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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Hootsuite

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AHootsuite is a social media management platform for building brand awareness, engaging with customers, and driving business results. Users can schedule posts across multiple social networks (including Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube ), manage organic and paid social content together, keep track of customer conversations, integrate with over 200+ applications, and gain actionable real-time insights from social media to make critical business decisions from…

    $249

    per month per user

    Referral Factory

    Score9.3 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    Referral Factory is referral marketing software for medium-sized and enterprise businesses. It helps teams build and manage branded referral programs, connect with CRM and payment systems, automate rewards, and track referrals at scale without ongoing developer support.

    $200

    per month

    Pricing
    HootsuiteReferral Factory
    Editions & Modules
    Standard
    $199
    per month (billed annually) Starts at 1 user, 10 social accounts
    Advanced
    $399
    per month (billed annually) Starts at 1 user, unlimited social accounts
    Enterprise
    Custom Pricing
    per year
    Basic
    $200
    per month
    Pro
    $400
    per month
    Enterprise
    $1,000
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HootsuiteReferral Factory
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
    Additional DetailsPlans can be paid monthly or annually, with a discount for annual pricing.Discount available for annual pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HootsuiteReferral Factory
    Considered Both Products
    Hootsuite
    No answer on this topic
    Referral Factory
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    93%
    Would buy again
    328 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    24 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    92%
    Delivers good value for the price
    283 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    24 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    333 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    24 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    280 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    23 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    316 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    24 Answers
    Features
    HootsuiteReferral Factory
    Listening/monitoring
    Comparison of Listening/monitoring features of Hootsuite and Referral Factory
    Feature
    Hootsuite
    7.0
    324 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Referral Factory
    -
    Ratings
    Boolean keyword searches7.0212 Ratings00 Ratings
    Filtering out noise/spam6.4224 Ratings00 Ratings
    Sentiment analysis6.7224 Ratings00 Ratings
    Broad channel coverage7.7298 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publishing
    Comparison of Publishing features of Hootsuite and Referral Factory
    Feature
    Hootsuite
    8.0
    447 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Referral Factory
    -
    Ratings
    Content planning and scheduling9.0447 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audience targeting7.2304 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content optimization7.7368 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow management8.4379 Ratings00 Ratings
    Engagement
    Comparison of Engagement features of Hootsuite and Referral Factory
    Feature
    Hootsuite
    7.5
    359 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Referral Factory
    -
    Ratings
    Automated routing and prioritization7.4260 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customer interaction histories7.3280 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bulk actions7.9311 Ratings00 Ratings
    Marketing
    Comparison of Marketing features of Hootsuite and Referral Factory
    Feature
    Hootsuite
    7.0
    338 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Referral Factory
    -
    Ratings
    Lead generation6.6208 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content marketing7.6305 Ratings00 Ratings
    Paid media management6.8206 Ratings00 Ratings
    Campaigns and promotions6.7256 Ratings00 Ratings
    Channel coverage/integration
    Comparison of Channel coverage/integration features of Hootsuite and Referral Factory
    Feature
    Hootsuite
    8.1
    438 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Referral Factory
    -
    Ratings
    Twitter7.6393 Ratings00 Ratings
    Facebook8.5421 Ratings00 Ratings
    LinkedIn8.0369 Ratings00 Ratings
    Google+8.960 Ratings00 Ratings
    Instagram8.6376 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pinterest7.2182 Ratings00 Ratings
    YouTube7.6175 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting/analytics
    Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Hootsuite and Referral Factory
    Feature
    Hootsuite
    7.8
    360 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Referral Factory
    -
    Ratings
    Campaign success analytics8.2333 Ratings00 Ratings
    Real-time tracking7.7335 Ratings00 Ratings
    Competitor analysis7.6231 Ratings00 Ratings
    Account management
    Comparison of Account management features of Hootsuite and Referral Factory
    Feature
    Hootsuite
    7.9
    369 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Referral Factory
    -
    Ratings
    Role-based user permissions & privileges8.3317 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile access7.5336 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HootsuiteReferral Factory
