Digital marketing is a difficult industry to get into these days, with so many different tools and platforms available. If you’re looking for the best option out there, then you should compare Sprout Social vs HubSpot. Both of these digital marketing giants offer an extensive range of features that will help your business succeed online. In this blog post, we break down each platform in detail and give our recommendation on which one suits your needs better!
Why Do You Need a Social Media Management Software
Social media management software is needed by businesses because it helps to organize social media efforts, schedule posts for your website and multiple accounts in one place.
Another goal of social media management software is increasing the reach of your message and engagement with audiences across all major social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn. This will help you monitor analytics about each post so that you are always able to optimize future posts.
A social media management software also helps you measure your efforts with analytics, reporting, and integrations that allow you to see how each post performs so that you can plan better strategies in the future.
What is Sprout Social?
Sprout Social is a social media management platform that helps marketers and businesses engage with their audience, publish content across multiple platforms, collaborate with team members through live streams or private chat sessions. The interface allows managers to schedule posts in advance throughout the day via LinkedIn Pages, Facebook Business Manager, Twitter Ads accounts among other areas; monitor conversations; provide customer service support (by replying directly to mentions of their company on social media), and measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
What is HubSpot?
HubSpot is a tool that is used to help businesses get their names out there. It helps them market themselves in the right way and it also has many different tools that can be helpful for every business owner.
Sprout Social Pros and Cons
Sprout Social Pros
Sprout Social pros are that it is an easy-to-use system. It has a great grid design and the designs are very user-friendly. The other pro is their customer service, they have many options for contacting them if you run into issues or questions about different things in your account.
Sprout Social Cons
Sprout Social cons are that it is a little more expensive than some of the other platforms on this list. It also does not have as many integrations with other apps and programs, which can be frustrating for those who rely heavily on these features to run their business or company smoothly.
HubSpot Pros and Cons
HubSpot Pros
HubSpot’s pros are that they have a very large number of integrations with other tools.
Hubspot has an easy-to-use interface which makes marketing easier for beginners and pros alike. This is not the case at Sprout Social where you may need help from customer service in order to learn how to do things even as a beginner.
Hubspot has a lot of third-party support. This means that many other tools are very happy to integrate with them, whereas this is not always the case at Sprout Social where their API can be difficult for developers to work with. On top of integration issues, it also takes several days for your data to come over from Sprout Social which is a long time if you are just starting out.
HubSpot Cons
HubSpot’s cons are that it is not free, but they do have a 30-day trial. They also charge per contact which may make the price of using them prohibitive for some small businesses.
It is not as easy to use for beginners. It can be confusing if you are looking for a social media marketing solution that will give you the best bang for your buck.
HubSpot vs. Sprout Social: Which platform has the best features?
Best Dashboards
Dashboards are a key feature of email marketing as they provide an overview of your campaign’s performance. In order to improve upon results, it is important to know what works and what doesn’t – which can only be done with good data on hand. For example, you would want to compare open rates between campaigns or days of the week (if that applies) to determine what works best for your audience.
Hubspot’s dashboard is very in-depth and allows you to compare data between campaigns, lists, tags, and more. Therefore it is a great tool for figuring out what works best with your audience and how to improve upon results.
On the other hand, Sprout Social’s dashboard focuses on giving users an overview of their social activity such as reactions received through comments or mentions. It also allows you to quickly see the overall engagement rate of your social content.
In terms of dashboards feature, Hubspot is the clear winner as it has more functionality and allows you to compare data between different emails. On the other hand, Sprout Social’s social media dashboard provides a quick overview of how your content performed overall on social media which may be all some users need.
Best Scheduling
Scheduling happens when you plan your social media posts ahead of time.
While it may seem like scheduling is not important, in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Scheduling is crucial to marketing on any platform because if done correctly it can help save a ton of time while still keeping your online presence active and consistent across multiple platforms. This will help you in the long run by giving your content a better chance of being seen and will also increase engagement.
Hubspot’s scheduling features are fairly basic and do not offer much in terms of scheduling. You can schedule posts, but there is no option for bulk uploads which is very helpful when you have a lot to post at once.
On the other hand, Sprout Social’s scheduling features are vastly superior to HubSpot because it allows users to create an entire campaign out of their posts rather than just uploading them individually. This will save you a ton of time and help your content reach more people because it allows you to plan out all the details for each post ahead of time before they are scheduled or posted.
Overall, Sprout Social’s scheduling features are far superior to HubSpot’s which will save you time and help your social media marketing efforts in the long run.
Best Reporting
Reporting is the measuring and analysis of data. It’s important in marketing to see what works well, where your target market is engaging with your brand or messaging product most often, and how you can adjust strategies based on these insights for future campaigns.
Hubspot’s reporting tools are more in-depth. They cover all of the major social media platforms, whereas Sprout Social only covers Twitter and Facebook out of the box.
Hubspot also offers video reporting on YouTube views, traffic sources for individual pieces of content across organic search, paid ads (including Google Ads), and social media, along with a real-time feed to monitor brand mentions.
