I find it interesting that the best tools for using Twitter were developed by other companies. In a way, it makes sense that the job of growing a platform is different to the specialist functions of scheduling messages, paying attention to relevant conversations and tracking all the data that results from these billions of digital footprints.

I’ve used the free version of HootSuite for a few years, largely because the iOS app enables me to manage multiple accounts, as well as posting to linked Facebook profiles. The paid version, at less than $10 per month, enables all that for a larger number of accounts, as well as one free report per month. You can’t argue with the value for money of the free version, but the entry level paid version offers a lot of functionality for the money.

I’m busy with a trial of SproutSocial, which takes all that to another level. For starters, the desktop version is visually much more exciting space than the HootSuite equivalent. Not only is it more attractive, but it’s also been designed in such a way that the advanced features are made intuitively easy.

For starters, the reports display on the dashboard, right off the bat (unlike in HootSuite, where you have to request a report that gets mailed). The reports deliver a load of relevant data. If you do get around to doing a price comparison with the apparently more expensive SproutSocial, bear in mind that HootSuite bills for additional reports, whereas they are basically on-tap in SproutSocial.

I’m particularly impressed with SproutSocial’s CRM features. These keep track of your conversation history with particular contacts, and are also specially designed for teams. So, when someone tweets your company, you can assign that to a team member. Those responses also go into the history. Given the extent to which consumers by-pass conventional customer help channels, keeping track of Twitter conversations is an absolute must.

SproutSocial can be linked to your Feedly account (or any other RSS), which enables you to find relevant content that you then schedule into your Twitter stream.

You can link your Facebook pages to SproutSocial, so that your social media management becomes a one-stop shop.

There is also a very useful ‘Discovery’ function that enables quite sophisticated Boolean searches of Twitter and non-private Facebook posts. What this does is to throw up conversations that you may want to get involved in. Or, perhaps just give you an insight into consumer sentiment around various issues.

You can also set up your social media stream to include mentions of whatever brand keywords you specify. Remember, ‘social’ is a conversation – you need to be listening, too!

Much of this functionality is mirrored in the iOS app.

Yes, social media is ‘free’, but its impact on your business is potentially huge. If you are serious about using social media then the relatively small monthly expense of the tools that enable you to be more effective is money well spent. Social media is now too important a business function for you to be messing around with ‘amateur’ tools.

There is a potentially powerful platform emerging at StreamScience.co (currently in beta). It has great tools for managing content, to a wider variety of social media than just Twitter and Facebook. It has scheduling, as well as team functionality and a bulk upload facility. Its scheduler tracks engagement to optimise the times of day that messages are sent out. One shortcoming is that it doesn’t deliver your message stream. Looking good thus far.

(Disclosure: While I use paid versions of HootSuite and SproutSocial myself, which is the basis for this endorsement, I need to tell you that purchases that follow from clicking in the links above earn me a small referral fee.)