Sprout Social vs Hootsuite: Which social media management to choose?
Table of Contents
- What is Sprout Social?
- What is Hootsuite?
- Sprout Social vs Hootsuite Feature Comparison
- Sprout Social Unique Features
- Hootsuite Unique Features
- Sprout Social Products and Tools
- Hootsuite Products and Tools
- Hootsuite vs. Sprout Social Pricing
- Sprout Social Use Cases
- Hootsuite Use Cases
- Sprout Social vs. Hootsuite Conclusion
Effective social media management is now essential in the dynamic online environment of today. Since the typical person uses 6.7 different social networks each month, businesses are under more and more pressure to be active on various platforms.
Staying competitive and keeping your audience interested requires monitoring these accounts, planning posts, and evaluating performance—whether you’re a tiny business owner or a member of a huge marketing team.
Of the several social media management systems on the market, Hootsuite and Sprout Social are the most well-liked and feature-rich choices. Both solutions claim to make managing many networks easier, but how can you decide which is best for your company?
In this article, we’ll evaluate Sprout Social vs. Hootsuite, highlighting their key characteristics, cost structures, and best practices. By the end, you’ll have the knowledge required to decide wisely and select the tool that best fits your social media strategy.
What is Sprout Social?
Sprout Social is a full-featured social media management tool made to make engagement, performance monitoring, and content scheduling easier. Businesses can handle messages from several networks in one location with its Smart Inbox, and its robust Sprout Social analytics offer ample information that helps maximize their campaigns.
This Sprout Social overview would not be complete without highlighting its CRM features and team collaboration tools, facilitating individualized customer contacts and smooth team coordination. Thanks to tools like trend monitoring and social listening, businesses also gain a competitive edge by staying current on industry discussions.
What is Hootsuite?
Hootsuite is a flexible social media management tool that enables companies to plan posts, manage numerous accounts, and track trends across multiple networks. Its user-friendly interface simplifies your social media activities by supporting smooth interaction with sites like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
The Hootsuite scheduling feature automates posts, ensuring consistent engagement, while its trend-monitoring tools help businesses stay responsive. With flexible plans for different business sizes and extensive integrations, this Hootsuite overview highlights its ability to streamline social media management for businesses of all scales.
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite Feature Comparison
When deciding between Sprout Social and Hootsuite, consider how well each platform’s capabilities meet your company’s requirements. Despite having strong social media management capabilities, both platforms’ strategies differ in a few important areas.
Social Media Scheduling
Both tools excel in scheduling, but with different strengths:
- Sprout Social offers a content calendar with built-in features like notes for team reminders and an Instagram Grid Planner to preview how posts will appear.
- Hootsuite is perfect for quick scheduling since it offers a more user-friendly calendar view with bulk scheduling and recommendations for the best times to post right in the calendar. Furthermore, content production is streamlined by Hootsuite’s interfaces with GIF and image libraries like GIPHY and Pexels.
Analytics and Reporting
When comparing Sprout Social analytics with Hootsuite’s reporting:
- Sprout Social offers detailed, customizable reports with advanced insights, making it a strong choice for data-driven businesses. Reports can be scheduled for delivery and shared via links, perfect for collaborative teams.
- Hootsuite, on the other hand, emphasizes ease of use with export options in multiple formats (PDF, Excel, PowerPoint) and automated email reporting, offering more flexibility for various reporting needs.
User Interface and Usability
- Teams requiring complex analytics and CRM features may find Sprout Social’s data-rich layout appealing, while less advanced users may find it overwhelming.
- Hootsuite’s UI is simpler, making it more manageable for beginners. Its user-friendly dashboard guarantees easy access to necessary tools.
Team Collaboration
- Sprout Social excels in team workflows, with features like message assignments and cross-channel conversation tracking. Notifications are sent via app, email, or Slack, ensuring seamless communication.
