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Customer Experience (CX) Customer Experience December 11, 2024

10 Best Social Media Customer Service Software in 2025

Social media customer service software helps you deliver exceptional customer experiences across social media channels. Learn more in our guide.
Ken McMahon
Author

Ken McMahon

Our 2024 State of Customer Experience Report found that business leaders are prioritizing seamless omnichannel user experiences. As customer service evolves to include social media support, the right social media management platform can help you deliver on those customer expectations. 

Managing multiple social media platforms and responding quickly doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Our guide to social media customer service software details how to deliver customer support and boost your social media presence from a single hub. Ready to embrace the power of social media customer service?

What Is Social Media Customer Service Software?

Social media customer service software is a tool that centralizes and streamlines customer interactions from various social media platforms. 


Social customer service software simplifies customer communication and increases engagement by centralizing customer queries, interactions, and brand mentions into a single hub. That includes social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, WhatsApp, and more.

Top 10 Social Media Customer Service Platforms

Here’s a quick rundown of the best social customer service platforms. This high-level chart lists the features, starting price, and what it’s best for so you can compare.

SoftwareBest ForFeaturesStarting Price
NextivaMost businessesAll-in-one omnichannel inbox Social tagging and monitoring Competitor and social listening$149 per month + 129/mo for each additional user, billed annually
Sprout SocialMid-sized businessesSocial media publishing Conversation management Reporting and analytics$199 per user/month, billed annually
HootsuiteScheduling and collaborationCentralized dashboard Social media engagement AI-powered features$99 per month (one user), billed annually
Salesforce Service CloudEnterprisesSocial media listening and monitoring Social media scheduling Social media analytics$25 per user/month, billed annually
ZendeskCustomizationZendesk AI for social media Omnichannel agent workspace Unified ticketing system$55 per agent/month, billed annually
FreshdeskEase of useCentralized social media management Automated workflows Advanced ticketing$0 per month (up to 10 agents), billed annually
Zoho DeskIntegrationsUnlimited scheduled posts Social monitoring Analytics$7 per user/month, billed annually
LiveAgentOmnichannel ticketingUniversal inbox Social media integrations Productivity tools$9 per agent/month, billed annually
HubSpot Service HubMarketing automationPost scheduling Keyword monitoring Lead tracking$90 per seat/month, billed annually
FrontTeam collaborationCentralized inbox Omnichannel communication Customer history profiles$19 per seat/month (up to 10 seats), billed annually
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1. Nextiva

Best for most businesses

A screenshot shows Nextiva's social media customer service software.

Nextiva’s social media management platform integrates marketing, engagement, and customer support across various social media channels into one unified dashboard. It supports platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube, with Pinterest coming soon. 

Key features include scheduling and publishing posts, real-time interaction and engagement, and advanced analytics for monitoring social media performance. The platform also offers workflows and automation tools such as an all-in-one inbox, advanced filtering, social tagging, intelligent routing, performance monitoring, and competitor listening. These capabilities help streamline social media management, improve customer interactions, and enhance overall social media presence.

Features 

  • All-in-one omnichannel Inbox: View and manage incoming customer reviews in real time from various customer service channels in a unified interface.
  • Social tagging and monitoring: Create custom tags to categorize reviews and track keywords across social channels for efficient search and analysis.
  • Competitor and social listening: Track brand mentions, conversations, and competitor performance across social media platforms, forums, blogs, and custom sources to stay informed about customer sentiment, industry trends, and areas for improvement.
  • Case automation and escalations: Ensure customers never fall through the cracks using automation to elevate issues to senior support reps and managers with complete visibility.

Pricing

Nextiva offers various packages for businesses of all sizes, ranging from standard plans for small businesses to custom plans with all the bells and whistles.   

  • Digital: $20 per user per month, billed annually
  • Core: $30 per user per month, billed annually
  • Engage: $40 per user per month, billed annually
  • Power Suite: $60 per user per month, billed annually
Pros icon Pros

Easy to use

Reliable

Great customer support

Cons icon Cons

No integrations marketplace

Advanced features limited to the Enterprise plan

SMS isn’t in the basic plan

2. Sprout Social

Best for mid-sized businesses

A screenshot shows Sprout Social's social media customer service software.

