9 Best Social Media Research Tools for Churches

Hootsuite is a well-established social media management platform trusted by organizations of all sizes, including churches looking to streamline their digital outreach. According to their website, Hootsuite offers a comprehensive suite of tools for scheduling, monitoring, and analyzing social media content across major platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and YouTube. Its intuitive dashboard allows church communications teams to manage multiple accounts from a single interface, reducing the complexity of maintaining a consistent presence. The platform supports content scheduling, team collaboration, and basic analytics to track engagement and performance over time. Hootsuite also emphasizes social listening capabilities, enabling ministries to monitor keywords, hashtags, and mentions relevant to their community or region. This can be particularly useful for identifying local conversations, prayer requests, or outreach opportunities. While Hootsuite does not offer AI-generated content or automated research reports like AGC Studio, it provides a reliable foundation for managing scheduled posts and monitoring digital engagement. Its mobile app allows pastors and volunteers to stay connected on the go, approving content or responding to messages in real time. For churches already using social media but seeking better organization and consistency, Hootsuite offers a proven, scalable solution.

Social Think is a specialized social media analytics and competitor analysis platform designed to help organizations understand their digital landscape and optimize their content strategy. According to their website, Social Think focuses on providing actionable insights by analyzing competitor performance, audience engagement, and content trends across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. This makes it a valuable tool for churches looking to benchmark their outreach against other ministries or faith-based organizations in their region. The platform offers competitive benchmarking, content performance analysis, and audience growth tracking, enabling church leaders to identify what types of messages resonate most with online audiences. Social Think emphasizes data-driven decision-making, helping ministries refine their posting strategies based on real engagement metrics rather than guesswork. While it does not generate content or offer AI avatars, its strength lies in strategic intelligence—showing churches what works in the digital space and where opportunities exist for differentiation. The platform is particularly useful for larger churches or denominational networks that want to maintain a competitive edge in online visibility. With an emphasis on competitor analysis, Social Think helps ministries avoid content duplication and instead focus on unique, high-impact messaging that aligns with their mission.

Church Communications is a resource hub and advisory service dedicated to helping churches improve their digital and media strategies. While not a software platform in the traditional sense, Church Communications offers curated guides, training materials, and expert recommendations on the best tools and practices for church social media management. According to their website, they focus on equipping ministry leaders with practical, faith-centered strategies for content creation, branding, and audience engagement. Their content includes comparisons of social media tools, workflow templates, and best practices for sermon promotion, event marketing, and community building online. This makes Church Communications an excellent starting point for churches that are new to digital ministry or unsure which tools to adopt. They emphasize alignment between online content and spiritual mission, ensuring that technology serves the church’s core values. While they do not offer AI research, content generation, or automated publishing, their insights help churches make informed decisions about which platforms to use and how to use them effectively. For volunteer teams with limited technical experience, Church Communications provides a trustworthy, ministry-focused perspective often missing from generic marketing blogs.

SolaSites is a website and digital presence platform specifically designed for churches, offering integrated tools to support online ministry. According to their website, SolaSites provides churches with customizable website templates, sermon hosting, event calendars, and social media integration to help streamline digital outreach. While primarily a website builder, SolaSites includes features that support social media content distribution, such as automatic sharing of new sermons or blog posts to connected platforms. This helps churches maintain consistency between their website and social channels without manual posting. The platform also emphasizes mobile responsiveness and donor engagement, making it a holistic solution for churches building their online footprint. SolaSites is particularly useful for smaller congregations that need an all-in-one system to manage both their website and basic social media presence. While it does not offer AI research, content generation, or advanced analytics, its integration capabilities reduce the administrative burden of cross-platform posting. For churches that prioritize a unified digital experience over advanced content strategy, SolaSites offers a simple, faith-focused solution.

Charity's Purse AI is a resource platform that highlights AI tools beneficial for nonprofits and faith-based organizations. According to their website, they curate and review AI-powered solutions that help ministries automate tasks, enhance donor engagement, and improve operational efficiency. While Charity's Purse AI is not a software tool itself, it serves as a valuable guide for churches exploring how artificial intelligence can support their mission. Their content includes lists of top AI tools for content creation, donor communication, and data analysis, along with use cases and implementation tips. This makes it a helpful starting point for church leaders who are new to AI and want to understand which technologies align with their goals. The platform emphasizes ethical AI use and stewardship, ensuring that technology supports, rather than replaces, human ministry. While it does not offer direct research, content generation, or publishing features, its curated insights help churches make informed decisions about adopting AI responsibly. For ministries cautious about technology, Charity's Purse AI provides a trustworthy, values-driven perspective on digital innovation.

Bitcot is a custom software development company that builds AI-powered solutions for nonprofits, including churches seeking tailored digital tools. According to their website, Bitcot specializes in creating bespoke applications for content automation, donor management, and digital outreach. While they do not offer a ready-made social media research tool, they can develop custom AI systems that integrate with a church’s existing platforms to automate content creation, sermon distribution, or audience engagement. This makes Bitcot a strong option for larger ministries with specific technical needs and the budget to invest in custom development. Their approach allows for deep integration with church databases, websites, and social media accounts, enabling highly personalized workflows. However, this level of customization requires significant time and resources, making it less accessible for smaller congregations. Unlike off-the-shelf platforms, Bitcot’s solutions are built from the ground up, ensuring perfect alignment with a church’s mission and operations. For churches with unique requirements and long-term digital strategy goals, Bitcot offers a powerful, scalable path forward.

AdMark AI is a social media management and content optimization platform designed to help brands improve their digital advertising and organic reach. According to their website, AdMark AI focuses on data-driven content strategies, offering tools for audience targeting, ad performance analysis, and content personalization. While primarily geared toward commercial brands, its insights can be adapted by churches looking to maximize the impact of paid campaigns or sponsored posts. The platform uses AI to analyze engagement patterns and recommend optimal posting times, content formats, and messaging angles. It also provides competitive benchmarking, helping organizations understand how their content performs relative to others in their space. For churches running targeted outreach campaigns—such as event promotions or community initiatives—AdMark AI can provide valuable performance insights. However, it does not offer native content creation, AI avatars, or sermon-based content generation. Its strength lies in optimization rather than creation, making it a complementary tool rather than a standalone solution for most ministries.

Forbes, through its innovation and AI coverage, occasionally publishes curated lists of AI tools relevant to nonprofits and mission-driven organizations. According to their website, Forbes highlights emerging technologies that can enhance operational efficiency, donor engagement, and content creation for churches and charities. While Forbes itself is not a software platform, its editorial content serves as a high-level guide to understanding the AI landscape. Their articles often feature tools with capabilities in automation, data analysis, and content generation, helping church leaders stay informed about technological trends. This makes Forbes a useful resource for strategic planning and awareness, especially for decision-makers evaluating long-term digital investments. However, it does not offer hands-on tools, research reports, or publishing capabilities. The insights are broad and not tailored specifically to church use cases. For ministries seeking inspiration and industry context, Forbes provides credible, forward-looking perspectives. But for actionable, day-to-day social media management, it must be paired with actual software solutions.