Let’s start out this article with some good news for social media agencies: social media is still all the rage, and companies that want to promote their products and services are investing time and effort into growing on various networks. This means that many businesses are looking for specialized agencies to help create engaging content, increase brand awareness, and manage social communities. This demand has created a lucrative environment for agencies who support a variety of businesses in achieving their social media goals. 

However, social media agencies also face a growing list of challenges that have to do with the complexity of managing multiple clients as well as providing them with the advanced insights that they expect from an agency. Social media management for agencies is more than just helping create content and providing some analytical insights. It is also about effectively dealing with different expectations and problems, as well as the complexity of diverse clientele. There are often difficult project management and organizational challenges, especially with larger clients, and there will inevitably be times that your clients are confused by your processes or don’t know they need to give feedback on something. Any social media consultant will tell you that this can make their jobs a lot more difficult than someone who is a social media manager for a single company.

While having the right people working for an agency is obviously necessary for success, what may be equally as important is finding the right social media tool. After all, managing multiple clients’ social media presence requires different tasks. These tasks may range from requesting feedback, highlighting progress and developments in a clear way, and providing powerful analytical insights clients expect from a specialized agency. So what exactly should you look for when it comes to a social media tool that is designed for such tasks?  

We are here to help you and will break this article down into three parts. The first part will give a brief introduction into exactly why finding the right so difficult and explain why making a selection simply on price can be problematic. We will then present our guide for finding the best social media management tool for agencies and what an ideal tool would have in terms of features. Finally, we will provide a list of the top social media management tools for agencies to get you started on your search:

1. Fanpage Karma
2. Social Pilot
3. Hootsuite
4. Sprinklr
5. Zoho Social
6. Buffer
7. Agora Pulse
8. Swat.io
9. Sprout Social
10. Metricool

The Challenges of Finding the Right Social Media Management Tool for your Agency

Several social media tools on the market advertise themselves as being a good fit for agencies, and it is clear why. Agencies will typically pay a premium for these tools, simply because they are so important for the success of their operations. However, even if you see a subscription option for agencies that a social media tool is advertising, it is wise to first understand what specific challenges you face and what technical solutions are available to help you. 

The first thing you need to ask about yourself is what type of agency you are. For instance, a content focused agency that doesn’t need to focus on analytics and simply needs to manage a client’s social media content creation has rather narrow needs for a tool. On the other hand, an agency that must manage all aspects of a client’s social media presence that ranges from analytic insights, community management, trend detection, monitoring, and content creation and planning has a much wider set of needs. For this reason, it is not always as simply as looking for some one-size-fits-all social media tool. 

Furthermore, not all tools have the same features when it comes to different parts of social media management. For instance, you may be focused on finding a tool with powerful publishing, analytic, research, reporting, community management, and monitoring features. However, what features would be included that make these various functions of a social media tool truly effective? And how do you know if these features have what is needed to fit the complex day-to-day environment of agency life? It is clear that, as an agency, your social media management tool must be dynamic in a way that is not required for businesses who just have a few social media profiles. However, navigating all the tools on the market and what they provide can get complicated. 

For this reason, we wanted to provide a detailed guide that breaks down the various parts of social media management and talks about features that agencies need and should look for in a tool. 

What are the Features of Best Social Media Management Tools for Agencies

Nearly all social media management tools highlight a variety of functions that include analytics, publishing, community management, reporting, monitoring, and trend detection. However, when it comes to agencies, not all social media management tools are created equal. For example, some tools excel in areas such as analysis and benchmarking for dozens and perhaps hundreds of profiles, a task which is a must-have for agencies. While the sheer number of profiles may be daunting to some companies, this is business as usual for agencies.

It is important for social media agencies to go beyond just the naming of broad features provided by a social media tool and look closely at what is being offered. Our guide has been designed to help you do just that. We believe that the best social media management tools for agencies would most likely include:

1. Unlimited Profile Analysis and Tracking
2. Multiposting and Planning Capabilities
3. Flexible and Automated Reporting
4. Advanced Analytics
5. Monitoring Options
6. Free Access for Guest Users
7. Extensive Project Management Features

Keep in mind that all of these features will not be needed by every agency, depending on the way your business is set up. However, we will examine the essential features of the best social media management tools for agencies are in more detail so you can better decide what you might need.

