Social Media Tools Review

How the social media tools landscape has changed since 2019

The social media management market has undergone dramatic change over the past five years. AI integration has become table stakes rather than a premium feature, several established tools have shut down or been acquired, and LinkedIn has cemented its dominance for B2B marketing with 45 million UK members—representing 64.9 per cent of the population according to DataReportal's Digital 2025 UK Report.

For marketing directors at UK SMEs, the most critical shift is that the previous "set-it-and-forget-it" scheduling approach has been replaced by intelligent, AI-enhanced platforms that require fewer resources while delivering measurably better results. According to Drainpipe.io's 2025 AI marketing research, only 3.6 per cent of social media managers now avoid AI entirely—down from the majority just two years ago.

As a HubSpot Diamond Partner, Whitehat helps B2B companies select and implement social media tools that integrate seamlessly with their existing marketing automation stack. The right choice depends on your team size, existing technology investments, and whether you need enterprise-grade analytics or cost-effective scheduling.

Enterprise-grade platforms with native HubSpot integration

Four social media management platforms offer native HubSpot integration suitable for B2B organisations requiring CRM data synchronisation, lead attribution from social engagement, and unified reporting across marketing channels. Each platform connects social media activity directly to contacts and deals within HubSpot, enabling accurate measurement of social media's contribution to pipeline.

Sprout Social: Best-in-class analytics

Sprout Social delivers the deepest analytics capabilities in the market alongside native integration with HubSpot CRM, Salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Pricing starts at $199 per user monthly, rising to $399 for advanced features. The AI Assist functionality automatically surfaces insights from social data, helping marketing teams identify trends and optimise content strategy without manual analysis. Note that Sprout Social discontinued monthly billing in 2024—annual contracts are now required.

Hootsuite: Market leader with extensive integrations

Hootsuite remains the market leader with over 200 integrations including native HubSpot connectivity. The Standard plan starts at $99 monthly for one user and ten social profiles, increasing to $249 for teams. All plans now include OwlyWriter AI for caption generation and social listening across 150 million sources. However, Hootsuite eliminated its free plan and implemented price increases exceeding 40 per cent in 2024, prompting many SMEs to evaluate alternatives. Hootsuite was acquired by Igloo in 2024, which may influence future product direction.

Sendible: UK-founded with GBP pricing

Sendible stands out as the UK-founded option offering GBP pricing at accessible £25-29 monthly entry points. The platform provides strong HubSpot integration alongside features particularly suited for agencies: white-label reporting, WordPress integration, and client approval workflows. For UK B2B companies seeking local support and straightforward pricing without currency conversion, Sendible represents excellent value.

Agorapulse: ROI-focused reporting

Agorapulse pricing starts at €79 monthly with HubSpot integration available on Pro plans and above. The platform's standout feature is Social Media ROI measurement that connects content performance to revenue outcomes—crucial for B2B marketers who need to justify social media investment to leadership. Agorapulse maintains a free tier supporting three social profiles for organisations wanting to evaluate before committing.

Cost-effective options for SME marketing teams

Not every B2B company requires enterprise-grade features. For smaller marketing teams or organisations earlier in their growth journey, several platforms deliver core scheduling and analytics functionality at significantly lower price points. Whitehat's marketing services clients often start with these tools before graduating to more comprehensive platforms as their requirements evolve.

Buffer: Most affordable scheduling

Buffer remains the most affordable option with a functioning free plan covering three channels and ten scheduled posts each. Paid tiers start at just £5-6 per channel monthly. HubSpot integration is limited to Zapier connections rather than native sync, but for SMEs prioritising simplicity over advanced CRM integration, Buffer delivers reliable scheduling without complexity.

SocialBee: Content recycling for thought leadership

SocialBee at £29-99 monthly includes an AI Copilot for content strategy and excels at evergreen content recycling—particularly valuable for B2B thought leadership content that remains relevant over time. HubSpot integration is available via Zapier. SocialBee is now the officially endorsed migration partner for Crowdfire users, offering 50 per cent off for six months to those transitioning before the May 2025 shutdown.

Vista Social: Feature-rich at competitive pricing

Vista Social positions as a cost-effective alternative to Hootsuite and Sprout Social, supporting over thirteen platforms including Reddit, Bluesky, and Threads. The Standard plan at $39 monthly includes features that cost significantly more elsewhere, including social listening and an AI assistant. For B2B companies wanting comprehensive capabilities without enterprise pricing, Vista Social merits serious evaluation.

