businesses have more than one tool in their digital marketing toolbox. From email marketing to social media to PPC ads, there are many different tactics that you can use to attract and engage your ideal audience.

The more content a brand publishes, however, and the more platforms they try to reach, the harder it is to keep up with marketing efforts. That’s part of the reason that social engagement software is becoming more popular and necessary among social media marketers for various businesses.

In this post, we consider some of the most important features of social engagement software. We do this so that you can observe which criteria are going to be most important for you and your brand’s unique needs, goals, and objectives.

![Social media marketing is among the pillars of successful digital marketing.

1. User Experience

It may not seem like it on the surface, but the social engagement software you end up using is only as good as its user-interface. If it’s not easy to use, and if it doesn’t deliver an excellent user experience, there’s a good chance your staff will have problems with the app. Not only does this disrupt the transition to the new social engagement software, but it also hurts productivity.

You should always choose a tool that is easy to use and easy to master. Your team should feel empowered to use all the features of the tool, and it should be easily taught to new hires.

2. Pricing

The second consideration on our top seven list is of course pricing. You want to check for special and flexible billing options for engaging the software on a monthly or yearly basis. You also want to use free trials to check and verify all the features that you get from each plan.

3. All-in-one Platform

An all-in-one platform reduces your dependence on smaller tools and improves your business workflow. Then, you’re empowered to use scheduling and publishing tools to get more traffic and ensure that your metrics are on the rise while still being objective and accurate.

4. Scheduling and Publishing

When shopping for social engagement software, you will want to verify many features, but one of the most important is the ability to publish and schedule across all platforms using one easy-to-use tool for mapping out a content calendar and sticking to it month over month.

5. Analytics

You are likely already aware that where there is social engagement software there ought to be powerful analytics. Check the tool for analytics that gives accurate measurements and metrics for all the engagements you get for your brand on social media.

6. Integrations and Extensions

You likely use many different tools during your day at work where you chat on Slack, check your Google Calendar, and more. Part of the beauty of advanced social engagement software tools is its ability to integrate with and extend the power of the tools you already work with.

7. Automation

Automation tools reduce human error and make your job a whole lot easier. It can even improve revenue, conversion rates, and data accuracy. So, you want to make sure that your chosen social engagement software allows for custom automation of your workflow.

Conclusion

If you consider these seven essential elements of any social engagement software, then you will be well on your way to choosing an excellent app for your brand that will help you boost productivity, confidence, and more.

In summary, we evaluated the importance of an easy interface, flexible pricing, all-in-one features, scheduling, powerful analytics, integrations, and custom automation. We want to, in closing, turn your attention to a tool that boasts all these features and more.

HipSocial by 500apps is a powerful force of nature when it comes to social media engagement. It boosts your business through custom automation, insightful analytics, and easy scheduling. You can try this tool today through HipSocial's 30-day free trial.

It will demonstrate for you what a premiere social engagement software should look like, and you can test all its features for yourself to see how they can work for your brand’s unique needs and challenges.