Hootsuite Basics

Successful social media, as mentioned by Professor Todd Kelsey, is dependent on content. This is why it is important for social media marketers to produce content that will attract, engage, and retain their target market. While a tool like Hootsuite cannot automatically curate meaningful content, it can effectively manage it. Hootsuite is a social media management platform. It allows users or companies to integrate up to 35 social media accounts into a single space. This allows for ease and efficiency when utilizing various networks. The dashboard allows for scheduling, content curation, monitoring, and analytics. HootSuite has products that amplify or boost follower counts, provide insight into current audiences, and prove ROI impact of social media efforts.

Hootsuite is also helpful when attempting social listening. Social listening involves figuring out what others are thinking and saying about a company and its social media. You can use a feature called GEOFILTER to see what Twitter users nearby are saying about a company, within a 50-mile radius, for instance. The tool essentially uses keywords to search for tweets then filters out anyone farther than the stated distance. Another similar feature is the location stream option. This allows users to see who is posting what content within a specific location, like in the corporate building or international store. The location stream and geofilter are beneficial because they allow companies to assess what people in closest proximity feel and express about the company.

Often companies will initially post regularly, especially during important product launches or events, then slowly quiet down. The scheduler feature is probably the most helpful management tool on the platform. The Bulk Composer feature allows up to 350 posts to be prematurely created then published on a predetermined day. The Hootlet Chrome extension allows you to post short content instantly and without directly accessing the Hootsuite dashboard. All posts can be read through calendar view, which provides a visual to ensure proper dates will have postings. Ultimately, the schedule feature enables users to create content ahead of time, especially for days like Women's Day or Holidays like Christmas. This organizes postings, ensures uniformity across accounts, and inhibits gaps in social media activity.

Overall, Hootsuite is an established company that provides a unique service. While a single user or a small company may not find massive benefit in a platform like this, a large company with a greater reach and more social media accounts will find Hootsuite and companies like it indispensable.