Hootsuite: Our Review

Many business owners are turning to social media outlets to help promote their products, sales, and even reputation. You would have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard of some of these sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. However, those are just 2 out of at least 8 that I know of. So, if you are looking to be on the edge of business with the latest techniques in marketing, then you might want to consider a social media management software program.

Hootsuite is designed for anyone who wants to better manage multiple social networking sites. You may be a budding entrepreneur, or a well-established business person. Either way, you must recognize the need for staying current with business trends to get ahead, and stay ahead of the curve, is going with the flow of newer marketing technology. And today, that happens to be social network sites; the more, the better in fact.

If you are still reading then perhaps you are looking for help in organizing your marketing strategies. And, it really doesn’t matter if your business is online or offline, you can still benefit from using social networking and social media management.

You should find some valuable information in this review to help decide if Hootsuite is for you, or not.

Refresher Course in Social Networking

Let me just take a moment to refresh you on what social media pages are, and what they can do for you. If you already use them and just want information on how to manage them, skip past this section and go right to the next one.

Social media pages are used by everyone these days, for both business and pleasure. That is what makes them so popular right now in reaching out to clients and customers. A person or business creates a page, reaches out to everyone they know, and then updates their life or business on their pages.

You have the ability to reach out to many people including friends, family, and even those you have never met. And, those people can reach out to many people as well, with the possibility of linking back to your page. It’s the new word-of-mouth advertising for businesses. So, you can imagine if you have multiple pages, why you might want social media manager software.

I like a quote I came across in my research about social media marketing. Market researcher Tom H.C. Anderson said “Engage rather than sell … Work as a co-creator, not a marketer.” He’s right, when it comes to social media marketing. It’s not about selling on these sites. It’s about engaging with them.

Hootsuite UsersWhat is Hootsuite?

Hootsuite is social media management software to help you manage all your social networking. It’s a program that is created to help you save time…not to mention your sanity, all on one dashboard, or page. They claim to help you improve your productivity through the social media management.

Their dashboard is created for business owners and entrepreneurs such as yourself, or your team. It allows you to listen and engage with others, all from an easy to use interface.

Some of the social networking sites that I am talking about include:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Google+ Pages
  • Myspace
  • WordPress
  • Mixi
  • FourSquare

As you can see from the list, that could be a lot of pages to manage. So, the need for social media monitoring tools could be significant when utilizing only a fraction of that list.

Who does Hootsuite Hope to Target?

Hootsuite obviously had someone in mind when designing their service. From what I can see, it appears to be motivated people and business owners looking for innovative tools to help them with time management, organization, and increased productivity.

Apparently they realized that with today’s modern technology and the latest trend of utilizing social media, that if they designed a way to manage social media accounts, people might see the need for their service. Someone was on the ball with this, because it seems to be helpful to many.

How can Hootsuite Help You?

It really will depend on how many social media pages you have, how active you are on them, and how serious you are about staying current. I’m assuming you are, or you wouldn’t be wasting your time reading this review.

The bottom line is, without social media software, your computer screen could be a mess when trying to keep up with all the open windows of these social networks, or continuously opening their sites when you want to access them. Hootsuite has removed the chaos and frustration of having to toggle back and forth between screens. And, it’s free.

It only takes just a few short minutes and you can have a nicely organized system to manage your social networking. By building a screen on Hootsuite, you can host up to 5 of your most popular medias at once. No matter which 5 you choose, you will be able to keep track of them on one screen, as well as perform many of the tasks you are accustomed to doing on these sites.

For example, you can ‘like’ a page on Facebook, or ‘retweet’ on Twitter, as well as message, comment, and post updates…all keeping you active and current with your favorites.

Upgrades and Extra Perks

As I mentioned above, you have the ability to use basic social media tools on Hootsuite for free. However, you also have the ability to upgrade to Hootsuite Pro. This version is still very reasonable, in my opinion, at just $5.99 a month.

The Pro version offers more options and flexibility with the following perks:

  • Unlimited social network feeds
  • RSS/Atom auto updating
  • 1 free report
  • Additional reporting tools

This version also allows for bringing in a collaborating partner.

However, if you are still looking for more, they have it. The ‘Cadillac’ version is called The Enterprise Plan, and weighs in at a lofty $1,499 a month. With this plan comes:

  • VIP support and setup
  • Up to 30 members on your team
  • 10 free reports
  • 10 people eligible for the certification program
  • Enhanced analytics

The enhanced analytics are what soars Hootsuite above their competitors, in my opinion. They are there to use for companies that are serious about analyzing their online marketing plans and presence on the Internet.

The Pros and Cons of Hootsuite

It doesn’t matter what type of program you look it, they all have their share of pros and cons, right? From everything I have seen and heard I feel comfortable in breaking it down for you. Let’s start with the positive.

The ability to view multiple streams of your social networks is a big bonus, as well as being able to simultaneously send messages to the networks. You also have a well-designed home page to work with, RSS/Atom feed updates automatically, decent reports, very reasonably priced for two of the versions, and you can go mobile.

Now, the downside; there doesn’t seem to be decent calendar or email integration, and while there is a contact management, it’s not the best. Also, the reports are costly at times, and the help and support is inconsistent. Of course, that might change with The Enterprise Plan.

Basically, you can get a lot accomplished with the free and Pro version, if your goal is to stop the insanity of toggling back and forth between screens. If you prefer more bang-for-your-buck, the buck needs to multiply.

But, of course you should never just take one person’s word for it. I encourage you to check it out yourself.

Give it a Try

They offer a 30 day free trial, so you have nothing to lose. If you are interested in utilizing social media to promote your business, or you are already up to your neck in it, then you might want to consider software such as Hootsuite to make it much easier for you and your team.

Just head over to their site to see for yourself how easy it is to sign up.

Comments

  1. Please also consider including SocialMotus. We’re a new, free social management tool platform for businesses and individuals. We’re building some innovative and powerful conversion tracking and social management features including priority messages inbox, targeted Twitter followers discovery, sales conversions by posts and much more.

    You can review it by signing up for free here http://www.socialmotus.com or emailing me for more information.

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