Sprout Social provides a unified platform for managing cross-channel customer care on social media. Its centralized workspace puts customer interactions into a single dashboard, allowing agents to monitor and respond without switching interfaces. With tools for social listening, post management, automation, and sentiment analysis, Sprout Social helps businesses effectively engage with their audience and measure performance.

Features 

  • Social media publishing: Plan, organize, and deliver social content and campaigns with cross-network scheduling
  • Conversation management: Track campaign performance and identify, personalize, and respond to incoming direct messages (DMs)
  • Reporting and analytics: Evaluate outcomes with access to social data and customizable reporting tools

Pricing

Sprout Social features pricing for four different plans: 

  • Standard: $199 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Professional: $299 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Advanced: $399 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Enterprise: Contact Sprout Social for a custom quote
Pros icon Pros

Free 30-day trial available

User-friendly interface

No contracts

Cons icon Cons

No free plan

 High price

Steeper learning curve with advanced features 

3. Hootsuite

Best for scheduling and collaboration

A screenshot shows Hootsuite's social media customer service software.

Hootsuite is a social media management platform offering a unified dashboard for scheduling posts, interacting with users, and analyzing performance across multiple platforms. Its centralized workspace and integration options allow businesses to connect their customer relationship management (CRM) systems, marketing tools, and other essential software. Hootsuite’s automation features enable scheduling posts, setting up automated responses, and auto-assigning messages to team members.

Features 

  • Centralized dashboard: Manage all your social media accounts from one central dashboard. This includes scheduling posts, responding to comments and messages, and tracking performance. 
  • Social media engagement: Respond to comments and messages from various platforms within the Hootsuite interface.
  • AI-powered features: Hootsuite’s social media AI writer can help draft content and suggest hashtags.

Pricing

Hootsuite offers three plans: a one-person subscription, one for a team, and customizable enterprise options. 

  • Professional: $99 per month (one user), billed annually
  • Team: $249 per month (three users), billed annually
  • Enterprise: Contact Hootsuite for a custom quote
Pros icon Pros

Ease of use

Customer support

Inbox management

Cons icon Cons

Difficulty adding functionality

Lacks key features

Unable to tag on LinkedIn

4. Salesforce Service Cloud

Best for enterprises

A screenshot shows Salesforce Service Cloud's social media customer service software.

Salesforce Service Cloud is a customer service solution that helps businesses manage social media. While Salesforce is primarily recognized for its sales CRM tool, Service Cloud offers omnichannel customer support capabilities that extend to social media channels. In addition to social media, Salesforce includes email, live chat, and self-service channels. It also provides add-ons like field service and AI tools, as well as seamless integration with Salesforce’s CRM for enhanced customer insights.

Features 

  • Social media listening and monitoring: This feature tracks brand mentions, industry conversations, and competitor activity across various social media platforms.
  • Social media scheduling: This feature enables you to schedule and publish social media content directly from the Salesforce platform, streamlining your workflow.
  • Social media analytics: This feature provides insights into the performance of your social media campaigns, including metrics like reach, engagement, and website traffic generated from social media.

Pricing

Salesforce offers a five-tier pricing structure with an add-on for AI chatbot Einstein. Here are the prices:  

  • Starter Suite: $25 per user per month, billed annually
  • Pro Suite: $100 per user per month, billed annually
  • Enterprise: $165 per user per month, billed annually
  • Unlimited: $330 per user per month, billed annually
  • Einstein 1 Service: $500 per user per month, billed annually
Pros icon Pros

Integrates easily

Reliability

Customer support 

Cons icon Cons

Difficult to customize support 

Complicated to use to customize

Slow setup

5. Zendesk

Best for customizations

A screenshot shows Zendesk's social media customer service software.

Zendesk is a customer experience platform that provides omnichannel support. Its ticketing systems help manage conversations across various channels, including social media, with options for basic email support on lower-cost plans and expanded support for phone and chat on higher-tier plans. 