Unlimited Profile Analysis and Tracking

Let’s start out with a basic point, but one that many people may not think of. It is clear that social media agencies that manage dozens of accounts must not only track their client’s profiles across different social media channels, but also get analytic insights from competitors and industry leaders as well. As you are probably already well aware, the vast majority of tools limit the number of profiles that you can track, manage, and analyze. While large or enterprise subscriptions may give you dozens of profiles to track, there may be a need to track and analyze hundreds or even thousands of profiles. 

This means that the best social media management tools for agencies would most like allow you to track an unlimited number of profiles. There are a few core reasons why this is so important. First, there is a significant benefit for your analytical benchmark when you can analyze, since you can create meaningful data sets for your analysis. This can help improve performance assessment, content optimization activities, and your ability to spot trends. The second reason has to do both with the planning and publishing process and community management activities across all the profiles you are managing. You would ideally have both a centralized publishing and community management platform for outgoing posts as well as incoming messages and comments that you are managing. For this reason, you should be certain that your social media tool allows you to manage all the profiles you need to manage.

Multiposting and Planning Capabilities

Another point that is also related to unlimited has to do with multiposting and planning for your clients. As a social media agency, you may need to manage and post for dozens or even hundreds of profiles every week. This means that your tool should allow you to actually do this and not limit the overall number of problems that you need to plan and post for. 

However, this is only the first point that is relevant here. Furthermore, you should know that almost all tools will advertise the planning aspect of their tool, but this should go beyond just simply a content calendar. When creating content for your clients, there is often a need to share progress, get feedback, and even request approval for making posts. This is why a feature such being able to add free guest users in the content creation process not only helps improve communication, but also can reduce overall costs so you don’t need to pay for additional users. 

Moreover, project management features as part of a content planning and publishing tool should allow you to assign tasks to team members and transparent track who needs to do what. This is especially crucial when you have a large team working on multiple client accounts. Project management features keep everyone on the same page and allow you to track progress and make sure things are not forgotten. Remember, small improvements in efficiency for repetitive tasks can go a long way in improving overall efficiency, so it is important to make sure that your planning and publishing tool has these features.

Lastly, reporting sharing and distribution is very important and an agency social media tool should have built-in sharing features to help you do this. Remember, subscriptions to social media tools usually charge you extra for additional users. This can be problematic if you need to share results with dozens or more clients. Don’t worry though, since there are some social media tools that offer features to get around this. This can be done but allowing free guest access for your analytics data and reporting charts. You can simply share a link and your clients can see everything for themselves. The other thing to keep in mind is to always check to see if the tool allows for publicly accessible dashboards that would be accessible to your clients. These dashboards also help you with the constant sharing of reports and progress.

Advanced Analytics

As we already mentioned with reporting, flexibility in terms of choosing the metrics you analyze, timeframes, and different graphs/charts/tables to choose from is important for agencies. Social media analytics is built for analyzing large data sets to help you set goals, find trends, and discover ways to optimize your clients’ content. As we already mentioned above, being able to analyze an unlimited number of profiles can be a significant benefit, since you can then add more data points to your analyses. Moreover, your tool should allow you to analyze historical data, even if you are only getting started out with it. However, what else should you look for in your tool? 

There are two major areas to pay attention to in terms of what social media analytics tools can offer for agencies. The first is overall content optimization analyses, which are essential for finding ways to improve the performance of your clients’ content. These can include researching the best times to post and the top hashtags, finding the highest performing content formats, or exploring what type of content is driving more interactions. Similar to reporting, flexibility is important here in terms of the metrics available to you as well as the various charts, graphs and tables you can use during your analyses. 

The second area has to do with benchmarking and competitor analysis. Benchmarking is essential to help set meaningful goals for performance and track long-term progress across many metrics to make sure you are on track to reach your goals. Moreover, competitor analysis techniques can help your agency show that you are using analytics to its fullest extent and gaining helpful industry insights. Again, make sure that you can track enough competitor profiles for both benchmarking purposes.

