Hootsuite started as a tool to manage Twitter accounts, but it has grown into one of the most-used social media management tools in the industry.
It has tons of features, and it can help businesses create and execute a comprehensive marketing plan across social media platforms.
But what exactly is the main function of Hootsuite, and what can it do?
Here is what Hootsuite is Mainly Used for:
Hootsuite is used to manage social media assets through a single interface. You can plan and schedule your social media content for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, and Pinterest, and then use Hootsuite’s tools to measure the performance of your social media assets.
1. Content Management
Managing the content of your different social network accounts is the cornerstone of Hootsuite.
Hootsuite began as a way to manage different Twitter accounts, but it has since grown to include the management of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, and Pinterest.
With Hootsuite, you can see all your social media accounts on one central Dashboard.
With the click of a button, you can publish simultaneously to different accounts across platforms or schedule posts for later.
2. Content Scheduling
You can use Hootsuite to schedule your social media posts on different platforms.
Hootsuite is a pioneer of this feature, which changed the game in social media management.
Facebook and Twitter later added scheduling abilities to their apps, but Hootsuite allows you to schedule content all in one place.
Here’s what to know about scheduling content in Hootsuite:
- If you are using the free Hootsuite account, you can schedule up to 30 posts, while paid subscribers have unlimited scheduling.
- Part of the scheduling feature is a Content Calendar that gives you an overview of your scheduled content. By using the Content Calendar, you can see the gaps in your content schedule and add or move content to fill in gaps. The Content Calendar feature is free for all Hootsuite users.
- Paid subscribers gain access to the Auto-schedule function, which allows Hootsuite to schedule your content for you. Hootsuite uses an algorithm to choose the best time to schedule posts for your accounts.
- Paid subscribers also get a Bulk Uploader that lets you upload a single CSV file of up to 350 posts for queuing in your social networks.
3. Ads Management
You can manage your social media advertising efforts on Hootsuite.
This feature is available for Business and Enterprise subscribers to Hootsuite. It lets you boost posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
There is a spending cap, depending on the level of your Hootsuite plan, but Enterprise users have an unlimited spending allotment for ads.
If you are using the Business and Enterprise plan, you also gain access to the Ad Management tools of Hootsuite.
The Ad Management feature of Hootsuite lets you see your total ad spend and the budgets for each ad. You can check which ads are performing well and which are not so that you can divert budgets from underperforming advertisements to better-performing ones so that you can maximize your spending.
Ad Management also shows you how the ad is received, how many people see your ads, and how many respond to any calls to action.
Note that payments for ads are on top of your Hootsuite subscription.
Also read our article on that talks about Hootsuite & Asana | 7 Things You Should Know
4. Audience Engagement
The Engagement feature of Hootsuite is an impressive feature that can help strengthen your brand.
Hootsuite can measure your audience’s reaction to your posts, as well as your team’s responsiveness to your audience’s comments.
When people comment on your post, engaging them makes them feel they are listened to and instills confidence and brand loyalty, so it is an important thing to keep track of.
When used in tandem with social listening, which is explored below, you get to create a map of how people interact with your business and see where areas can be improved upon.
5. Social Listening
Another cornerstone feature of Hootsuite is its ability to dive deep into the insights of your audience to get their sentiments.
Hootsuite lets you track mentions of your industry or brand and join conversations to understand your audience.
You get to look at the demographics of your audience, including location, gender, and age.
Understanding the sentiments and demographics of your audience can help you shape your marketing for the best results.
Although the full suite of Social Listening tools is only available for Business and Enterprise users, you can set up listening streams by using keyword searches from Twitter with any Hootsuite account.
6. Team Management
Social media management might seem like a one-man job, but in reality, lots of team members are usually involved.
The good news is, Hootsuite lets you add team members to your Hootsuite account.
This feature is available starting at the Team plan level and allows up to three people access to your Dashboard. At higher-tier plans, you get to add more people to the account.
- Aside from being able to add people to the Dashboard, you can assign them particular tasks or accounts to manage. Having a specific member in-charge of a particular aspect or social network means you always know the point-person.
- You can have someone from your team handle a particular comment or message. You can then measure the response time and how long it takes them to resolve a problem.
- The Team Management function is also a good tool for evaluating performances.
7. App Integrations
Hootsuite has tons of apps available for integration with your Hootsuite account, meaning you can personalize your account and make work easier.
These app integrations serve as a bridge to other services your business uses in its workflow.
From data storage to content creation and even extra analytical tools, Hootsuite can work seamlessly with some of the most-used apps in business today.
Some of the integrations available on Hootsuite include Canva, Dropbox, Mailchimp, Talkwalker, and Salesforce.
8. Analytics
Social media management would not be complete without Analytics.
Hootsuite’s Analytics function lets you measure the performance of your social media content.
You get to see how many people saw your content, the number of clicks and impressions it received, and any comments, too.
Besides being able to look at post-performance, you also get to view your follower growth and the response time of your team.
With the Business and Enterprise plan, you can download your Analytics data in different file formats for easy reporting to clients or your boss.
Final Thoughts:
The features in this article are just the main perks of Hootsuite. There are more features available for users not covered here.
Check out even more stuff Hootsuite can do for you in our article 7 Things Hootsuite Can Measure & Monitor For You (Explained).
While you can live without some of these features, having them on-board can significantly improve the workflow of your business.
Sources:
7 Things Hootsuite Can Measure & Monitor For You (Explained)
Does Hootsuite Do Analytics? (Solved & Explained!)
What Exactly Is Hootsuite Used For? (Explained!)