- Hootsuite offers straightforward collaboration, including approval workflows and reminders, but lacks more profound case management tools like Sprout Social’s Cases for Teams.
Integrations
- Sprout Social supports Facebook Messenger and Threads and provides free integrations with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce; however, it does not support WhatsApp.
- Hootsuite is perfect for companies with a variety of communication requirements because it interfaces with several platforms, including WhatsApp. However, many integrations have extra costs.
Sprout Social Unique Features
Sprout Social offers some of its own features in addition to the basic key features of a social media management platform.
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CRM Integration
One of Sprout Social’s standout features is its CRM integration. This allows businesses to manage customer relationships directly within the platform, making it easier to track interactions and personalize communication.
By developing detailed customer profiles, teams can interact more successfully and provide better customer support, all from a single dashboard. Sprout Social CRM offers the resources required for companies that prioritize customer interaction to foster connections and build long-term loyalty.
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Advanced Analytics
Sprout Social analytics provide detailed insights to help businesses track social media performance and measure ROI. The platform offers customizable reports with interactive charts and graphs, allowing you to visualize key metrics and identify trends.
You can also separate organic and paid performance from fine-tuning strategies for better results. These tools help businesses make data-driven decisions and improve future social media campaigns.
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Social Listening
Sprout Social excels in social media listening with its robust customization features. It offers pre-built templates tailored to specific goals like brand health and competitive analysis, allowing businesses to track key themes within broader topics.
The platform also enables direct interaction with discovered posts, including replying, resharing, and using AI to quickly summarize lengthy messages, making it easier to engage with meaningful content.
Hootsuite Unique Features
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Content Library
Hootsuite’s content library is a strong tool for organizing pre-approved media assets, including videos, images, and templates. It enables companies to store infinite content, facilitating team access and sharing of brand-consistent materials.
You can organize assets using tags, set availability and expiration dates, and even add internal notes to guide team members on when and how to use each piece. This feature is beneficial for larger teams, as it makes sure content is always relevant and aligned with brand guidelines.
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Integration Options
With seamless connection with over 100 tools, Hootsuite integrations make managing your social media needs easy on one platform. Hootsuite makes it easier to create, schedule, and analyze content using social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook and third-party applications like Google Analytics, Canva, and more.
These integrations help to improve productivity and optimize operations while simplifying the management of your social media presence across several platforms.
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Flexible Plans
Hootsuite features a range of adjustable price options for companies of all sizes. Hootsuite provides alternatives that may grow with your company, whether you’re a tiny business in need of simple tools or a large company needing more advanced capabilities.
These plans give companies the resources they need to efficiently manage social media, from planning posts to expediting content management, so they can easily expand their online presence.
Sprout Social Products and Tools
- Sprout Social Scheduling: The platform makes scheduling easier by providing user-friendly tools that enable you to schedule and automate posts across a variety of channels, guaranteeing that the right people see your material at the right moment.
- AI-Powered Workflows: Automate repetitive tasks with Sprout Social’s AI-enhanced workflows. These tools help prioritize messages, offer automated replies, and allow your team to focus more on strategy and creative efforts.
- Sprout Social Analytics: Use thorough analytics to monitor results, collect helpful data, and calculate the return on investment of your social media activities. Sprout Social’s analytics tools improve business results and optimize social media efforts.
- Engagement Tools: The Smart Inbox centralizes all your messages, providing an efficient way to manage and respond to interactions. With automated routing and AI-driven message classification, you can prioritize and respond to customer inquiries quickly.
- Influencer Marketing: Sprout Social’s integrated tools enable you to discover important influencers, increase your business’s reach, and boost interaction while keeping your workflow efficient.
Hootsuite Products and Tools
- Hootsuite Scheduling: Organize, plan, and schedule your social media postings on several platforms with ease. Even when you’re not online, you can guarantee continuous content delivery and maximize publishing times using Hootsuite’s user-friendly scheduling feature.