    Small Businesses
    Sendible
    Score7.2 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Emplifi
    Score8.9 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio (discontinued)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HootsuiteReferral Factory
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.4
    (510 ratings)
    9.1
    (24 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.6
    (89 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (149 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    9.8
    (21 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.8
    (19 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (263 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.0
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (39 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    7.2
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.6
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.9
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.3
    (18 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HootsuiteReferral Factory
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Hootsuite
    Hootsuite presents my team everything we need to manage the social media function. Even writing the "what can be improved" section strained me, because there really isn't a whole lot to complain about. At this point, I (and my social media manager) need to explore the platform more, specifically OwlyGPT, campaigns, and listening. It's pretty much everything we need right now
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    It is well suited for businesses that need the ability to create good-looking professional referral campaigns within a short time frame and do not have coding experience. I would say it is ideal for perhaps eCommerce site owners and store owners who want to launch referral programs but do not have the resources available within their company to assign a developer or someone with coding knowledge to set up and integrate.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Hootsuite
    • Reporting. We are able to pull accurate and concise data points on our channels.
    • Planning and calendaring. We love that we are able to have our teams plan out content across months so that we are never feeling behind schedule on getting content out there.
    • Creating content natively in the platform!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    • The platform is user-friendly with various types of guidance such as chatbot, videos, and articles, to assist the users.
    • Referral Factory provides diverse methods of advertising referral programs, offering templates for a wide variety of industries that users can tailor to fit their brand guidelines.
    • Referral Factory provides a detailed dashboard with key performance indicators to help marketers adjust referral campaigns to maximize conversion rates.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Hootsuite
    • TikTok is an area for improvement as it's newer to Hootsuite. It would be beneficial to be able to link non-business profiles on TikTok to Hootsuite as many businesses use personal accounts to access TikTok's expansive music library.
    • Hootsuite does have room to improve the analytics capabilities. There could be more ways to customize each aspect of their reports. There isn't much manipulation of data in each type of data set.
    • Simplicity is an area of improvement for Hootsuite. The streams are one example of an area that is super cluttered and difficult to view. Their platform could really use an aesthetic overhaul to make things look more pleasing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    • The UI needs some improvement to really smooth out the workflows. Overall it's not bad, but could always be better.
    • There isn't good documentation on how to configure and use the solution. It's like they assumed they built to be obvious enough to where anyone can figure it out, but for things that have more nuances, users could really benefit from some tooltips and/or documentation.
    • Pricing is pretty high, it would be nice to have a lower tier so businesses with a small income stream can start to benefit from referral programs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Hootsuite
    At this time we are satisfied that Hootsuite offers the most of what we are looking for at the most reasonable price point. As the social media landscape and monitoring/scheduling software changes, so do our needs. We re-evaluate our tools semi-annually or as new tools emerge onto the market. If we find at any point that we aren't gaining an advantage, then we are open to switching products.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    It works so well for us, I really can see us using any other system
    Read full review
    Usability
    Hootsuite
    I will give Hootsuite a rating of 10/10 because it has delivered measurable business impact through social media. It helps centralize and streamline content planning, approvals, scheduling, and reporting in one place. It has significantly reduced manual workload and improved team efficiency. We achieved higher engagement rates, faster customer response times, and improved lead quality through social channels. It has also helped us with centralized reporting across different social media channels.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    Referral Factory's overall usability is great. The interface was really easy to learn and use and there are also helpful video tutorials if you have any questions along the way while building your new campaign. The process of sharing the referral link is also really easy and Referral Factory provides multiple methods of sharing the link which is a nice feature as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Hootsuite
