Hootsuite: Social media management and programming on a single platform

What is Hootsuite?

Hootsuite is the social media management tool widely recognized, used by millions of users around the world in dozens of countries and supported by a dedicated team of over 1,000 employees.

Founded in 2008, the company has established itself as a major player in the world of digital marketing, and has continued to develop and improve thanks to significant investments, including a $50 million growth financing in 2018.

The year 2023 was marked by the introduction of several innovations and features, making Hootsuite even more versatile. These innovations include the launch of OwlyWriter AI, an artificial intelligence solution for writing posts.

This platform is designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as marketing departments.

This tool makes it possible to manage and schedule publications on various social networks, to conduct research on these software and to obtain detailed analyses of the performance of social profiles.

Hootsuite also stands out for its ability to integrate with a multitude of other social networks, offering unprecedented flexibility and scalability. This Hootsuite review will give you a detailed overview of its cost, features, free subscription options (30-day trial), and more.

Who is Hootsuite for?

Hootsuite is a versatile tool that is suitable for a wide range of users, from small businesses to large organizations, who are looking to optimize the management of their social networks with powerful features on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Key points of this application

• Businesses looking for a complete solution : Professionals who need a unified platform to manage a wide range of social networks will find Hootsuite ideal.
• Accessible formulas : Entry-level packages are offered at competitive prices, offering an excellent dashboard for publishing your articles and monitoring content on social networks.
• Facilitated communication : Hootsuite provides powerful tools to communicate effectively with the public via social networks.
• Interoperability for techies : Marketers who are comfortable with technology can take advantage of Hootsuite's ability to integrate with a variety of external tools and its API.
• Hootsuite App Directory : For less tech-savvy users, many advanced features can be purchased through the Hootsuite App Directory, making it easy to access all of the platform's capabilities.
• SMEs and entrepreneurs : Hootsuite is a great option for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as individual entrepreneurs, especially since the free trial option is available.

To conclude, Hootsuite is a valuable tool for a company of any size or professional looking to optimize the management of its social networks. Large businesses with complex needs can also take advantage of Hootsuite, but should carefully assess their needs based on the various subscription plans available.

Features

The suite of basic features allows you to schedule posts and articles, manage content, view analytics from each social network, and manage your team.

1. Content Programming and Publishing

Maximize your reach and save time with the Hootsuite content scheduling and publishing feature.

• Create and schedule messages for one or more social networks simultaneously.
• Get an instant overview of what the message looks like for optimal production.
• Possibility to share the same post several times to reach audiences in different time zones.
• Add media, set a location, and save content as a draft.

Hootsuite facilitates production and distribution, ensuring a constant presence on social networks.

2. Management of Interactions and Social Mentions

Engage with your audience in real time with Hootsuite's social interaction and mention management feature.

• Track and respond to incoming direct messages from the Hootsuite inbox.
• Manage your Twitter mentions without leaving the Hootsuite app.

Hootsuite promotes smooth and effective social interactions, helping to proactively manage your online reputation.

3. Social Flow Monitoring

Stay up to date with the latest trends with Hootsuite's social feed monitoring dashboard.

• Follow the latest news on the topics that interest you.
• Extract resources from Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive to enrich your publications.

With Hootsuite, producing relevant and timely content is at your fingertips.

4. Social listening

Navigate the social media noise with Hootsuite's “My Industry” social listening tool.

• Add keywords and follow hashtags to stay on top of trends.
• Limit tracking to avoid a cluttered dashboard.

Hootsuite software allows you to capture the pulse of your sector for strategic and market-oriented post-production.

5. Management

Organize and control your post production with the Hootsuite tab.

• Manage your drafts, the scheduled post requiring approval and the rejected post.
• Use the RSS feed as a post source for your social media accounts.

With Hootsuite software, you keep control of every stage of your production.

6. Team Features

Promote collaboration and increase productivity with Hootsuite's team features.

• Manage multiple users on the same account.
• Track your team's productivity and assign tasks to members (a feature only available with the Enterprise plan).

Hootsuite software strengthens the cooperation and performance of your team for optimal post production.

7. Hootsuite mobile app

The Hootsuite software mobile app allows you to manage your social networks on the go and stay ahead of your social conversations.

• Universal compatibility : Available for iOS and Android, the Hootsuite app is designed to work on almost any mobile device.
• Social media management : Monitor and manage your social media, post and respond to comments and messages, all from your mobile device.
• Publishing on the go : Schedule and publish posts on your social media accounts directly from the app.
• Mobile analytics : Access analytics reports directly from your phone to track your social media performance at any time.
• Real-time notifications : Get push notifications to stay up to date with new interactions and account activities.

The Hootsuite mobile app offers a comprehensive and convenient social media management solution at your fingertips.

8. OwlyWriter AI

Support your efforts with the AI functionality of its OwlyWriter editor from Hootsuite.

• Use artificial intelligence to generate high-quality posts, reducing writing time and effort.
• Allows the automated creation of social messages optimized for engagement, increasing performance.
• Facilitates the production of detailed reports and the generation of product descriptions, newsletters, and more.

Hootsuite's OwlyWriter AI is transforming post production, making optimizing and personalizing posts easier than ever for every business.

9. Reporting Analytics

The Hootsuite software stands out for the robustness of its reports on Twitter. As a platform that was originally designed as a Twitter dashboard, the Hootsuite software offers an in-depth analysis of this software.

Available information includes:

• Tweet activity and reports,
• The commitments,
• The number of followers and more.