- Hootsuite Monitoring: Monitor conversations in real time to monitor your brand’s social media presence carefully. By using Hootsuite to follow mentions, keywords, and hashtags, you can rapidly enter conversations and address any problems while maintaining a connection with your audience.
- Campaign Management: Use a single platform to manage and conduct complete campaigns. While staying within your budget, you can work with your team, track results, and ensure your campaign runs efficiently.
Hootsuite vs. Sprout Social Pricing
When comparing Sprout Social vs. Hootsuite pricing, both platforms offer robust social media management tools but cater to different needs and budgets.
Let’s explore their pricing models to help you decide which solution best fits your business.
Feature/Plan | Hootsuite | Sprout Social |
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Free Trial | 30-days free trial | Social Sprout Free Trial |
Entry-Level Plan | Professional: $99/month for 1 user, 10 social accounts | Standard: $199/month per user, 5 social profiles |
Mid-Tier Plan | Team: $249/month for 3 users, 20 social accounts | Professional: $299/month per user, unlimited profiles |
Advanced Plan | Enterprise: Custom pricing, starts at 5 users, 50 accounts | Advanced: $399/month per user, unlimited profiles |
Enterprise Plan | Custom pricing for large teams | Contact for pricing, tailored plans available |
AI Features | Caption and hashtag generator | AI Assist for Alt-text, content suggestions, and sentiment |
Support & Onboarding | Free Academy training for Enterprise users | White-glove onboarding for Enterprise users |
Sprout Social Use Cases
Sprout Social is a flexible option for businesses wishing to improve their social media strategy because it is made to meet a range of business demands and industries. Here are some advantages for various business types:
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Large Organizations
For enterprises managing extensive social media operations, using Sprout Social analytics to track ROI and refine strategies is simple, while Sprout Social CRM ensures seamless customer interaction management across channels.
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Customer-Focused Brands
Brands prioritizing customer engagement and satisfaction can leverage Sprout Social’s robust tools for real-time monitoring, sentiment analysis, and personalized interactions. This helps businesses build stronger relationships and maintain a positive brand image across all platforms.
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Marketing Agencies
Sprout Social is a great option for agencies that oversee numerous clients and campaigns. Its collaboration features, which include task assignments, message tagging, and comprehensive reporting, streamline workflows and increase team productivity. Sprout’s advanced analytics tools make it simple for agencies to monitor ROI and improve their tactics.
Hootsuite Use Cases
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Small Businesses
For small teams that require affordable tools to manage their social media presence, Hootsuite is an excellent choice. With Hootsuite scheduling, you can schedule posts in advance and keep up a steady online presence without going over budget.
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Content Teams
For businesses handling a high volume of content across multiple accounts, Hootsuite’s streamlined workflow and intuitive dashboard make it easy to manage everything in one place. Its Hootsuite features, like automated post recommendations and a unified inbox, simplify content management and save time.
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Budget-Conscious Users
Hootsuite is smart for those seeking powerful social media management without overspending. Its range of plans and scalable Hootsuite features let users stay on top of their social media game while keeping costs low.
Sprout Social vs. Hootsuite Conclusion
Both platforms provide powerful social media management capabilities compared to Sprout Social and Hootsuite, but their advantages serve different needs.
Because of its excellent CRM integration, advanced analytics, and extensive collaboration features, Sprout Social is the best choice for larger businesses, customer-focused brands, and marketing agencies that need teamwork and in-depth insights. Improved reporting and data-driven AI are among its premium features, reflected in its higher price point.
However, Hootsuite is an affordable, user-friendly service ideal for teams that produce a lot of material, small enterprises, and consumers on a tight budget. Thanks to its user-friendly Hootsuite scheduling and streamlined functionality, it provides great value for teams that require effective social media management without a significant learning curve or expensive fees.
Use the 30-day free trials both platforms provide to help you select the best choice. By testing each, you can choose which solution best suits your social media management requirements.