Is Hootsuite Trustworthy, Secure & Reliable? (Solved)

Hootsuite is an institutional name when it comes to the management of social media assets.

Many brands rely on Hootsuite to publish social media content without having to micromanage every material for a higher impact.

With the need to reach a wider audience at the right time, tools like Hootsuite have been very helpful in managing the social media presence of businesses.

Is Hootsuite Trustworthy and Reliable?

Hootsuite has specified in its privacy statement that only a limited number of personnel can handle your data within a specific purpose, which is to help regulate and schedule posts for your site. While it does have access to your data, it is a well-tested and reliable program for businesses to use.

Hootsuite can access your messages, posts, comments, images, and other material you upload to different social media services; however, they also work hard to regulate and schedule your posts for you, which is the premise of the site.

If you don’t want to give them that access, you probably shouldn’t be using a site like this.

Here are some things you need to know about Hootsuite:

How Does Hootsuite Work?

Hootsuite is a social media content management system that lets you schedule your social media posts for your business.

You add the social media profiles you want to synchronize onto the Hootsuite panel, which lets you decide whether you need to post on just one, two, or all of your accounts.

For Hootsuite to post on your behalf, you will need to give the system access to the necessary accounts.

Hootsuite also lets you track mentions of your brand, and reviews on the Internet and social media posts that are public.

Also, you can view your social media feed through the Hootsuite, and cut the need to have many browser tabs open.

Through the Hootsuite control panel, you also get to collaborate with your team, review their draft posts, and view how your posts are performing.

Hootsuite is a web-based application for desktop and has a mobile app available for iOS and Android users.

Can I Trust Hootsuite With my Data?

While Hootsuite needs access to key information on your social media profiles, this is done to create a synchronized workflow for all your activities and collaborations with your team.

Also, Hootsuite has specified in its privacy statement that only a limited number of personnel can handle your data within a specific purpose.

It had also made transparent that all data gathered from users are stored using the data storage of Amazon Web Services.

What Does Hootsuite Access from your Social Media Profiles?

Hootsuite collects your profile information, such as your username and profile picture.

They can also access your messages, posts, comments, images, and other material you upload to different social media services.

Since Hootsuite curates your social media profiles into a single platform, it needs access to it so you can manage everything into one window or app.

While it gains access, it does not directly collect nor process them.

How Secure is the Hootsuite System?

Hootsuite is safe since it does not contain adware.

Compared to the native Twitter or Facebook interface, which contains ads, Hootsuite does not get to see your interests and search history.

Can I Trust that Hootsuite Will Not get Hacked?

Hackers are relentless when it comes to accessing different platforms or gateways to social media accounts.

But Hootsuite has relatively robust security, which protects users from these attacks.

If it is anything, Hootsuite tries to be steps ahead of danger by continuously testing their platform from potential attacks.

Has Hootsuite Suffered Data Breaches?

Unfortunately, Hootsuite admitted that sometime in 2012, emails sent to users to warn them about their free trial of Hootsuite Pro also included the email address of other users, which resulted in the exposure of the contact information of thousands of other users.

Hootsuite Chief Executive Officer Ryan Holmes explained that a technical issue occurred when it integrated the accounts of existing Seesmic users, which the company bought out, into the Hootsuite system.

This failure resulted in emails intended for new Seesmic users sent out repeatedly, with around 4,000 email addresses placed onto headers for others to see.

Is Hootsuite Generally Considered Reliable?

Hootsuite is a reliable social media management platform.

As a tool in monitoring mentions of your brand, Hootsuite helps you gather all public remarks from the general public.

Although there is a good chance you may get irrelevant results when you conduct monitoring of mentions, as long as you set the right keywords, add the right hashtags, your searches will give you good results.

As a social media management tool, the free Hootsuite account is perfect for personal use or personalities who maintain a few social media accounts.

As the free plan only allows three (3) different social media accounts, if you were a content creator, Hootsuite would be perfect for you to post on your personal Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.

You can add other social media accounts, but you would have to sacrifice one account linked to Hootsuite.

Note that adding a Facebook page to Hootsuite requires the admin or personal profile used to administrate the page to be added as well. That automatically takes up two (2) slots on Hootsuite.

So if you are managing different social media platforms for one brand, you may find the free account very limiting.

Other Limitations:

When it comes to content publishing, Hootsuite has its weak points.

1. One, it can only accept file formats for images. That should not be a problem, since you can always save your picture file to a compatible format.
2. Second is the text or copy of your social media post.
3. Hootsuite has a limit of 2,000 characters, including spaces.

If you are looking to cross-post a lengthy text across your social media accounts, you may have a problem due to the character limitations.

You should also look at it as a way to help you develop copywriting skills, and deliver the message with the shortest text possible.

Scheduling should not be an issue with Hootsuite. While using only a free account, you can schedule up to 30 posts in one go.

For a small business, if you prepare your social media calendar in advance, that should be good enough for up to two weeks of content.

Do Larger Companies trust Hootsuite with Their Information?

Around 800 of the Fortune 1000 companies use Hootsuite to manage their social media publishing.

These companies include IBM, Sony Music, and H&M, to name a few.

What is Hootsuite’s Reputation in the Industry?

Hootsuite is one of the most used social media management systems.

Over 800 of the Fortune 1,000 companies trust Hootsuite for social media management systems.

That alone speaks volumes on the reputation of Hootsuite when it comes to social media management services.

How is Hootsuite Ranked in Reviews?

Hootsuite usually gets mentioned in articles that discuss powerful social media management tools.

In fact, according to Influence Marketing Hub, Hootsuite is in its 15 best social media management tools.

While some users gave Hootsuite bad rap (e.g., reviewers on Trustpilot.com), these are mostly on payment cancellation concerns, and not so much on the performance of the system.

Not much has complained about its usability, which in itself is proof of the reliability of Hootsuite.

Do the Larger Social Media Platforms trust Hootsuite?

Facebook, being the largest social media platform, allows the integration of Hootsuite and its system for better social media management.

Othe social platforms that allow Hootsuite into their system are Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

To add, even website CMS developer WordPress has allowed the integration of Hootsuite, which lets users post directly on their self-hosted WordPress site from Hootsuite.

Is Hootsuite Free to Use?

Hootsuite comes with paid monthly subscriptions.

You can use Hootsuite for free with the ability to add up to three (3) social media accounts of your choice.

Also, you get up to 30 scheduled posts at a single time.

If you want a little more power, you can opt for a Pro plan, which gives you access to unlimited scheduling, and up to 10 social media accounts to post on.

The Pro plan costs $19 a month when billed annually.

Team Plan:

If you work with a team, consider the Team plan, which lets you add up to 20 social media profiles, unlimited scheduling, and three (3) members can collaborate using the package.

The Team plan costs are $99 per month when billed annually.

Business Plan:

If you run an agency that handles a lot of digital campaigns, you can subscribe to the Business plan, which gives you 35 social media profiles to add, and at least five (5) collaborators on-board to help you manage these accounts.

This is on top of the unlimited scheduling that comes with it.

The Business plan costs $599 monthly on annual billing.

Custom Plans:

Hootsuite also offers Enterprise or custom plans that let you design a package that fits the needs of your team.

You should get in touch with Hootsuite on customized packages for your business. Aside from these plans, Hootsuite also has training available on its platform.

These training equip you with the needed skills to help you master social media.

A lot of these training are free, while others have minimal fees.

Sources:

Hootsuite.com

HootSuite Suffers Privacy Breach

15 Of the Best Social Media Posting and Scheduling Tools