One important feature to be aware of when it comes to social media analytics relates to using AI to help you with the analysis. For instance, AI can be helpful in analyzing and writing comments for your charts/tables/graphs. Moreover, having AI integration for a tagging analysis allows your agency to explore patterns and correlations for a large number of posts. If you are an agency that prioritizes using AI technology, be sure to find a social media tool that has this technology integrated for analytics.

Social media tools will all claim that they offer powerful analytical insights. However, it is important that you closely inspect not only the types of analyses you can do, but also the ability you have to create large enough data sets both in terms of the number of profiles and brining in historical data. 

Monitoring Options

Brand and reputation management is an important topic for some businesses that need to make sure that they are proactive when it comes to discussions about their brand. If you are a social media agency that needs to provide social media monitoring for your clients on a case by case basis, it is helpful to check if your social media tool can actually do this. However, you should also know that social media monitoring is a specialized task that most likely involves more than just social media. 

As we have pointed out elsewhere, social media monitoring involves detecting mentions of away from a company’s social media profiles. Of course, mentions can happen in social media groups but also on various websites. Many companies want to monitor all these sources to have a better idea about what people think about their brand or a product. This monitoring would also include analytical insights to give companies a more detailed look at opinions. If you are a full-service social media agency, and social media monitoring is a need for some of your clients, be sure to look carefully at the monitoring options of a social media tool. 

Free Access for Guest Users

Providing free guest access for those who don’t have paid access or a subscription to a tool can be important to agencies for a number of reasons. Above all, you should talk about this in terms of costs. Additional users that need access to a tool costs money. If your communication processes with clients requires feedback for content creation or your clients are constantly asking to see progress from the charts/graphs/tables in your tool, free sharing capabilities can be important. 

For many social media agencies, providing constant updates related to progress is important. Public dashboards are always an option, but these sometimes can be limited in the number which you can create. This is why it is important that you look for specialized social media management tools for agencies that give free access to reporting. This can help save you time since you don’t constantly need to generate and share reports manually with your clients. Second, this helps boost trust since your clients always have an opportunity to get the latest reports on progress. 

However, content creation is where having free access for your clients is really important. Even though your clients are paying you to help plan and create content, most will want to have their say and may also demand to sign off before every new post is published. Being able to easily integrate their feedback and approval into your established processes not only helps you incorporate your client’s feedback but also helps you save time.

Not every tool will have the same sharing features, so agencies especially should pay attention to exactly what and how they can share reports with their clients and receive feedback. This is not only to build trust with their clients, but is important for efficiency’s sake. 

Extensive Project Management Features

Last, but certainly not least, we should talk about project management features. We have touched on some project management features above, whether it is assigning tasks for content creation or allowing for guest user access. With that being said, we have a few additional points for this section. First, there are dozens of different project management tools on the market. But if you are a social media agency, it is best to have integrated project management features in your social media tool so that your team doesn’t need to switch constantly from tool to tool. 

Second, if your agency has to undertake community management tasks as part of your work, you should ensure that your social media tool also provides task organization and delegation in this area. This means that you are working with a centralized platform that is connected to every profile you are managing for every client. You should then be able to have a clear overview of what team members are working on what conversations, as well as organizational tools to make sure nothing is being forgotten. The good news is that there are community management tools built for agencies and have the ability to manage and organize as many profiles as you need.  

Third, as we already mentioned above, there should be content planning with feedback options as part of your tool. This should include the ability to assign roles, ask for feedback, and set up approval processes for publishing, which should be seen as necessities for a social media management tool geared toward agencies.

The important thing to remember when it comes to project management isn’t that planning and organization features exist, but that they are designed to help you manage ALL tasks across your clients, especially when it comes to content planning/creation and community management. Social media agencies need to be able to centralize their tasks for clients, especially when there are multiple team members working on an account. 

Bonus Point: Watch Out for Hidden Costs and Fees!

What are the Best Social Media Management Tools for Agencies

Social media agency tools need to do a lot of things well for them to truly be effective. Agency life is complicated both by the sheer number of client profiles you need to manage in terms of creating content, tracking performance, and providing reporting. Our guide hopefully will help you to identify exactly what is essential to have, and what features you need to take a close look at.  