HubSpot's native social media tools

HubSpot Marketing Hub includes built-in social media tools, though full functionality requires the Professional tier at £890 monthly. For organisations already invested in HubSpot's ecosystem, the native tools offer a compelling advantage: complete CRM integration means social engagement connects directly to contacts and deals without third-party sync requirements. The HubSpot social media functionality includes an AI-powered post generator that creates content aligned with your existing brand voice settings.

The primary limitation is that HubSpot's native tools focus on publishing and basic analytics rather than advanced social listening or competitor monitoring. Many organisations using HubSpot Professional or Enterprise use the native tools for publishing while supplementing with a specialist platform like Brand24 for listening and sentiment analysis.

Whitehat's HubSpot onboarding services include configuration of social media tools as part of the broader marketing automation setup. This ensures social activity feeds into attribution reporting from day one, rather than operating as a disconnected channel.

AI-powered tools transforming content creation

AI capabilities have moved from nice-to-have to essential since 2019. According to the Social Media Examiner's 2025 AI Marketing Report, 60 per cent of marketers now use AI tools daily—up from 37 per cent just one year ago. The impact is measurable: HubSpot's State of Marketing 2024 report found marketers save an average of three hours per piece of content through AI assistance.

Every major social media management platform has now integrated AI features. Hootsuite's OwlyWriter generates captions and suggests optimal posting times. Sprout Social's AI Assist automatically surfaces insights from social data. Buffer's AI assistant helps with content ideation when teams face creative blocks. According to ArtSmart and Digital Silk's 2024 research, 71 per cent of marketers report AI-generated content outperforms non-AI content, while businesses using AI see 15-25 per cent increases in engagement rates.

Dedicated AI content tools complement social media platforms. Jasper AI at $49 per user monthly has completed over 76 million content generations in 2025 alone, offering brand voice customisation and social-specific templates. Lately.ai uses natural language processing to automatically repurpose long-form content—webinars, blog posts, podcasts—into dozens of optimised social posts. This approach proves particularly valuable for B2B content strategies where limited marketing resources must maximise the return from each content asset.

Whitehat's AI consultancy services help B2B companies evaluate and implement AI tools across their marketing stack. The goal is identifying where AI delivers genuine efficiency gains versus where human oversight remains essential for quality and brand consistency.

Social listening tools with current UK pricing

Social listening enables B2B companies to monitor brand mentions, track competitor activity, identify industry trends, and respond to customer sentiment in real time. While some social media management platforms include basic listening, dedicated tools provide significantly deeper capabilities.

For most UK B2B companies, Brand24 offers the best balance of capability and cost. The platform monitors over 25 million sources including social networks, blogs, forums, news sites, and podcasts. AI-powered insights automatically identify discussion volume changes, sentiment shifts, and emerging topics without requiring manual configuration.

Why LinkedIn dominates B2B social media marketing

Any discussion of B2B social media tools must acknowledge LinkedIn's dominant position. According to FirstPageSage's 2024 LinkedIn ROI analysis, LinkedIn generates 277 per cent more effective lead conversion than Facebook or Twitter. HubSpot's research confirms that 80 per cent of all B2B social media leads originate from LinkedIn, with 97 per cent of B2B marketers using the platform for content distribution.

The Edelman-LinkedIn 2024 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study reveals that 73 per cent of decision-makers consider thought leadership more trustworthy than marketing materials when evaluating organisations. This creates a powerful mandate for B2B companies to prioritise LinkedIn content within their social media strategy.

When selecting social media management tools, UK B2B companies should prioritise LinkedIn-specific features including native company page management, employee advocacy tools, LinkedIn newsletter publishing support, and LinkedIn Analytics API integration. All the enterprise platforms reviewed—Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Sendible, and Agorapulse—provide comprehensive LinkedIn support.

Whitehat's UK B2B social media marketing guide provides detailed strategies for maximising LinkedIn ROI alongside platform-agnostic content distribution approaches.

Selecting the right tool for your organisation

The optimal social media management tool depends on your organisation's specific requirements. Whitehat recommends the following decision framework based on team size, budget, and HubSpot integration requirements:

Solo marketers or small teams (under £100 monthly budget): Start with Buffer's free tier or Sendible's Creator plan at £25 monthly. Focus on consistent LinkedIn publishing and basic analytics before investing in more sophisticated tools.

Growing marketing teams requiring HubSpot integration (£100-300 monthly): Sendible or Agorapulse provide the best combination of native HubSpot connectivity, team collaboration features, and competitive pricing. Both platforms scale effectively as requirements grow.