Sprout Social offers analytic reports across all platforms that your team manages, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram & Pinterest. All you have to do is connect each platform under one account in Sprout Social, and you can view your posts across all networks in one place.
In terms of reporting, Hubspot and Sprout Social are both good options. HubSpot offers more robust reporting tools, but it also costs significantly more than Sprout Social.
Best Analysis
An analysis is the examination of raw data to understand what it is telling you. It’s important in marketing because if you don’t analyze your data, how will you know which campaigns are working?
Hubspot’s analysis is an easy-to-understand report on your marketing data, with enough detail to allow you to determine what’s working and what isn’t. Sprout Social is more of an engagement tool than a monitoring one; it allows users to schedule posts across multiple platforms but doesn’t offer the detailed analysis that Hubspot provides.
Overall, HubSpot does a much better job of monitoring and offering detailed analysis than Sprout Social because it is a full social media marketing platform having tools like analytics, monitoring, and reporting.
Best Listening
Listening is an important practice in marketing because it allows you to understand customer needs and behaviors, which will help you make smarter business decisions. Listening also helps brands uncover opportunities for growth by understanding what is resonating with their audience at any given time.
Listening involves having the right tools set up within your social media platforms; this can include powerful analytics and listening tools.
Hubspot’s listening tools are found on social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and more. It’s important to note that there is no listening tool within LinkedIn.
Hubspot also offers a comprehensive search feature so marketers can easily find influencers relevant to their brand by searching through keywords or hashtags on any of the major social channels.
Sprout Social has some very strong listening tools which allow marketers to listen for specific keywords or phrases on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can then set up alerts within Sprout Social so you are notified when certain terms are mentioned in real-time. With this feature, there’s no need to manually check each social channel throughout the day – everything is done through an easy-to-use dashboard.
In terms of listening, Sprout Social and HubSpot both have very strong toolsets. Sprout offers a much more user-friendly platform that makes it easy to use the listening tool throughout your day without having to go into each social channel individually. With HubSpot, there is no way of monitoring LinkedIn which can be problematic for brands with an international presence on this unique network.
In terms of searching for influencers, HubSpot offers a more advanced search tool with the ability to find relevant users based on keywords or hashtags. However, if you use LinkedIn as part of your social media strategy then it’s likely that you’ll have an international presence so Sprout Social would be a better option due to its compatibility across all major social networks.
Most social platforms supported
Social platform support is important when choosing a tool for social media marketing because it ensures that you’ll be able to successfully manage your social accounts.
Hubspot’s social platforms supported are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Hubspot’s social platform support is good because it will allow you to manage all of your major networks with one tool.
Sprout Social has the most robust set of tools for managing every aspect of your business on social media.
For example, if your company is primarily on Instagram, you already have an existing presence and following there.
Overall, Hubspot and Sprout Social are great tools, but if you want to manage Instagram, consider using Sprout.
Ease of use
Ease of use is important in marketing because it allows the user to use your product at their own pace. If users find a product too complicated, they can become frustrated and turn away from ever using that product again; whereas if the same person finds a tool easy to operate, they are more likely to continue using said service or program.
Ease of use is important in social media marketing because when a person is using your platform, they are expecting it to be simple. If the platform is overwhelming and full of too many features or even has errors, users will leave immediately because there are so many other platforms out there that can better fulfill their needs.
Hubspot has an easy-to-navigate platform that is simple and straightforward. The ease of use allows the user to easily get into their dashboard, create posts, manage teams and even track analytics reports for their social media platforms.
The Sprout Social platform has a clean look with similar options but it can be overwhelming at times because it gives you so many different options. The ease of use can be difficult for new users and might turn them away from using the platform again in the future if they do not have enough time to get used to all its features.
In terms of ease of use, HubSpot is probably one of the easiest platforms to use. It’s clean, simple, and straightforward forward which makes it easy for new users to get started with as well as professionals who want a quick tool that can easily manage their social media marketing aspects from start to finish.
On the other hand, Sprout Social has too many different features at once where the ease of use can be difficult at times. The platform is clean and simple but it has too many different features that new users might not understand or have the time to learn about them all right away.
Collaboration
Collaboration is when different people in the same company work together to achieve a goal. This is important in marketing because marketers have many responsibilities that require help from others, such as sales and customer service.
Marketers can use this strategy to save time or come up with new ideas for content by bouncing ideas off of each other. For example, if the content team is brainstorming topics that are relevant to their target audience for a new blog series, they can get feedback from sales and customer service on what issues would be important to them as well. This helps marketers create content that will appeal to all areas of their organization so everyone knows who it is intended for.
Hubspot’s collaboration allows marketers to connect with other team members and create a project together. This is beneficial for marketers who have projects that require help from others in their company, instead of just a single person working alone on a task.
Sprout Social’s collaboration tool has similar features as Hubspot so it would be useful for teams who want to share files or message each other within the platform.
Overall, Hubspot has more collaborative tools than Sprout Social, so it would benefit marketers who have projects that require the help of other team members.
