What Exactly Is Hootsuite Used For? (Explained)

Hootsuite is one of the most used tools of any company in managing social media platforms.

What Exactly Is Hootsuite Used For?

Hootsuite’s interface is a social media management system for sharing content, communicating with your team, and even engaging external stakeholders of the business. You can even track the performances of your social media posts and keep a tab of your team’s schedule.

Subscribers to Hootsuite can manage and use most functions of their social media platform through a single interface, called the Dashboard.

What Are the Most Popular Features in Hootsuite?

Hootsuite lets users manage their social media accounts through the Dashboard of the system.

The most used functions of Hootsuite are the following:

Posting of Content, (Status Updates, Photos, & Videos):

Hootsuite subscribers need not copy and paste content across different social media sites, as the composer lets users select which social media sites they want to post on.

Hootsuite will then do the publishing among these sites.

Scheduling of Content:

You do not need to be in front of your computer or smartphone if you want to post at a particular time.

Hootsuite lets you schedule your posts, so your intended audience gets to see it in real-time.

This function is helpful when you want to reach your followers at a time, they are usually active, or if you need to reach audiences in different time zones.

Hootsuite lets you choose two kinds of scheduling: AutoSchedule and Regular Schedule.

Regular Schedule:

The Regular Schedule lets you choose the date and time you want to post your content.

That function gives you full control of when you want a particular content to be published.

So if you have a product launch or some important news you want your followers to know, you can schedule it at a time they are usually online.

AutoSchedule:

AutoSchedule uses the algorithms of Hootsuite to check when people are usually online and posts your content based on the available data.

Hootsuite will then space these posts according to the parameters you set, and space them without saturating your projected content.

Note that the algorithm of Hootsuite is not exactly transparent, as it does not specify what basis does it use to determine when people are most active.

Thus, Hootsuite might schedule them at times; other locations are active, but not in the time zone of your target audience.

That is why you need to set these parameters correctly or study the social media habit of your audience.

Doing so allows you to get the most traction for every post you publish.

It is worth noting that the scheduling function of Hootsuite was the sought-after feature before individual social media platforms introduced their schedulers.

Monitoring of Mentions:

Hootsuite lets you set up different streams to track mentions of your brand or any other keyword related to your business.

That function gives you a feel of how your consumers view your product and what they think could be improved.

That way, you can improve your services, so they can continue patronizing your brand.

The monitoring function also lets you track hashtags of your campaign.

If you have several hashtags for your different brands, you can set up a stream to check how people are using it.

You do not need to continuously search for them every few hours, as the streams will do the updating for you.

Analytics and Insights:

Hootsuite offers you a single platform to check the reception of your content.

You can see how far your content has reached your audience, and whether the material you published was received positively or negatively.

Mobile Compatibility:

Hootsuite is not just a web-based app as you can use it on your smartphone through an app you can download on the Google Playstore or Apple App Store.

The availability in mobile lets you take your social media management abilities to events, or even while on vacation.

You do not need to miss out on engagement, as the mobile app keeps you connected.

What Types of Companies use Hootsuite?

A lot of companies or organizations use Hootsuite for their business.

Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations companies enjoy Hootsuite, with all the features it offers.

In-house social media teams of companies, and even government agencies, use Hootsuite to manage their brand and engage directly with consumers and stakeholders to strengthen their brands and reputation.

Even the White House communications division use Hootsuite for managing its public relations campaigns.

Even individual business owners and social media influencers use Hootsuite to manage their social media presence.

For Whom was Hootsuite Initially Built?

When Hootsuite Chief Executive Officer Ryan Holmes developed the platform, he had individual social media users in mind.

He wanted to have a single platform to manage different social media accounts.

He later saw the potential to use this system to help businesses manage their various digital presence.

Since its evolution, Hootsuite now caters primarily to organizations and people who use their social media accounts for business purposes.

How Do I Know if I Need Hootsuite?

A lot of people have many social media accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

But Hootsuite is not meant for everybody.

For one, if you like posting photos, and you only use Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, you might not need Hootsuite, as you can cross-post using the Instagram app on your mobile phone.

But, if you manage different social media accounts, including a Facebook Page and some staple Facebook Groups, then you can enjoy having a Hootsuite subscription.

What Types of Software can Hootsuite Substitute?

Hootsuite lets you replace the individual apps of these social media sites.

You can use Hootsuite, instead of using the individual mobile apps, to schedule and publish content.

Aside from these apps, Hootsuite also replaces the need to use a different calendar app for your content.

Hootsuite has its calendar, which shows you all the content you need to publish.

Your team does not need to email or send you cloud storage links of drafts. Hootsuite has a draft function, which allows managers to approve content, so it goes straight to publishing.

Do I Need to Pay for Hootsuite?

Hootsuite is free but only lets you connect up to three (3) social media accounts and limited features.

If you want more features, you can opt for a paid subscription, which starts at around $240 annually.

How Much do I Need to Pay for Hootsuite?

The cost of Hootsuite is at least 240 dollars annually.

That is for a Professional account and lets you manage up to 10 social media accounts.

If you work with a team, you can get the Team account from Hootsuite, which goes for around 1,118 dollars a year.

If you are working for a big company that manages a lot of social media accounts, then the Business plan, which costs 7,188 dollars annually.

Another alternative is the Enterprise plan, which is a custom plan with different functions and services offered.

The cost of this plan varies on the needs of your organization.

Note that non-profit organizations get a 50 percent discount on Hootsuite subscriptions.

Sources:

What is the most popular and loved feature of Hootsuite?

7 Reasons Why You SHOULD Use Hootsuite

Hootsuite.com

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