Hootsuite Review

People who often manage social media platforms understand how annoying it can be to log in to each social site to post your content. While Facebook has the option to schedule posts, other sites like Twitter and Instagram do not. This means you have to log in at the time you want the post to go out. One of the most popular tools to manage and schedule all social media is Hootsuite.

Hootsuite, a “Social Media Management Tool,” makes it easy to keep up with your social media presence from one place. It’s a one-stop shop for the most common social media platforms.

As with anything, there are pros and cons to using Hootsuite as your social media management tool.

Pros

Monitor and engage in one place

One of Hootsuite’s best features is that it brings all your social platforms to one place. From the Hootsuite dashboard you’re able to see activity across your social media accounts.

From the dashboard like, comment, and share directly on your social media platforms. This is a huge shift from having to log in to each individual platform to watch and engage with your audience. Adjust the dashboard to your preference instead of having a generic layout.

Hootsuite also pulls in direct messages into their inbox. This allows you to respond to direct messages in different platforms from one location.

Team access

In Hootsuite, team members help create, post, and track content. With all the social media in one place for a team, you don’t have to worry about only one person having access to the ministry’s Facebook account, for example. It’s also easy to add and remove members. Team changes are much simpler with a social media management tool.

Each person’s access is customizable to your needs. If you only want certain people working on the Twitter page, make them the only people with access. If you would like an intern to help create content with approval, adjust their access to only allow them to create drafts.

Effective cross-posting

Posting content across many social media channels can be difficult. If you want to schedule content across your platforms for the same time, Hootsuite helps you do that. There is also the option to adjust the content to fit the platform. With message previews, you’re able to see if the images and links line up across your channels. This helps you to send a consistent message across your brand.

And…

Hootsuite users have access to the ow.ly link shortener.

Hootsuite offers integration with a large selection of apps like MailChimp, WordPress, and others.

Con

Can’t edit posts within 5 minutes of the scheduled time, 15 if it’s a video

Make sure you make any changes to your post with plenty of time. Each post cannot be edited within 5 minutes of its scheduled time. If the edit is necessary, you’ll have to reschedule your post for at least 5 minutes in the future.

If you’re posting a video, make sure your changes are completed 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Otherwise, you’ll run into the same issue.

Options

Hootsuite is a great social media management tool for your social media platforms. It’s been around since 2008.

Hootsuite users can post and engage in 35 popular social media spaces. The free version of Hootsuite allows the user to choose just three social media platforms.

Some competing software social management tools are Sprout Social and Buffer. Post in the comments if you are using one of these products. What’s your experience with them?

Opening the Hootsuite.dashboard makes navigating social media so much easier. I’ll tell you more about that in my next guest post.

Source: Owl photo by Tina Rataj-Berard on Unsplash

Guest Post by Lauren Trevino

Lauren Trevino is the Hootsuite Product Manager in Cru’s Digital Products and Services department. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with most of her family. Lauren aims to help people understand the power of social media to spread the Good News of Jesus.