Zendesk AI helps make customer and employee experiences better by providing instant responses and streamlining workflows. Its analytics suite offers insights into response times and agent performance, enabling businesses to refine their strategies to deliver customer support.

Features 

  • Zendesk AI for social media: This service provides AI-powered features like chatbots for social media interactions, including troubleshooting, recommendations, and escalation to human agents.
  • Omnichannel agent workspace: This integrates social media channels with other communication channels — like email, live chat, and social media — into a unified agent platform, providing a complete customer history.
  • Unified ticketing system: Funnels all customer requests from various channels into one system for consistent response management.

Pricing

Zendesk offers five different pricing tiers for its customer service suite. 

  • Suite Team: $55 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Suite Growth: $89 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Suite Professional: $115 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Suite Enterprise: Contact Zendesk
  • Suite Enterprise Plus: Contact Zendesk
Pros icon Pros

User-friendly interface

Service-level agreements

Customer support

Cons icon Cons

Cost

Complexity

Social listening challenges

6. Freshdesk

Best for ease of use

A screenshot shows Freshdesk's social media customer service software.

Social media customer service tools like Freshdesk streamline communication by allowing teams to manage high volumes of social media inquiries across multiple platforms in one place. Freshdesk features self-service options, automated workflows, advanced ticketing, and intelligent routing to streamline workflows. Additionally, Freshdesk’s analytics tools empower agents to resolve issues quickly and gain valuable insights.

Features 

  • Centralized social media management: Freshdesk allows businesses to integrate social media platforms like Facebook, Linkedin, WhatsApp, Instagram, and X into a unified dashboard.
  • Automated workflows: Features like automatic ticket creation for incoming social media messages and intelligent routing can streamline workflows.
  • Advanced ticketing: Freshdesk converts social media interactions (comments, messages) into tickets within the platform.

Pricing

Freshdesk offers various packages, from free plans with limited features to enterprise plans with advanced features.  

  • Free: $0 per month (up to 10 agents), billed annually
  • Growth: $15 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Pro: $49 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Enterprise: $79 per agent per month, billed annually
Pros icon Pros

Ease of use

Canned responses

Ticket grouping

Cons icon Cons

Search functionality

Lag issues

Customization flexibility

7. Zoho Desk

Best for integrations

A screenshot shows Zoho Desk's social media customer service software.

Zoho Desk is a help desk software with social monitoring tools. It can track brand mentions across social platforms like Facebook, X, and Instagram, centralizing communication for efficient ticket management. Capabilities include scheduling unlimited posts with a user-friendly content calendar, real-time engagement features, and basic analytics for insights into audience behavior and performance. Additionally, features like automatic ticket assignments, predefined response templates, and workflow automations streamline support processes.

Features 

  • Unlimited scheduled posts: Save time by scheduling social media content in advance for optimal reach and consistent posting.
  • Social monitoring: Track brand mentions and customer conversations across social media platforms. 
  • Analytics: Track metrics like follower growth, engagement rates, and website traffic generated from social media.

Pricing

Zoho Desk offers affordable pricing tiers. Here are their options: 

  • Express: $7 per user per month, billed annually
  • Standard: $14 per user per month, billed annually
  • Professional: $23 per user per month, billed annually
  • Enterprise: $40 per user month, billed annually

Zoho Desk also has a free plan for minimal support needs. 

Pros icon Pros

Scheduled social media posts

Social media content calendar

Easy to customize

Cons icon Cons

Hashtag tracking

Competitor monitoring

Reporting and analytics

8. LiveAgent

Best for omnichannel ticketing

A screenshot shows LiveAgent's social media customer service software.

LiveAgent offers a unified customer support platform that consolidates email, calls, and social media communication into a single dashboard. Its gamification approach makes customer support engaging by rewarding teams for task completion. The platform integrates with social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, streamlining workflows with automated routing and responses. Additionally, LiveAgent provides valuable insights through robust reporting capabilities and supports team collaboration with integrations like Slack and WhatsApp.

