Leading social media management platform Hootsuite has announced that it has acquired social ads platform AdEspresso to beef up its service.
AdEspresso provides tools to help SMB marketers create and optimize their Facebook and Instagram ads, including simplified A/B testing, focused analytics and advice to help maximize ad performance. The platform lists Microsoft and Hubspot among their client base.
The addition will also see Hootsuite re-launch their Hootsuite Ads offering, expanding the functionality of their management platform further into paid social. Hootsuite first launched a simple version of Hootsuite Ads back in 2015, while they took their next steps towards enhancing their paid social management options with the announcement of their first social advertising partnerships last October.
It's a smart move for Hootsuite. The platform now has more than 15 million users, and while many of those utilize the free, introductory version of the platform, by adding more functions and features to their paid offering, Hootsuite's making their tool a more attractive, inclusive option, able to cater for more elements of the social management process. And since so many users are already familiar with the Hootsuite platform, transitioning them over to these newer options should make it easier for both Hootsuite and AdEspresso to expand.
In announcing the acquisition, Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes acknowledged the increasing emphasis on paid options in social media marketing, and the need to cater for this functionality.
"Owned and earned content are not going away but the augmentation with paid is critical to success. The trend with the algorithmic ranking of content and what you see in your stream means it's not the same world it was five years ago. Every social network and stream has filtration, so for brands to get their message across they need to have that paid component."
While it is still possible to stand out with organic content - and the quality of your messaging should be the focus in any capacity - it's hard to ignore the declining reach figures being reported by most brands, increasing the emphasis on, as Holmes notes, augmenting your social strategy with paid elements.
Integrating that into the Hootsuite dashboard, along with Hootsuite's active and helpful community, should prove beneficial for users.