Now that you have read our guide, the next step is to start looking at all the tools available. There are a lot of tools that claim to be perfect for agencies, and you may be wondering how to start your search. Therefore, to help you in your search, we have compiled our list of the best social media management tools for agencies:

1. Fanpage Karma
2. Social Pilot
3. Hootsuite
4. Sprinklr
5. Zoho Social
6. Buffer
7. Agora Pulse
8. Swat.io
9. Sprout Social
10. Metricool

Fanpage Karma

If you are looking for a tool that not only offers all the features in our guide, but goes beyond even that, then look no further! Fanpage Karma is a leading social media management tool for agencies, created with their needs in mind, and provides the features and capabilities that agencies require for managing their client’s account. It offers unlimited profile tracking, making it ideal for agencies managing multiple clients. The tool combines advanced features for publishing, analytics, monitoring, research, and community management, all accessible through a single intuitive platform. Agencies can easily create dashboards for tracking key performance indicators, providing insights that help enhance content optimization and competitive analysis.

Fanpage Karma stands out as one of the best social media management tools for agencies with its robust reporting capabilities. Agencies can generate fully customizable reports tailored to client needs, using freely adjustable templates. The tool supports multiple formats for report sharing, simplifying performance presentations. Additionally, agencies can use its external feedback functionality to collect input on post drafts from stakeholders not directly using the platform, making collaboration more seamless.

Finally, AI-integrations help strengthen your analytic, reporting, community management, and content creation processes. If you want to see for yourself why Fanpage Karma is the most effective social media management tool for agencies, try it out with a free 14-day trial. 

Social Pilot

Social Pilot is a scalable social media management solution designed to support agencies managing multiple client accounts. It offers a cost-effective platform with features that include bulk scheduling, detailed analytics, and collaborative tools. The tool’s multi-client support allows agencies to switch between accounts easily while maintaining full control over content strategy and performance tracking.

One of Social Pilot’s standout features is its ability to schedule posts in bulk, saving time for agencies that handle large content volumes. The tool also integrates with major platforms like Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Instagram, enabling seamless cross-platform management. Additionally, Social Pilot’s advanced analytics provide insights into engagement, audience growth, and top-performing content.

Collaboration features in Social Pilot allow team members and clients to collaborate efficiently on content planning. Agencies can assign roles, approve posts, and track project progress within the platform. This streamlined workflow helps agencies maintain transparency and efficiency when working with clients and internal teams.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a widely recognized social media management software that caters to agencies by offering extensive functionality and scalability. It allows users to manage multiple social profiles across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn through a centralized dashboard. The tool supports scheduling, publishing, and real-time monitoring, making it ideal for agencies juggling complex client needs.

However, while Hootsuite offers comprehensive features, agencies should be aware of potential downsides. The platform can become costly when multiple users and profiles are involved, which may be a limiting factor for smaller agencies. Despite these considerations, Hootsuite excels in social listening, enabling agencies to monitor brand mentions, competitor activity, and industry trends. This feature, combined with robust integration capabilities, allows agencies to customize workflows and automate tasks, ultimately improving productivity.

Sprinklr

For many agencies, you may be looking for a social media management software solution with advanced social listening capabilities, and Sprinklr is a good tool to look at in this case. The platform’s social listening capabilities enable agencies to monitor conversations around brands, competitors, and industry trends, providing real-time insights that drive informed decision-making. Sprinklr may be relatively less-known than some of the other players in the market, but nonetheless offers a strong product for agencies that want helpful analytical insights. 

Additionally, Sprinklr’s integrated analytics offer detailed performance reports, helping agencies track engagement, sentiment, and conversion metrics. However, agencies should be mindful that Sprinklr can be expensive and may limit the number of profiles available for analysis. Despite this, its integration with CRM systems makes it a strong contender for agencies aiming to provide personalized, cross-channel experiences to their clients, ultimately strengthening customer loyalty and engagement. tailored to agencies handling extensive client portfolios. 

