How to choose a social media management tool

We make one of these tools, so read this with that in mind. It is the checklist we would use ourselves, and it ends with the cases where OmniBrand is not the right choice. Put the same questions to every vendor, including us, and compare the answers side by side; the comparison pages list OmniBrand's own answers.

1. The channels you really use

Write down the platforms you post to and the ones where customers write to you. Then ask each tool which channels it publishes to, and which also bring comments and messages into its inbox; they are rarely the same list. OmniBrand publishes to 13 channels and brings WhatsApp, website chat and email into the inbox as well; X, LinkedIn, TikTok and Pinterest are publish-only there (Which accounts are supported).

2. Your team's languages, in the product itself

Many tools let you type any language into a post. Fewer offer the interface, help centre and templates in your team's languages, with right-to-left layouts for Arabic or Urdu that do not break. Ask for a trial in the language your team works in, and use it for a day.

3. WhatsApp: your number, your bill

Ask whether WhatsApp runs on your own number, who bills the messages, and whether there is a markup on Meta's prices. Ask how consent and STOP are recorded, and whether quiet hours in each customer's local time are built in. In OmniBrand, Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business account directly and OmniBrand adds nothing.

4. One inbox, and who answers it

Check that comments, direct messages, reviews, WhatsApp, website chat and email can be assigned to a person, with internal notes, and that a support agent can work the inbox without seeing billing or publishing (Roles and permissions).

5. Approvals

If a manager, a client or a compliance person must see posts first, ask how many approval steps the tool supports and whether every decision is recorded. OmniBrand allows up to five named steps (The approval chain).

6. AI: who pays, and how much

Some tools sell AI credits; others let you bring your own key from an AI provider. Ask what a month of real use costs either way. With OmniBrand you can add an Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini or xAI Grok key; the provider bills you directly, with no markup, and own-key use never counts against the plan (AI providers).

7. The real monthly price

Compare what the price includes: connected accounts, posts a month, team members, workspaces and AI. Check the currency you will be charged in, whether you get a VAT invoice in your company's name, and whether there is a free plan to test with. OmniBrand's pricing page shows its limits plan by plan.

8. Your data

Ask where data is hosted, whether you can export everything yourself, and how deletion works. OmniBrand is hosted on Microsoft Azure in West Europe, exports a whole workspace as JSON and contacts as CSV, and deletes an organisation 30 days after the owner asks, cancellable until then (Your data).

Where OmniBrand is not the right fit

• You need to publish to Snapchat from the tool: OmniBrand does not.
• You need TikTok, X or LinkedIn comments in the shared inbox: on those platforms OmniBrand publishes only.
• You need SMS campaigns today: SMS is not offered yet.

Questions to ask every vendor

• Who pays for AI, and is there a markup on top of the provider's price?
• Which platforms only publish, and which also bring comments and messages into the inbox?
• Is WhatsApp Business connected with my own number, and who bills the messages?
• Is the product itself in my team's languages, right-to-left included?
• Can I export all my data and delete my account myself?
• What does the monthly price include: accounts, posts, members, AI?