What is Sprout Social?
Sprout Social is a comprehensive social media management platform designed to streamline and optimize social media strategies for businesses and organizations. It serves as an all-in-one solution, integrating various tools for publishing, engagement, analytics, social listening, and customer care, making it a powerful asset for managing social media presence across multiple platforms.
Key Features and Functionality
Social Media Management
Sprout Social supports a wide range of social media platforms, including Instagram business accounts, Twitter, Facebook pages, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Additionally, it allows connections with accounts from Google Business, Google Analytics, TripAdvisor, and Glassdoor.
Publishing and Scheduling
The platform offers robust publishing tools that enable users to create, manage, and schedule content across multiple social media channels. Features include a social content calendar, suggested send times based on audience engagement, and the ability to draft, schedule, and queue posts. Users can also automate post scheduling using optimization algorithms to maximize engagement.
Social Engagement and Inbox Management
Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox centralizes all customer messages and inquiries from multiple social channels into a unified inbox. This allows for efficient engagement with messages, including AI-generated canned responses and auto-tagging for message types, profiles, and keywords. The platform also provides alerts for increased message activity and supports chatbot automation for managing incoming messages.
Analytics and Reporting
The platform is equipped with advanced analytics tools that provide detailed reports on social media performance. Features include competitor analysis, follower analysis, post performance metrics, and customizable reports that can be exported in various formats. Users can also schedule PDF reports to be sent to stakeholders on a regular basis, ensuring consistent communication of social media metrics.
Social Listening
Sprout Social’s Social Listening feature, available as a premium add-on, uses AI to uncover trends and actionable insights from social media data. This tool helps in filtering out spam and noise, providing granular insights that guide future social media strategies.
Content and Collaboration
The platform includes a content library where users can upload and publish brand content from a shared library. It also features approval workflows to ensure that social posts are approved by managers or clients before publishing. Team collaboration is enhanced through features like shared inboxes, user permissions, and the ability to assign tasks and track conversation histories.
CRM and Customer Care
Sprout Social integrates CRM tools that allow multiple team members to track conversation history, contact information, and other notes for customer interactions. This CRM-lite functionality helps in maintaining strong relationships with customers and provides insights into customer service response times.
Integrations and Automation
The platform integrates with various third-party tools, including helpdesk and CRM software, Salesforce Service Cloud, Google Analytics, and Tableau. Automation features such as automated link tracking, chatbot builders, and customizable workflows help in reducing repetitive tasks and improving efficiency.
Mobile and Accessibility
Sprout Social offers a mobile app, allowing users to manage their social media presence, post content, and optimize strategies from any location. The interface is user-friendly, with quick-access buttons and a clean UI that simplifies common actions.
Pricing
Sprout Social offers four pricing plans:
- Standard: $249/month, includes 5 social profiles and basic features.
- Professional: $399/month, includes unlimited social profiles and additional features like competitive reporting and social commerce integrations.
- Advanced: $499/month, adds features such as digital and content libraries, chatbots, and automated link tracking.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing with additional features like 24/5 prioritized customer support and premium analytics.
Overall, Sprout Social is a powerful tool that simplifies and enhances social media management, providing a comprehensive suite of features to help businesses optimize their social media strategies and engage effectively with their audiences.