Features 

  • Universal inbox: Centralizes all customer inquiries into a single platform for efficient management and omnichannel support.
  • Social media integrations: Connects with popular social media platforms to convert messages and mentions into trackable support tickets automatically.
  • Productivity tools: Templates and canned responses improve efficiency in social media communication.

Pricing

LiveAgent offers a tiered pricing structure with different plans catering to various business needs. Here’s a breakdown of their pricing. 

  • Small: $15 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Medium: $29 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Large: $49 per agent per month, billed annually
  • Enterprise: $69 per agent per month, billed annually
Pros icon Pros

Easy-to-use interface

Affordable

Flexibility

Cons icon Cons

Not very intuitive for editing tickets

Too many features

Difficulty sorting through calls

9. HubSpot Service Hub

Best for marketing automation

A screenshot shows HubSpot Service Hub's social media customer service software.

HubSpot offers comprehensive social media customer service tools within their HubSpot Service Hub platform. Core functionalities include a Social Inbox for unified management of social media conversations, conversation management for direct response and resolution, and social monitoring to track brand mentions and industry discussions. Additional features include ticketing to convert social interactions into trackable tickets, reporting and analytics for performance insights, and automation for tasks like scheduling posts and pre-written responses.

Features 

  • Post scheduling: Plan and schedule your social media posts in advance so that you can publish them at the best times for your audience.
  • Keyword monitoring: Alert your agents in real time when brand mentions (or other keywords) are used across social platforms.
  • Lead tracking: Attribute business value by tracking the leads and customers that your social media marketing generates.

Pricing

HubSpot features different pricing models for businesses of different needs and sizes. Depending on the plan you choose, HubSpot may require a one-time onboarding fee.

  • Marketing Hub Starter: $15 per seat per month, billed annually 
  • Starter Customer Platform: $12 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Service Hub Starter: $15 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Service Hub Professional: $90 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Service Hub Enterprise: $150 per seat per month, billed annually

HubSpot Service Hub also offers a free plan with limited tools for up to five users.

Pros icon Pros

Easy to use

Integrates well with other software

Robust features

Cons icon Cons

Cost and hidden fees

Limited automation

Difficult to modify templates

10. Front

Best for team collaboration

A screenshot shows Front's social media customer service software.

The social customer service platform from Front features a simple, user-friendly interface. Automated workflows handle routing and ticket handoff, ensuring fair workload distribution. It supports omnichannel communication across various channels, including social media, and empowers agents to provide personalized service through customer history profiles and in-app note-taking. Detailed analytics offer insights into response times, resolution rates, and team performance.

Features 

  • Centralized inbox: Manage all customer interactions in a single workspace.
  • Omnichannel communication: Seamlessly switch between channels while maintaining context for the customer.
  • Customer history profiles: Store past interactions with a customer, regardless of channel, for personalized responses and a more consistent customer experience.

Pricing

Front’s pricing plans come in four different packages.

  • Starter: $19 per seat per month (up to 10 seats), billed annually
  • Growth: $59 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Scale: $99 per seat per month, billed annually
  • Premier: $229 per seat per month (50 seat minimum), billed annually
Pros icon Pros

Collaboration tools

Intuitive interface

Customization

Cons icon Cons

Limited reporting

Difficulty setting up complex workflows

Customer support

Top Features of Social Customer Service Software

The right social media management platform provides businesses with customer service tools to handle interactions across various social media channels effectively. Here are a few valuable features to look for.

  • Unified omnichannel dashboard: This central hub displays all your social customer interactions in one place. From a single view, you can quickly manage responses to Facebook messages, Instagram mentions, and online reviews without switching between different platforms.
  • Social tagging: Categorize incoming messages with custom social tags based on topic, urgency, or product. This allows for better organization and faster routing to the right customer service agents or departments and optimizes reporting and analysis.
  • Intelligent routing: Automatically route incoming customer queries or reviews to the best-suited agent or appropriate department to handle, based on expertise and availability. This ensures faster resolution times and improves productivity and efficiency.
  • Performance monitoring: Real-time dashboards help management and stakeholders track metrics like response times, resolution rates, and customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores to identify areas for improvement and measure the impact of your customer service teams.
  • Social listening: Using social listening tools helps you uncover brand mentions, industry trends, and customer sentiment across the social media landscape beyond just responding to messages. This allows you to proactively address potential issues, engage with customers in conversation threads, collect and implement customer feedback, and gain valuable customer insights.

