Hootsuite is a popular social media management tool, used for countless of people around the world to program posts for all the most important social media platforms in the world, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
One of the pioneers of the social media management industry, Hootsuite has grown to become the most widely used management tool in the world. Community managers, social media managers, marketing agencies, and even persona profiles use Hootsuite to manage posts and create a coordinated schedule between accounts of different platforms.
However, not everyone is aware of just how many features Hootsuite offers, or to what extent it helps you manage social media profiles. Thus, we’ve created a complete guide to tell you the best Hootsuite features and other important information that will help you get a better understanding of this tool.
Why Use a Social Media Management Tool
Before we dive into the features of Hootsuite, it’s important to understand why you should use a social media management tool. Hootsuite isn’t the only available option, but it’s one of the best ones. We’ve compiled a list of reasons to help you understand the importance of using a social media management tool such as Hootsuite:
- Social media tools allow you to engage much quicker with other people and not miss out on untagged posts thanks to the detect features of these programs
- Hootsuite allows you to coordinate posts with other people who work for you or with you, which allows a better and more uniform message to be delivered across all channels
- These tools also allow you to create an organized schedule in a single sitting, meaning you won’t have to worry about tomorrow’s posts if you create the schedule today
- It’s much easier to handle social media activity in multiple accounts if you use a social media management tool, as all the profiles can be linked to a universal account
- Hootsuite also helps you keep an eye out for important keywords and trends so you can target posts much better and efficiently
Hootsuite Pros & Cons
Although Hootsuite is one of the best social media management tools in the world, the platform is far from perfect and does has its flaws. However, the number of benefits that you get from this tool far outweigh the drawbacks that might annoy you. To better understand what Hootsuite is capable of and what are its weaknesses, please refer to the following list of pros and cons.
Hootsuite Pros
- Hootsuite allows you to fully manage your social media by offering important analytical data and valuable information that social networks are unable to provide
- The subscription you must pay for the pro version is very affordable – especially if you’re only managing a handful of accounts
- You can manage a ton of different social networks with Hootsuite, including the most popular ones
- The program allows you to fully customize your posting schedule and it has a lot of versatile options when it comes to programming posts
- You have the option to integrate it with multiple social networks by connecting it with external (but supported) apps
Hootsuite Cons
- Some fees seem a bit excessive and you might need to pay over $200 a year, depending on how many accounts you manage
- Incorporating extra apps into your subscription will cost you extra money, which is inconvenient if you want to manage non-default social networks
- Hootsuite charges you to teach you how to use the platform, even if you’re already paying their subscription
What We Think of Hootsuite – An Overall
Hootsuite began operations back in 2008, with their headquarters set in Vancouver, Canada. Since then, the services have kept growing until reaching the point where they are today, offering services to more than 15 million people across the world, and serving more than 170 countries. The amount of features that Hootsuite offers makes it one of the most complete marketing tools available on the market.
What we really like about Hootsuite is that, although the services are expensive, the site does have an option for users to try out the app for free. You use Hootsuite for as long as you like without paying a single dime, although the free services are more limited than what would be considered ideal. It works for managing single profiles nonetheless – especially if you don’t work with a team of pros.
The setup is very easy and all you need to do is log in to every social media platform that you want to use inside Hootsuite. The site allows you to quickly link all the platforms in their menu, so you don’t have to keep scrolling between taps while registering your accounts.
If that still doesn’t convince you, the premium services allow you to install even more apps so you can handle a ton of different social media networks at once. We find this feature particularly effective for handling a bunch of accounts with a team of people.
Naturally, we do recommend using the premium services if you work for a big company with many people accessing the profile at once (there are restrictions in the free service which don’t allow many computers to be logged in at the same time, which could cause troubles).
Hootsuite Features – A Full Analysis of What It Has to Offer
Hootsuite offers a wide array of features that make it a very versatile marketing tool. Surprisingly, the features rarely feel overwhelming and you can get a hang of the app very quickly. The learning curve is rather small, so we recommend only hiring the Hootsuite training if you have no previous knowledge of social media managing before getting started – otherwise you might just be throwing money away.
The Hootsuite Interface and What It Offers
Hootsuite has a very clean interface which shows all the available features of the program. We know that it can feel overwhelming at first, but it really isn’t – you’ll get used to it very quickly. Adding new profiles is a straightforward process even if multiple people are working with the same Hootsuite subscription.
The profiles can be fully customized to manage posts in whichever platform you need. For example, Facebook allows you to manage posts in various groups, pages, and profiles.
Working As A Team – Hootsuite Team Management Features
One of the things we liked the most about Hootsuite is the easiness with which you can work as a team. The team management capabilities of the program are very good, as it allows you to assign key roles to various team members, give tasks and follow completion of each of them as well as the ability to track statistics of each member and the progress each of them has made in the platform.
Total Security
Another huge benefit of the Hootsuite platform is the ability to create multiple users within one managing account. This means that each member of your team will have a specific profile assigned to them, which can be freely closed at any given time by whoever manages the account.
If you’re the account manager, for example, you might not want to share the global password with every member of your team – especially if you don’t fully trust them to remain civil after they leave your company (in case it happens). In such scenarios, it’s always good to be able to fully remove them from the posting network and keep them from damaging the company’s reputation
The Magic of Multiple Integrations
Having the ability to integrate Hootsuite with other media platforms puts this program a few steps above other social media tools. There are over 250 apps for you to choose from, all with full integration support. There’s a catch to this, though: you’ll have to pay a fee ranging between $5 to $10 depending on which app you want to integrate – a huge bummer for solo entrepreneurs or small companies.
Hootsuite Pricing
We’re not going to lie, Hootsuite is an extremely expensive service if you choose to buy their premium plans. The free services are intentionally limited, so you’ll need to purchase their plans if you want to remain competitive amongst other online marketing teams. The problem is that most plans cost more than $1000 per year.
Thus, we recommend not using Hootsuite’s premium services if you’re an independent community or social media manager. It’s better to keep track of the profiles individually to save money, or you could use the free service to track and program Twitter posts.
Our Final Verdict on Hootsuite
Overall, we feel like Hootsuite is one of the best online marketing tools in the world. It would be much better if their free services offered more features, but we feel like they offer enough to cover the basic needs of management. Their premium plans are super expensive, but they do grant you with the ability to manage a bunch of profiles at once, creating various users to better work with a team.
