An excellent advertising automation platform could make your digital advertising processes extra environment friendly, particularly whenever you’re juggling a number of different duties. All of it comes right down to the particular areas the place you want automation most.
I set myself on a mission to search out the very best advertising automation software program for small companies, from posting social media content material to responding to guests’ questions in your web site. I ranked the very best platforms by their options, pricing, and general usefulness.
Brevo: Finest e mail and SMS advertising automation software program
Zoho Campaigns: Finest for capturing leads
Klaviyo: Finest for evaluation requests and customer support
HubSpot: Finest advertising automation instruments for managing buyer pipelines
Sprout Social: Finest for automating social media posts
Hootsuite: Finest for automating replies to social media messages and feedback
Livechat: Finest for an automatic web site chatbot
An summary of the very best advertising automation software program for small companies
Why you may belief Match Small Enterprise
What’s advertising automation software program, and the way does it work?
Advertising and marketing automation is any software or software program that mechanically takes over repetitive advertising duties, like posting content material on social media, responding to buyer inquiries, or sending advertising emails and textual content messages.
They’re triggered by particular actions (like if somebody abandons an merchandise of their cart), dates or occasions (for instance, a scheduled social media publish), or particular if/then rule units (i.e., if a earlier buyer views an merchandise, then ship an e mail with a reduction code).
An instance of an automation is an e mail subscription workflow from HubSpot. (Supply: HubSpot)
For instance, working as a digital marketer for a tech startup, two of my most continuously used advertising automation platforms had been Hootsuite and Brevo (then Sendinblue) for social media and e mail advertising, respectively. They helped me schedule posts and ship emails to achieve clients on the most optimum occasions.
That’s what advertising automation methods can do: tackle repetitive advertising duties so you may concentrate on the extra necessary enterprise choices. They will additionally aid you attain your viewers extra successfully.
Brevo: Finest e mail and SMS advertising automation software program
Execs
Straightforward to visualise automation workflows by the drag-and-drop automation builder
Has a free plan with 300 automated emails and SMS messages a day
Has a centralized inbox for managing e mail, WhatsApp, Fb, and Instagram messages
Cons
No workflow templates — you’ll must construct each automation from scratch
Solely has a selected set of triggers, actions, and guidelines
A/B testing is just obtainable on the Marketing strategy ($16.17)
My knowledgeable opinion
Who it’s for: Groups that do a whole lot of SMS and e mail advertising and need to construct their very own automation workflows
Brevo has all the time been my greatest advertising automation software program for e mail and SMS advertising campaigns due to its easy, user-friendly interface. It additionally has a drag-and-drop editor that makes constructing automation workflows simple. There are triggers, actions, and guidelines already conveniently ready so that you can set up in your workflow.
The workflows themselves are simple to arrange, however you’ll must already know the precise automations you need to construct as a result of Brevo doesn’t present any templates, which is the one main factor it lacks. Due to this, it’s a greater match for advertising groups who have already got some primary automation know-how, not in case you’re a complete newbie.
However in case you do know the automation you want, then Brevo could be a powerhouse software to assist your e mail and SMS advertising campaigns. The drag-and-drop canvas shall be particularly helpful for visualizing workflows.
Brevo’s drag-and-drop automation builder makes it simple to visualise SMS and e mail automation workflows. (Supply: Brevo)
Plans and pricing
Zoho Campaigns: Finest for capturing leads
Execs
Has workflow templates for capturing leads from web sites, signup types, and occasions
Can mechanically generate leads
Additionally, it mechanically scores your leads based mostly in your set standards
Cons
No automation for social media, only for publishing and monitoring them
No free plan
My knowledgeable opinion
Who it’s for: Companies that need to seize leads from a number of sources
Zoho Campaigns has all the time been a powerhouse for lead era, so I’ve lengthy been excited to see what its advertising automation can do, and it doesn’t disappoint.
From the leap, Zoho’s Advertising and marketing Automation helps you to seize leads out of your web site, webinar, or in-person occasion. You may construct easy welcome workflows and multi-step loyalty-building e mail campaigns utilizing its workflow templates, or construct your personal from scratch.