Which platform has the best Help & Support?
Help & Support is important in marketing because you want to get your problems solved as fast and possible so you can continue doing your work.
The help & support of Hubspot is good. They have a variety of ways to get help, whether it is through email or phone calls. The Sprout Social Help & Support has its own FAQ page which includes the most common questions and their answers. This can be helpful but you may not find your exact answer here. The Sprout Social help & support is better for those who prefer to contact them through email or live chat.
In terms of help & Support, Hubspot is better for those who prefer to contact them through email or live chat, and Sprout Social has a variety of ways to get help.
Which platform has the most integrations?
Integrations are the ability to connect different applications, tools, and programs. In social media marketing, integrations can include things like analytics or lead management systems for example. Either Sprout Social or HubSpot may have more integrations depending on which features you need from your tool.
Hubspot integrations are almost endless because they have been around for a longer time and have established relationships with other companies. In fact, if you are starting to use HubSpot it is likely that the majority of your tools will already be connected through Hubspot integrations.
Sprout Social has fewer integrations but their system works well with many popular social media marketing programs such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. They also have a large network of third-party apps that can be connected to your social media profiles from within the Sprout Social platform.
Overall, both HubSpot and Sprout Social have many integrations. It really depends on what tools you are already using, which company has the ones you need, or if there is a third-party app that fills your needs. Hubspot has the most integrations to start with but if you need something specific, Sprout Social may be a better fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a good social media management tool?
A good social media management tool should be able to streamline your workflow and help you achieve more.
A good social media management tool should improve your productivity, but it is also important that the platform allows for growth over time as well.
A good social media management tool should automate as many tasks as possible, without removing any opportunities to make better use of your time.
What is better HubSpot or Sprout Social?
For people who are looking for a free tool to help manage social media, both Sprout and HubSpot offer an extensive list of benefits. When comparing the two tools for businesses that may be new to marketing online or those that want more information on how these platforms work, it is important to understand the similarities and differences between them.
Both Sprout Social and HubSpot offer an easy-to-use interface that is mobile responsive. They allow you to manage all of your social profiles in one place, schedule posts ahead of time, create reports on the go with their mobile apps, and track important data like mentions or retweets.
Which is better, Hootsuite vs. Sprout Social?
Sprout Social and Hootsuite are two of the leading social media management systems available. Although both programs can be used to engage with your audience on various networks, there are some key differences that set them apart from one another.
Sprout Social vs Hootsuite: The Big Differences
While Sprout Social and Hootsuite are both useful social media management programs that can help you manage content on various networks, there are some key differences between them. Here are the key differences between Sprout Social and Hootsuite.
Audience Size: The first major difference between Sprout Social vs. Hootsuite is that while both platforms can help you manage your social media, only one of them offers a free account option for small businesses with an audience size of fewer than three hundred users.
Price: Another major difference between the two programs is that only one of them offers a free paid option for businesses with an audience size under three hundred. Additionally, while Hootsuite charges $29 per month regardless of how many social profiles you manage on their program, Sprout Social’s pricing structure varies depending on your needs and the number of social profiles you manage.
Ease of Use: Both programs are rather easy to use, although some users have reported that they find Hootsuite easier than Sprout Social to navigate and customize according to their needs. The interface is also another major difference between the two platforms as many current and former Hootsuite users complain about the outdated look of their program.
Customer Support: Hootsuite users also complain about a lack of customer support, saying that there is only an email address for them to contact someone in case they need help with anything within the platform. Sprout Social offers more personalized customer service through phone and live chat options.
Clients & Integrations: One major difference between Sprout Social and Hootsuite is that while both platforms offer integrations with various third-party apps, only one of them offers integration with Salesforce.
Conclusion: Both programs can be used as a social media management system for businesses on any budget or size who want to save time by managing their content in one place. There are, however, several key differences that set them apart from one another in terms of pricing options, customer support, and ease of use.
Is there anything better than Hootsuite?
A better platform than Hootsuite is Sprout Social.
It’s cheaper, provides more data analytics options and the UI is much easier to navigate. It has all of Hootsuite’s major features but it also offers unique tools that are not available on other social media management platforms like Facebook polls for engagement feedback, one-to-many (one post can be sent to multiple social media outlets), and many other features.
Compared side by side, HubSpot is more expensive than Hootsuite and offers less in the way of analytics tools while Sprout Social provides a wider variety of options for data analysis and presentation.
Is Sprout Social worth it?
Sprout Social is a great tool for managing social media marketing. It has all of the features that you need to put together, track and publish high-quality content across multiple platforms at once.
What’s more is that it allows users to schedule posts weeks ahead of time so there isn’t any last-minute scrambling on your part before going live with new material. This can really save your business time and energy!
What is the best social media management tool?
The best social media management tool is the one that offers the features you need at a price point that fits into your budget. Sprout Social is certainly worth checking out, but it might not be for everyone! Be sure to look over all of our reviews before making an informed purchasing decision.
