Hootsuite is a powerful tool when it comes to social media management. But because Hootsuite has so many capabilities, it can be overwhelming if you run into an issue.
Here is a list of the 15 issues you may encounter when using Hootsuite, including suggested fixes.
1. Hootsuite Does Not Load
You are excited to take social media by storm, and armed with Hootsuite, you are ready to win the game of digital marketing!
But alas, while other sites are loading just fine, Hootsuite is not working and refuses to load.
Chances are, the problem lies with your local network.
Your Internet connection might have been programmed to block some of Hootsuite’s content, which might cause it not to load at all.
To resolve this, you need to get in touch with your IT department or access the router settings to lift certain domain names.
For Hootsuite to work, you must have some domains Whitelisted. Check the sources at the bottom of this page for the list of Whitelisted domains.
It is also possible that Hootsuite is down.
Check the site DownDetector, and search Hootsuite. This site will tell you if other users are also experiencing issues with Hootsuite at the moment.
You can also check out our article about why your Hootsuite account may be running slowly.
2. Hootsuite Disconnects Your Social Media Accounts
You may log on to Hootsuite and realize that one of your social media accounts has been disconnected. Don’t panic!
A disconnection usually occurs as a security measure to prevent unauthorized people from accessing your Hootsuite account.
The most common reason an account is disconnected is as a security precaution in the following scenarios:
- When you change passwords on a social media account, the account automatically disconnects from Hootsuite as a security measure. Should you encounter a disconnected profile on your Hootsuite after changing your password, just reauthorize or sign in again to grant it access.
- Facebook and Instagram usually disconnect from Hootsuite after 60 days, after which you need to link your account again.
- If you use LinkedIn with Hootsuite, be aware that it automatically disconnects or revokes access to third-party services, including Hootsuite, after a year.
- Social media platforms linked to Hootsuite may also disconnect Hootsuite if they detect unusual activity from your account.
These security protocols may seem like a hassle, but they are in place to help keep your accounts secured.
If an account is unlinked from Hootsuite accidentally, usually the fix is simple: Just reauthorize your account or sign in again.
3. Hootsuite Is Not Showing My Newsfeed
The point of Hootsuite is to merge all your social media profiles into one spot so that you can keep an eye on all your social media accounts without switching around in windows and tabs.
Unfortunately, with updated privacy policies enforced by different social media platforms, this is no longer totally possible.
If you are looking for your personal Facebook feed with your friends or LinkedIn updates, you will need to go to the actual sites.
Twitter is the only social media network that allows the full synchronization of newsfeeds or updates from your following list onto Hootsuite.
4. Hootsuite Is Not Posting to Facebook
You may encounter login problems with Hootsuite – but it’s more common with posting issues. You may wonder why Hootsuite is not posting to your Facebook profile when it can post to your page or groups.
Because of Facebook’s privacy policy update, Hootsuite cannot post on personal Facebook profiles. It can only post to Facebook fan or business pages and groups for which you have administrator privileges.
Unfortunately, there is no workaround for this. Unless Facebook decides to lift this restriction, that’s just the way it is.
Note that this limitation is not just for Hootsuite; it affects other similar services.
To learn more about how Facebook and Hootsuite integrate, you can check out the article Hootsuite & Facebook | 23 Answers You Should Know.
5. Hootsuite Does Not Want to Connect with My Instagram Account
The integration of Instagram to Hootsuite was a move welcomed by many business owners and digital marketers. But in order to integrate Instagram with Hootsuite, your Instagram account must be a business profile.
When Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, policies were changed. One of the altered policies was about the type of Instagram accounts that can be added to third-party services like Hootsuite.
If you cannot add Instagram to your Hootsuite account, it probably means the account you are adding is not a business profile.
To learn more about how Instagram and Hootsuite work together, check out the article Hootsuite & Instagram | 13 Things You Should Know!
6. Hootsuite Won’t Show LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn does not allow posting to groups from Hootsuite.
The LinkedIn and Hootsuite integration works well when posting updates to your own profile or business pages, but it will not allow you to post to LinkedIn groups from Hootsuite.
If you want to post to groups, you will need to do so directly on LinkedIn.
7. Hootsuite Disconnected My Twitter Account
If your Twitter account is unexpectedly disconnected from Hootsuite, that may be a reason for concern.
Twitter does not impose login restrictions like LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook, and it does not usually unlink itself.
Twitter might have detected suspicious activity from your account and unlinked itself from Hootsuite. You may want to check your login activity and see if there are unfamiliar devices or locations logged in.
8. Hootsuite Won’t Work with Email Marketing Tools
Hootsuite aims to provide integration with your business’s different marketing services, but you may encounter problems with email marketing.
Here are common inquiries when it comes to email marketing:
What email marketing service can Hootsuite use?
- Hootsuite currently only integrates with the email marketing services Mailchimp and Constant Contact. Between the two, Mailchimp has better user feedback.
- Hootsuite’s email marketing integration focuses mostly on monitoring the results of your campaigns.
- Stats of email marketing in Hootsuite focus on clicks, updating lists, and merging results with your other social media efforts.
- See our article about email marketing with Hootsuite for more information.
What can I use to send out emails with Hootsuite?
Hootsuite itself cannot send out emails through your email marketing service. You must schedule and send emails through the email service itself.
Note that if you see a plug-in touting its ability to send email through Hootsuite itself, steer clear. Only install plug-ins or apps that are authorized by Hootsuite in its directory.
Keep an eye on our article which explains about Hootsuite: 3 Open Source Alternatives
9. Hootsuite Won’t Show YouTube Analytics
One of Hootsuite’s best features is the Analytics function, which lets you view the analytics reports for your social media profiles or accounts.
But Hootsuite does not automatically load YouTube analytics data onto the dashboard.
The only Analytics function Hootsuite automatically covers are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
But that does not mean you cannot integrate YouTube analytics!
You can install Youtube analytics onto your dashboard with Channelview Insights.
ChannelView Insights is a Hootsuite plug-in that lets you integrate YouTube analytics onto your dashboard. It costs $7.99 a month, but it comes free when subscribed to Hootsuite’s Enterprise plan.
10. Hootsuite Analytics Data Is Not Updating
Hootsuite Analytics was designed to provide users with an overview of how effective your social media strategy is.
You get the numbers on how many people saw your post, how many reacted, and commented on it.
But you might notice, especially if you managed to publish viral content with numbers quickly racking up, that the numbers are not updating.
You don’t need to panic, as the numbers here are not real-time numbers that update every minute.
If you want to get updated stats on your social media content, you need to give it some time, maybe a few hours, and then refresh the Dashboard for updated figures.
11. Hootsuite Does Not Publish Scheduled Posts
Sometimes your posts fail to publish as scheduled. While it is not supposed to happen, there are reasons why your content can sometimes fail to publish.
Here’s what may be going on:
The social media network is not connected to Hootsuite.
As mentioned above, there are instances when access is revoked to your social media sites. You might have overlooked these revoking schedules, or you changed passwords.
Should this be the reason why your post failed to publish on time, you’ll need to renew access to the affected account on Hootsuite and then publish it.
The scheduled content is a duplicate of another published post.
Duplicate posts get flagged by the algorithms of social media platforms. And this can sometimes lead to banning or suspension of your accounts.
When you push a single post to different groups or accounts simultaneously, this can be perceived as inauthentic behavior and could be flagged.
If you published the same post to multiple accounts and later