I additionally like that its lead nurture templates have full if/then branches, so you may proceed preserving your highest-quality leads. Sadly, they’re solely obtainable for e mail and WhatsApp campaigns, not for social media (though it has a social media scheduling and monitoring software).
All these make Zoho Campaigns the very best automated advertising platform in case your primary precedence is capturing and nurturing leads, even in case you’re a newbie. Zoho Marketing campaign’s automation workflow templates will aid you alongside your means.
Zoho Campaigns options automation workflow templates for capturing leads. (Supply: Zoho)
You can even visualize and edit your workflows. (Supply: Zoho)
Plans and pricing
Klaviyo: Finest for evaluation requests and customer support
Execs
Can mechanically request critiques out of your clients and draft responses
Buyer Hub acts as an AI gross sales agent, recommending customized merchandise to clients and responding to requests
Additionally has automated e mail and SMS messages, together with on the free plan
Cons
Lengthy onboarding course of
Evaluation request automations are an additional value and improve the extra orders you get
Solely helpful if in case you have a web-based retailer
My knowledgeable opinion
Who it’s for: Ecommerce companies that need to construct model credibility by critiques and improve their on-line customer expertise
Klaviyo constructed its identify on automation, however its two greatest advertising automation platforms are for requesting buyer critiques and catering to buyer requests and messages in your web site (mainly appearing as an AI gross sales agent).
The automated evaluation requests are particularly distinctive as Klaviyo mechanically requests them through e mail and SMS from clients who’ve accomplished a purchase order.
In the meantime, Klaviyo’s automated customer support enhances your web site guests’ expertise by providing customized product suggestions, order monitoring, or solutions to their questions. Altogether, they make Klaviyo a brilliant highly effective advertising automation software program if in case you have a web-based retailer and need to keep forward of the competitors.
Klaviyo additionally has a free plan, and I recognize that it has workflow automation templates for nurturing leads, encouraging purchases, and constructing model loyalty through e mail and SMS.
Total, it’s the very best advertising automation software program for serving to handle requests and information clients by their journeys.
Klaviyo has a number of automation workflows, together with on the free plan. (Supply: Klaviyo)
Plans and pricing
Klaviyo automation platform
Evaluation requests
HubSpot: Finest advertising automation instruments for managing a number of buyer pipelines
Execs
Has inside automation workflows for managing, scoring, and assigning leads in your CRM
Provides personalization tokens to advertising emails utilizing information about your leads
Can automate welcome emails to new signups
Cons
Can solely automate advertising emails, not SMS or social media messages
No workflow templates — you’ll need to construct your personal from scratch
Automation instruments are principally for nurturing leads, not capturing them
My knowledgeable opinion
Who it’s for: Massive groups that deal with a lot of leads concurrently and have completely different gross sales brokers assigned to them
One among HubSpot’s signature options is its buyer relationship administration (CRM) platform, which can also be the place its automation instruments shine essentially the most. Not like Brevo and Zoho Campaigns, HubSpot’s software program for advertising automation is usually inside — it scores leads, sends them to your gross sales staff, and notifies you once they do sure actions.
Sadly, HubSpot doesn’t have any ready workflow templates, so that you’ll need to construct your personal workflows from scratch.
It does most of the issues Brevo and Zoho Campaigns can do, however due to its inside lead scoring and sending automation instruments, it’ll be best-suited for greater groups that must handle many leads and juggle a number of buyer pipelines greater than small companies who’re simply beginning out gaining leads.
So if you have already got the leads however want a platform that may aid you handle and set up them concurrently, that’s the place HubSpot will come in useful.
HubSpot has automation workflows for managing leads internally and assigning them to completely different groups. (Supply: HubSpot)
Plans and pricing
Sprout Social: Finest for automating social media posts
Execs
Social media content material calendar helps you to plan and schedule posts weeks forward
Sprout Queue helps you to queue a number of posts after which mechanically publish them on the most optimum occasions
Additionally has a centralized inbox to handle all of your messages and feedback from a number of platforms
Cons
No free plan
Solely helpful if you have already got a social media presence on a number of platforms, not in case you’re ranging from scratch
Doesn’t do viewers analyses for deeper perception into your viewers’s pursuits
My knowledgeable opinion
Who it’s for: Any enterprise that wishes to maintain an lively social media presence on a number of platforms with minimal work
Sprout Social has been one in all my favourite social media advertising automation platforms for some time now. Its greatest asset is its content material scheduling software that may assist publish posts throughout Fb, Instagram, and different social platforms, even Threads and Snapchat.