    Gliches have made it a bit of a bind, particularly when you just want to 'click and send' a web article after you have read it - and then you have to deal with support (a great team but not always able to solve the problems with the gliches). Gliches with it loading properly, gliches with 'double ups in FB on the posts (the personal page and the business page if both clicked will lead to 2 lots of postings to each page!)
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Hootsuite
    HootSuite does everything it is designed to do very well: the product's performance is very reliable and efficient. Like other tools, there is always a room for new developments and updates, and the HootSuite team recognizes this and focuses on new development as well.
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Hootsuite
    I can manage all of my accounts on one site! It's absolutely amazing!
    The dashboard is helpful to see how you are doing as well. Still
    getting to understand the analytics and may need to reach out for help
    on this
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    We have been very grateful for the ongoing support from the Referral Factory team who have gone above and beyond not only to help us get set up but have provided great insight into how to optimise our campaign
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Hootsuite
    Very easy to teach and learn
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Hootsuite
    The online training is decent; however, it takes a lot more time to search for answers to my questions. Having a training session with a live person was much more effective as they were able to quickly address the business needs I have.
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Hootsuite
    Simple and easy to use, and have never had any issues. We like how it saves me time and allows me to plan in advance. I plan on using this for as long as I can and will encourage others to use it too. If you haven't tried it you should. I hope my review is helpful to everyone.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Hootsuite
    Hootsuite offers a wide range of tools at a somewhat steeper cost. If you manage multiple platforms and want to survey the content being shared and interacted with across all of them, Hootsuite seems to have an easier platform to do that with. HubSpot CRM allows us to integrate our social platforms into our existing CRM, which is a cost saver, but Hootsuite is social media-focused, so the set-up is easier.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    Referral factory has following features that I find more helpful in achieving my business needs: 1. Customization 2. Data Analytics 3. Ease of setting up and integrations 4. Affordability. As per my experience one feature that really comes in handy in Referral Factory is its integration with my CRM, which allows me to import the customer data i.e. emails, hassle free.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Hootsuite
    We are only using in marketing and have been able to scale.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Hootsuite
    • For our organization, all ROI was on time saved and efficiency: for creating posts, for scheduling and publishing, for interacting with users, and for analyzing performances. It all comes in one place and this makes a very huge difference in your workflows. We would say that Hootsuite went beyond our expectations on this front, for example with the dynamics UTMs and the media library. Saving time was the main reason why we wanted to purchase the platform and it did not disappoint at all.
    • The ROI in time was also fast to get. The learning curse is very short and this is also an important element. Benefiting from the platform did not take long to be experienced.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Referral Factory
    • Referral Factory led to a 30% boost in customer acquisition, translating to a measurable ROI. The incentivized referral programs effectively expanded our customer base, contributing significantly to revenue growth.
    • By fostering customer loyalty through referral incentives, Referral Factory contributed to a 25% increase in CLV. The long-term value generated from retained, engaged customers showcased a positive and sustainable impact on ROI.
    • Compared to traditional marketing channels, Referral Factory demonstrated a 20% reduction in customer acquisition costs. The cost-effectiveness of leveraging existing customer networks for referrals positively impacted overall business profitability and marketing ROI.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Hootsuite Screenshots

    Screenshot of Monitoring: Monitors social media profiles and tracks the topics that matter to the brand.Screenshot of Publishing: Create, publish and schedule engaging posts across social channels.Screenshot of Customer Engagement: A consolidated stream of messages across networks that can be triaged and assigned to respond to customers faster. Provides optional chatbot handover for automated responses.Screenshot of Scheduling: Social content can be planned as a team with a shared calendar that features collaborative post drafts and built-in approval workflows.Screenshot of Analytics & Reporting: Measures the effectiveness of a social media strategy to help turn strategy into execution with meaningful and actionable insights. Reports can be customized and shared according to unique business goals and objectives.

    Referral Factory Screenshots

    Screenshot of the referral portal.Screenshot of some of the ways to send out earnable rewards.Screenshot of the referrer dashboard.Screenshot of some of the available reward options.Screenshot of various integrations.Screenshot of the lead dashboard.