Hootsuite leads the social engagement charge - Forrester report

Social media management platform Hootsuite has been recognised as a leader in Forrester's New Wave: Sales Social Engagement Tools report.

The report analysed the eight 'most significant' providers of enterprise sales social engagement. It measured the providers against criteria including analytics and insights; networks; integrations; content; privacy, risk and compliance; AI; services; product vision; product road map; and category vision.

"Hootsuite leads the pack with its seller focus and scale," writes Forrester principal analyst Mary Shea.

"With its mobile-first orientation and integrations with top-tier CRM systems, Hootsuite's Amplify has differentiated functionality including more than 150 out-of-the-box integrations, a range of global social networks, and a professional services arm with training and certification for sellers.

The report also mentions that enterprises are using social media for activities including marketing, advertising, communication, advocacy, listening, market research, customer support, and one-to-one engagement with prospects and customers.

Modern sellers require social engagement tools, but the report reveals that most lack ample support, as few vendors tailor their offerings and services exclusively for sellers.

"We believe this recognition from Forrester is a validation of our commitment to help organisations of all sizes maximise the value of social across their entire organisation," comments Hootsuite CMO Penny Wilson.

"Our combination of innovative technology, desktop and mobile products, education, services, and extensive ecosystem of partners offers tailor-made solutions for businesses to scale social well beyond marketing through every aspect of a business, from sales to advocacy.

A recent Hootsuite survey found that more than one million people go online every day; while 45% of the world's population log into their favourite social platforms.

"Although social media came under increased scrutiny and saw diminished trust among users in 2018, people around the world are spending more time on social—the global daily average is now 2 hours and 16 minutes, or one seventh of their waking lives," noted Wilson.

"But to capture the attention of customers, brands need to rethink how they engage on social. Businesses must be respectful of their customers' privacy, while still creating personal 1:1 connections via content that's important, interesting and timely to the audience while being genuine and authentic to their brands.

More than 2.8 billion people purchased consumer goods via eCommerce in the past year. What's more, 75% of internet users have bought something online in the past month, the majority from mobile devices.

Collectively, that led to $1.786 trillion USD in global online consumer goods spending, a jump of 14% year-over-year.

Hootsuite says more digital eCommerce is happening on social as users enjoy the convenience of purchasing direct from their social feeds.