Nevertheless, my favourite characteristic from Sprout Social is its means to mechanically analyze the very best occasions to publish your content material based mostly on when your viewers is most engaged and recommend them to you as you schedule.
You may even queue posts within the Sprout Queue, which it’ll then publish on the most optimum occasions — a game-changer for preserving your social media profiles lively with minimal work.
Whereas I skilled some glitches when queuing content material on the platform, it was nothing a number of refreshes didn’t repair. Nevertheless, you’ll get essentially the most out of the platform if you have already got an present social media presence as a result of Sprout Social learns out of your viewers’s habits and makes suggestions based mostly on them.
Sprout Social recommends the very best time to publish content material based mostly in your social media profile. (Supply: Sprout Social)
The Sprout Queue additionally mechanically publishes content material at the very best occasions. (Supply: Sprout Social)
Plans and pricing
Hootsuite: Finest for automating replies to social media messages and feedback
Execs
Can mechanically reply to questions and feedback from social media customers
Centralized inbox additionally offers you an outline of all of your messages and feedback, so you may prioritize your most necessary ones
May analyze viewers sentiment and schedule posts
Cons
No free plan and free trial requires a bank card
Approval workflows and staff collaboration are an extra value
No different automation instruments past message and remark replies and publish scheduling
My knowledgeable opinion
Who it’s for: Social media groups that obtain a number of messages on social media day by day and don’t have the time to answer to all of them
If social media is a main supply of leads for your enterprise, Hootsuite is likely one of the greatest platforms you should use. It has a centralized inbox for replying to messages on Fb, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, X, and LinkedIn.
However extra importantly, it helps you to save and automate replies to sure questions, which is a large time-saver in case you get loads of messages and feedback on social media.
In that regard, Hootsuite shall be helpful for any enterprise on a number of social media platforms. Its social media scheduling calendar can also be simple to make use of, and its social listening software may also help you analyze how audiences are speaking about your model on-line.
Nevertheless, its staff collaboration instruments imply it’ll be a greater match for bigger social media groups, not in case you’re a one-person social media division.
Hootsuite’s centralized inbox helps handle messages and feedback extra effectively. (Supply: Hootsuite)
Plans and pricing
Livechat: Finest for an automatic web site chatbot
Execs
Reside chatbot learns out of your conversations to draft customized replies for every buyer
Tracks chat engagement metrics over time, together with achieved targets and queue abandonment charges
Chatbot works for web site chats, Fb, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Cons
Doesn’t create customized automation workflows — simply automates message replies
Automating e mail, SMS, Instagram, and WhatsApp replies requires an additional integration
There are limits on what number of web site guests you may observe in actual time
My knowledgeable opinion
Finest for: On-line companies that need to generate leads from their web site
Whereas LiveChat shall be extra suited to technologically inclined companies, I nonetheless discover it the most suitable choice for an automatic chatbot on your web site.
It’ll be useful if you have already got a web site that usually will get guests and also you need to improve the way you deal with customer requests and queries and assist lead them additional down the gross sales pipeline. Livechat’s chatbot may also help direct guests to join a demo, reply product questions, or suggest them to the precise product.
What I additionally like about LiveChat is it integrates with Fb, Instagram, and Whatsapp, so it’s also possible to reply messages from every platform. It additionally learns about your clients by your conversations and saves information into the platform — then, utilizing AI, it drafts up the very best responses.
This makes it addition to your tech stack if in case you have a enterprise web site you need to improve with smarter and extra personalized automated responses.
LiveChat centralizes messages out of your web site and drafts personalized responses for every customer. (Supply: LiveChat)
Plans and pricing
5 elements to think about when selecting advertising automation software program
Whereas I’ve rounded up the very best advertising automation software program available on the market, selecting the best one(s) for your enterprise will in the end come right down to your distinctive wants, tech stack, and degree of familiarity. When selecting advertising automation software program, maintain these elements in thoughts.