Advanced ticketing: An intelligent ticketing system streamlines your customer service workflows by converting social media requests into tickets, tracking their progress, and collaborating with team members for fast, accurate resolutions.

Related: Best Support Desk Software for Managing Service Requests

Benefits of Social Support Software

Social media customer support software does more than simply help you respond to customer messages and online reviews. It centralizes customer service interactions and streamlines workflows, making it easy to track and engage with customers from one place, no matter the social media channel. Here are a few key benefits of social media customer service software. 

⬆️ Respond faster: Customer service teams can manage all social media messages, mentions, and reviews in one inbox. Plus, AI tools speed up responses, balance workloads, and simplify workflows.

📈 Boost retention: Offer customers quick, personalized support and proactive engagement that increases customer retention.

📊Spot trends and issues: Leverage real-time monitoring to analyze sentiment, track customer data, and identify patterns, enabling you to address needs proactively and prevent potential issues.

🔎 Enhance visibility: Track and manage all customer interactions from one dashboard, ensuring no comment or inquiry gets missed.

💲 Increase social sales: Fast responses, better engagement, and personalized support on social media not only builds trust and boosts brand loyalty, but it can also turn interactions into sales by identifying leads and upsell opportunities.

How to Choose the Best Social Media Customer Service Platform

Your target audience, customer service strategy, and which social channels you need can help you pick the right platform. Here are a few common questions to ask to help you find the right platform to elevate your social customer interactions.

  • Which social media channels will you support? Identify which social media channels your customers prefer. A platform that helps you provide omnichannel customer service where your customers already are helps increase customer satisfaction and build loyalty.
  • What are your business objectives? Set SMART goals for social media customer service and determine how you will measure success. That means goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Then, decide if the platform has the features and capabilities to help you reach your defined objectives and customer service metrics and KPIs — such as faster response times, improved customer sentiment, and increased sales.

Who will be using your social support tools? Think about your business’s growth plans and choose a platform that can adapt to your evolving needs and changing customer preferences and behaviors. Future-proof your customer service operations with an agile social media tool that grows seamlessly with your customer support team and your customer base.

Solve Social Customer Service With Nextiva

Choosing the right social media customer service software is important for providing fast, efficient support, enhancing customer engagement, and proactively addressing issues on the customer’s preferred channels. 

Nextiva provides an AI-powered reputation management platform that offers an all-in-one inbox with advanced ticketing for real-time interaction across social media channels, intelligent routing for efficient team collaboration, performance monitoring, competitor and social listening, and more. Try Nextiva and enhance your customer experience today.

Manage online interactions, create brand loyalty.

Actively engage in customer conversations about your brand with a fully integrated engagement platform.

Social Media Customer Service FAQs

Here are answers to common questions about social media customer service.

Why use a social media customer service platform?

The right customer service software and an effective social media strategy can significantly improve your business’s response times, boost agent efficiency, and provide insights into customer sentiment. They also help businesses build stronger customer relationships and enhance their brand reputation.

Is social media customer service software good for small businesses?

Social media is a powerful tool for small businesses to connect with customers. Customer service software can help them manage this effectively, even with limited resources. Many platforms offer affordable plans specifically designed for small businesses.

What are examples of good customer service on social media?

Here are a few examples of good customer service on social media:

* Responding to comments and messages promptly and professionally
* Taking ownership of customer issues and working towards resolutions
* Using a friendly and helpful tone in all interactions
* Going the extra mile to surprise and delight customers

What is the best social media customer service software?

The best social customer service software depends on your specific needs and budget. However, Nextiva offers a comprehensive social media customer service solution that is scalable, feature-rich, and easy to use. It empowers businesses of all sizes to deliver exceptional customer service on social media.

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