Social Media Dashboards: What to Look For | Social Media Today

When shopping for the ideal dashboard to implement social media marketing for your business, there are several key factors that need to be taken into consideration. It?s more than just studying the core features and capabilities of a dashboard, it?s about what it can do to increase customer engagement, monitor your brand and measure the results of your marketing campaigns.

Typical social media dashboards may indeed offer a plethora of wicked gadgets that offer the capability of sending email blasts or a multitude of tweets several times an hour, but is this social marketing, or merely a one-sided conversation between a business and a random mass of often faceless Twitter followers and people who happened to like you on Facebook? The dashboard you choose should carry the tools necessary to offer complete and comprehensive social media marketing.

Complete Training and On-going Support

The first key factor to consider is in the training and support of the dashboard. As a small business, it is unlikely there is a tech savvy employee handy at all times to resolve any potential dashboard troubles. Look for a dashboard that not only offers initial training, but also offers continuing support.

Advanced Reporting Tools

Congratulations, your business just sent out a series of 15 tweets to 15,000 followers over the course of two weeks, then you followed up with an extensive LinkedIn posting campaign. But did anybody get the message, or was in a lukewarm reception at best? Find a dashboard that includes reporting and analytical tools that measure results of your marketing campaigns. And the reports should be easy enough to extrapolate critical information like number of clicks, likes or comments about your business or brand without the need to break out a user?s manual. Also, check to see if the dashboard supports Google Analytics as it offers superior tracking tools.

Reach Out to Everybody

Not everybody uses Facebook or LinkedIn as their social media hub, there are those who enjoy the features of Foursquare and Flickr is popular among females. Check to see what media sites the dashboard supports. Those who use the less popular sites are still potential clients and customers, so make sure the dashboard you choose includes them in their platform.

Ready to Choose?

There are several companies that offer social media dashboard services, and all promise to increase web traffic, customer engagement and powerful tools. Here is a brief breakdown of what we discovered.

Hubspot is one of the more familiar names in social media circles. They offer advanced reporting tools and support many of the top social media sites. But they are the more expensive than the others, and you must sign a yearlong contract. They can be found at Hubspot.com

The CW Dashboard, though one of the smaller companies, offers a comprehensive list of social media websites on their dashboard. They have analytical tools including links to Google analytics, all at a reasonable price. Check them out at Thecwdashboard.com

Awareness Networks is great for social media marketing, except the fact they don?t include email and text message marketing on their dashboard.? And these two tools are critical in successful media marketing. Visit them at Awarenessnetworks.com.

Choose Wisely

When you are ready to enter the realm of social media marketing through an all inclusive dashboard, take the time to see what each company has to offer. A quick click of a sign up for free button just might lead to future frustration and regrets. Now, searching for that ideal dashboard? for your business is a simpler task.

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Authored by:

Robert Downey

I began Internet marketing in 1995 with the creation of my first website. I am a business professional who takes pride in helping businesses of all sizes succeed in all aspects of marketing. My background is rich with traditional and digital marketing experience.

I am the founder and president of ClearWebb.com and TheCWDashboard.com

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Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/cwrdowney/1286341/social-media-dashboards

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