Enterprise social media management tools are leaving the marketing nest, according to TrustRadius

Enterprise-class social media management (SMM) is changing, according to a new report launched today by TrustRadius. Where these tools used to be maintained by the marketing team alone, big companies are making use of SMM technologies across the organization.

In addition to Trust Radius’ detailed reports and findings — found in its new Buyer’s Guide to Enterprise Social Media Management Software — is its TrustMap, a device that helps software buyers quickly locate the products most highly rated and evaluated by their peers.

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Based on user ratings and product evaluation frequency, the top rated SMM software products for enterprises include Brandwatch, Buddy Media, Hootsuite Enterprise, Sprout Social, Viralheat, and Woobox. The product with by far the most evaluations, and a higher-than-average rating, is Sprinklr.

While the TrustMap gives an at-a-glance view of the enterprise SMM space, TrustRadius’ report makes some interesting observations on what has changed since its first, November 2013 study.

“Social media programs are now enterprise-wide and no longer confined to marketing,” said Vinay Bhagat, CEO or TrustRadius.

There are a number of reasons behind the shift from marketing to a cross-unit approach. Some companies may have realized the benefits of social media in areas such as customer service. I asked Bhagat for his take on the findings.

“It’s not because they’re failing at marketing, but rather because companies are finding additional value in leveraging social in other areas,” Bhagat said. “They need to meet customers where they are.”

As I found in my study of social media complaints for VB Insight, U.S. consumers alone complain to brands on social media a staggering 879 million times per year. Is the drive to provide support for those customers helping enterprise adoption?

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“An increasing number of customer service incidents are first reported on social, and there’s an increasing expectation of a response,” Bhagat said. “Even without an expectation of response, there’s an opportunity to delight a customer proactively through listening and intervention.”

Customer service isn’t the only non-marketing department taking to social media either.

“Given the quantities of conversations and data, social is a natural venue to do intelligence gathering for product design too,” Bhagat said.

TrustRadius stresses that its Buyer’s Guide to Enterprise Social Media Management Software and its TrustMap aren’t designed just for the corporate audience.

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“While we are focusing on the needs of mid-to-large enterprises in this guide, it also provides useful insights for smaller companies who are advanced in their use of social media,” Bhagat said.