Enterprise teams with sophisticated attribution requirements (£300+ monthly): Sprout Social delivers unmatched analytics depth and CRM integration. The investment is justified when social media contributes measurably to pipeline and leadership requires detailed ROI reporting.

Organisations already using HubSpot Professional or Enterprise: Evaluate whether the native social tools meet your needs before adding third-party platforms. Many teams discover that HubSpot's built-in functionality suffices for publishing, with a specialist listening tool like Brand24 handling the monitoring gap.

Frequently asked questions

Which social media management platform integrates best with HubSpot?

Sprout Social offers the deepest HubSpot integration with native CRM sync, automated contact enrichment, and bi-directional data flow. Hootsuite, Agorapulse, and Sendible also provide native HubSpot connections. For organisations already using HubSpot Professional at £890 per month, the built-in social tools eliminate integration complexity entirely.

How much should UK businesses budget for social media tools in 2025?

UK B2B companies should budget between £25 and £399 per month depending on team size and feature requirements. Entry-level tools like Buffer start at £5 per channel monthly. Mid-tier options like Sendible offer strong value at £25-29 monthly. Enterprise platforms like Sprout Social cost £199-399 per user monthly but deliver superior analytics and CRM integration.

Is LinkedIn really more effective than other platforms for B2B marketing?

Yes, LinkedIn dominates B2B social marketing by a significant margin. According to HubSpot's 2024 research, LinkedIn generates 277 per cent more effective lead conversion than Facebook or Twitter. Additionally, 80 per cent of all B2B social media leads originate from LinkedIn according to LinkedIn's own data, and 97 per cent of B2B marketers use the platform for content distribution. For UK B2B companies specifically, LinkedIn has 45 million UK members representing nearly two-thirds of the population.

Can AI really improve social media marketing results?

Research shows AI-powered social media tools deliver measurable improvements. According to ArtSmart and Digital Silk's 2024 study, businesses using AI see 15-25 per cent increases in engagement rates. Additionally, 71 per cent of marketers report AI-generated content outperforms non-AI content, while AI tools save creators over one hour daily on content creation according to Drainpipe.io's 2025 research. HubSpot's State of Marketing 2024 found marketers save an average of three hours per piece of content through AI assistance.

What happened to Crowdfire and TweetDeck?

Crowdfire is shutting down on 15 May 2025, with all user data permanently deleted by 30 June 2025. After fifteen years of operation, SocialBee is the officially endorsed migration partner offering 50 per cent off for six months. TweetDeck was rebranded to X Pro and now requires an X Premium subscription at approximately £8 monthly—the free version was removed in August 2023, Teams features were eliminated, and the MacOS app was discontinued.

How many hours can social media tools save per week?

Social media management tools save significant time compared to manual posting. According to HubSpot's 2024 research, marketers spend 6-10 hours per week per platform without scheduling tools. AI-powered tools save an additional hour daily on content creation according to Drainpipe.io's 2025 data. MeetEdgar research found task-switching between platforms causes up to 40 per cent productivity reduction, which unified dashboards eliminate. For a marketing team managing three platforms, the time savings from proper tool adoption can exceed 20 hours weekly.

References

• ArtSmart and Digital Silk (2024). AI Impact on Social Media Engagement Study.
• Business Wire/Forbes (2024). B2B Buyer Social Media Influence Research.
• DataReportal (2025). Digital 2025: United Kingdom Report, January 2025.
• Drainpipe.io (2025). AI Adoption in Social Media Marketing Statistics.
• Edelman x LinkedIn (2024). B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study.
• FirstPageSage (2024). LinkedIn ROI Analysis.
• Gartner (2024). CMO Survey: Marketing Attribution and ROI.
• Hootsuite (2025). Social Media Trends 2025 Report.
• HubSpot (2024). State of Marketing Report 2024.
• HubSpot (2024). LinkedIn Lead Generation Effectiveness Study.
• IBISWorld (2025-26). UK Social Media Industry Report.
• LinkedIn (2024). B2B Marketing Benchmark Report.
• MeetEdgar (2024). Task-Switching Productivity Research.
• Precedence Research (2025). AI in Social Media Market Report.
• Social Media Examiner (2025). AI Marketing Report 2025.
• Sprout Social (2025). UK Social Media Statistics, February 2025.
• Statista (2023). UK Social Media Usage Survey, December 2023.