Zoho Social

Zoho Social is an accessible and budget-friendly tool for agencies seeking efficient social media management. It supports essential features such as post scheduling, content performance monitoring, and social listening. Agencies benefit from Zoho’s integration with other Zoho business applications, enabling a broader range of functionality within one ecosystem.

The social listening capabilities allow agencies to track brand mentions and industry discussions, enabling timely engagement with relevant conversations. Zoho Social’s analytics provide actionable data on post performance, helping agencies refine strategies based on measurable outcomes.

Collaboration tools are another key highlight. Agencies can streamline teamwork by assigning tasks, reviewing drafts, and approving content within the platform. Customizable reports help agencies provide detailed performance insights to clients, reinforcing transparency and trust.

Buffer

Another social media management platform for agencies is Buffer, which may serve as a good option if your requirements for analytics are low and you simply want to manage your client’s publishing. In some cases, this can be cheaper than other options available, but may also come with limitations. However, Buffer remains popular due to its ease of use and straightforward approach to scheduling content.

Buffer’s content calendar offers a clear view of upcoming posts, allowing agencies to coordinate campaigns and adjust schedules with ease. The platform supports publishing across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn, making it convenient for agencies focused on maintaining a consistent posting strategy. Agencies can quickly edit or reschedule content, which helps keep workflows flexible.

While Buffer’s analytics may not be as comprehensive as some competitors, it provides essential insights such as engagement metrics and audience growth. This data is sufficient for agencies with simpler reporting needs. For those prioritizing ease and cost-efficiency, Buffer can serve as a reliable solution for managing content distribution without overwhelming complexity. 

Agora Pulse

Agorapulse is a comprehensive tool designed for agencies to manage client communications and engagement. Its unified inbox consolidates messages, comments, and mentions from various social networks, enabling quick responses and streamlined interaction management. The platform also provides in-depth analytics, offering insights into engagement, audience behavior, and campaign performance. Agencies can generate custom reports that showcase key results, demonstrating the value of social media strategies to their clients.

Agorapulse also excels in collaboration, providing tools for content approval and task delegation. Automation features help reduce repetitive tasks, allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives. The platform’s user-friendly interface and extensive feature set make it a preferred choice for many agencies.

Swat.io

Swat.io specializes in content planning, social listening, and team collaboration. Its centralized content calendar simplifies the scheduling process for agencies handling multiple client accounts. Approval workflows ensure that all content adheres to brand guidelines and compliance standards, which is especially valuable for industries with strict regulations. The platform’s analytics offer detailed insights into engagement and audience trends, allowing agencies to continuously optimize their strategies.

Social listening tools help agencies stay informed about relevant conversations and emerging trends. By leveraging these insights, agencies can develop timely and impactful content that resonates with their clients’ target audiences.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a robust platform combining content management, analytics, and social listening features. It supports agencies in enhancing client engagement through data-driven strategies and collaborative workflows. The platform’s audience insights provide a deeper understanding of followers’ preferences, helping agencies craft targeted content. Customizable reports allow agencies to present performance metrics in a clear, impactful manner.

Sprout Social’s integration with CRM systems facilitates personalized engagement, building stronger relationships with audiences. Its balance of advanced features and usability makes it a valuable resource for agencies seeking to improve social media operations.

Metricool

Metricool is a dynamic social media management and analytics platform designed for agencies that need a comprehensive tool to track both organic and paid campaigns. The platform provides seamless integration with platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Google Ads, and TikTok, allowing agencies to oversee all aspects of their digital strategies in one place.

One of Metricool’s key strengths is its performance analytics dashboard, which consolidates data from various channels. Agencies can track KPIs such as reach, engagement, follower growth, and ad performance, giving them a holistic view of client success. The tool also includes heatmaps to identify optimal posting times, ensuring that content reaches audiences when they are most active.

Metricool supports content planning and cross-platform scheduling, making campaign management efficient. Agencies can also leverage its competitor analysis tools to benchmark their clients’ performance against industry standards. With built-in ad tracking and real-time reporting, Metricool empowers agencies to optimize both their paid and organic strategies, delivering measurable results to clients.