Automation capabilities: These are the foremost issues when selecting automation software program. Some platforms concentrate on automating e mail sends, some on social media posts, and others on personalization options. Determine which time-consuming advertising duties you may automate, then choose a platform that greatest helps these processes.
Customized vs templated workflows: Some platforms allow you to construct complete automation workflows, whereas others have ready-to-use templates. Consider whether or not you want a customized automation workflow or if a generic one, like easy e mail advertising or lead-capturing automation, will suffice.
Platform familiarity: Some platforms have beginner-friendly interfaces whereas others would require some preliminary know-how, so I like to recommend testing them out your self first or reserving a demo earlier than finalizing your determination.
Integrations: Consider which automation instruments simply combine into every other platforms you’re already utilizing. For instance, LiveChat simply integrates with Shopify and Squarespace, whereas Zoho Campaigns integrates with Salesforce and Twilio.
Value: Not all automation platforms are free. Some have restricted free-forever plans, like Brevo and Klaviyo. Consider not simply your quick automation wants but in addition your wants within the subsequent six months or 12 months. For instance, you would possibly want extra complicated automation workflows or increased staff capacities by the top of the 12 months.
How I evaluated the very best advertising automation platforms
Evaluating the very best automated advertising platforms isn’t an apples-to-apples comparability as a result of every platform makes use of automation in its personal means. However I rounded up the very best ones for the completely different areas of small enterprise advertising. My analysis relies on 5 standards: pricing, common options, superior options, buyer assist, and my knowledgeable rating.
30% of Total Rating
Automation instruments shouldn’t take up a big slice of your advertising price range, so I gave increased scores to platforms with free plans, month-to-month pricing buildings, a decrease beginning value (under $15 monthly), and a money-back assure.
20% of Total Rating
This rating evaluates whether or not every platform helps you to automate emails, SMS, message replies, social media posts, and evaluation requests, in addition to if it helps you to construct customized workflows.
20% of Total Rating
I gave additional credit score to platforms with additional options. These embody issues like a CRM platform, customized messages, buyer information profiles, automated pop-ups, and lead seize types.
10% of Total Rating
First rate buyer assist is crucial to buyer expertise, which is why I give additional factors to platforms with longer assist hours (24/7) and extra buyer assist avenues (e mail, cellphone name, stay chat, and a web-based assist middle).
20% of Total Rating
I additionally examined every platform first-hand. I signed up for an account, constructed a number of automations, and scored my expertise based mostly on their options, ease of use, worth for cash, and general advertising usefulness.
*Percentages of general rating
Often requested questions (FAQs)
What does advertising automation software program do?
Advertising and marketing automation software program can do something from schedule social media posts to construct full lead nurturing e mail campaigns. Some instruments may even automate customized replies to messages and request post-purchase critiques.
Advertising and marketing automation platforms can automate the extra mundane advertising duties to hurry up effectivity and allow you to concentrate on extra necessary choices.
How to decide on advertising automation software program?
To decide on the precise advertising automation platform, first consider your wants: What repetitive and time-consuming advertising duties may be automated? It may very well be scheduling social media posts, replying to messages, or sending emails.
Then, consider your price range allowance, the scale of your staff, and your means to construct automation workflows. Check out completely different platforms and arrange demo calls earlier than finalizing your alternative.
Tips on how to use advertising automation software program?
Tips on how to use advertising automation software program will rely upon every platform. Some, like Brevo, require you to construct automation workflows totally by your self, whereas others, like Zoho Campaigns, have templates for welcoming new subscribers and nurturing leads.
Others have already got workflows arrange and able to use, like Klaviyo for requesting critiques and Sprout Social for scheduling social media posts.
Backside line
The perfect advertising automation software program can simplify your advertising processes and construct simpler campaigns. All of it comes right down to selecting the best software program on your wants.
A number of the greatest platforms I discovered are Brevo, Zoho Campaigns, Klaviyo, HubSpot, and Sprout Social for frequent advertising duties like sending e mail and SMS campaigns, nurturing leads, requesting critiques, managing buyer pipelines, and scheduling social media posts.
