This tool taps machine learning to take the guesswork out of content marketing

It's every marketer's goal to reach customers in the right place, at the right time, and with the right message, but the online world doesn't make that easy. A new tool announced Thursday uses machine learning to help.

Called Lithium Reach, it aims to eliminate some of the guesswork inherent in marketers' jobs by recommending the best social content and the best time to publish it.

The average consumer brand today has 55 social media accounts and nearly 45 employees managing them, according to Lithium Technologies, which acquired social-influence ranking site Klout back in 2014. The new Reach tool puts Klout's machine-learning algorithms to work in the hopes of making that process easier.

First, the software uses Klout content recommendations to help marketers identify relevant trending topics and find the best related content. It also scans customer communities for user-generated content and recommends items worth sharing. An auto-scheduler, meanwhile, automatically determines the best time to publish.

Customizable analytics modules provide real-time data on campaign performance. Shared calendars and workflow capabilities are designed to facilitate collaboration and make it easy to work across teams and locations.

All in all, beta users of the software saw a 25 percent increase in engagement and a 50 percent increase in efficiency, Lithium says.

Reach can also be combined with Lithium Response, the company's customer service tool, for an integrated approach to customer care. Both tools are available now.