This actionable information is accessible even for free users, giving Hootsuite a competitive edge over other tools like Buffer.

Content analysis

• Hootsuite software provides useful data on social media performance.
• Reports for other networks, like LinkedIn, may not be as comprehensive or easy to obtain.
• This problem can be especially true for those who use personal profiles rather than company pages.

Simplified report creation

• Hootsuite software makes it easy to create reports across multiple social networks.
• The software offers a number of pre-established report templates that allow you to track your campaigns.
• These reports can then be easily shared with your team or customers with a single click, making the reporting process both efficient and easy to manage.

10. Compatible social media

Here is a non-exhaustive list of social networks that you can manage using Hootsuite:

1. facebook : Facebook Business and personal accounts
2. twitter : Personal or business accounts
3. instagram : Business and personal accounts
4. LinkedIn : Personal profiles, company pages, and showcase pages
5. Pinterest : Public boards
6. youtube : Personal or corporate channels
7. WordPress : Blogs and websites

Hootsuite supports a wide variety of social networks and online platforms, giving users centralized management of their social media presence.

Interface and ease of use

The Hootsuite software has revised its look several times over the course of its existence. The last update was last year when the software introduced a look that was modern, clean, and ideal for tech-savvy marketers.

When we tested the software, we found the new interface to be very user-friendly. Everything is simple and clear, including registering, connecting your social profiles, and scheduling posts. We were thrilled to see that Hootsuite allows you to schedule posts for YouTube, which is not supported by many other programming software.

We also found the Hootsuite software dashboard to be very handy. While you can see all messages in a map design, the app refreshes every 15 minutes, ensuring that anything scheduled, changed, or updated is automatically published.

There are plenty of training courses and certifications to motivate you to improve your social media marketing skills.

During our tests, everything seemed to work without problems. The only problem we encountered was Instagram, as the Hootsuite software does not offer multi-photo posts. If you want to post a gallery on Instagram, you have to do it manually.

Hootsuite integrations

Hootsuite is highly praised for its ability to link to other applications, a quality that is often praised in 5-star reviews:

• Abundance of integrations : Hootsuite software integrates with over 150 distinct applications, offering a flexible and adaptable solution.
• Social media integration : It offers seamless integration with major social media software, such as Facebook, Facebook Business, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
• Integration of analysis tools : Users can link their social media measurement tools like Google Analytics and Brandwatch for deeper analysis.
• CMS : Hootsuite easily connects to popular CMS like WordPress and Medium.
• Integration with CRM tools : Hootsuite can be synchronized with CRM tools like Salesforce for better customer relationship management.
• Ease of integration : Adding your social media measurement tools or systems to your Hootsuite account is an intuitive and easy process that takes just a few clicks.

Hootsuite is a true pioneer in integration, offering a broad range of compatibility and remarkable ease of use.

Alternatives to Hootsuite

1. Sendible

Sendible is one of the alternatives and complete software for managing social networks.

Features

• Creation and programming
• Google Analytics integration.
• Access to social performance reports.

Pricing

• Offers a more affordable cost structure than Hootsuite software.

By comparison, the Hootsuite software has more robust centralized social media management, although one of its Sendible alternatives has a more advanced analytics capability.

2. SocialPilot

SocialPilot is one of the alternatives and social media management tool that stands out for its ease of use.

Features

• Simplified social media management.
• Support for in-person webinars and training
• 14-day free version

Pricing

• Similar to Hootsuite, but with a better reputation for customer service.

Overall, the Hootsuite software offers a wider range of features and deeper analytics, making it a more robust choice than any of its SocialPilot alternatives.

3. Buffer

Buffer is one of the social media management alternatives and tools known to rival Hootsuite software.

Features

• Ease of use.
• Offers robust reports and analytics.

Pricing

• More affordable prices than Hootsuite software.
• Free version limited to ten scheduled publications.

Buffer outperforms Hootsuite software in terms of reporting and analytics, while one of its Hootsuite alternatives excels at programming, ad hoc publishing, and conversation management.

You can read my full review: Hoosuite vs Buffer comparison.

Pricing

Hootsuite software offers a range of plans to meet various social media management needs, including access to the OwlyWriter AI tool.

Please check their website for the most up to date information as plans may change.

Free Hoostsuite accounts

• Connect to three social networks
• Possibility to program up to 30 messages per month (small volumes) in this subscription

Hootsuite Pro Accounts - $29/month (billed annually)

• For a user
• Covers ten social profiles
• $500/month ad spend limit via software
• 30-day trial
• Access to the OwlyWriter AI tool in this subscription

Team accounts - $129/month

• For a team of three users
• Manage 20 social profiles
• Offers personalized analytics
• Access to Hootsuite certifications and the OwlyWriter AI tool
• Team assignments

Business Accounts - $599/month

• Manage 50 social profiles
• Access to premium applications including the OwlyWriter AI tool
• Dedicated training
• Possibility to spend up to $5,000/month on ads to boost posts

Business account

• Professionals are invited to contact Hootsuite for a quote tailored to their specific needs, including access to the OwlyWriter AI tool.

Please note that some features, such as collaboration and task assignment tools, are only available from the Business Plan. Be sure to check the details of each package to choose the one that best fits your needs.

Customer service

Hootsuite has a diverse range of customer service channels to meet the varied needs of users.

• Live chat : An interactive tool for real-time support, although some users have reported some instability in the chat window.
• twitter : With the “Tweet for Support” feature, users can send requests directly to the Hootsuite Support Twitter ID. The option to add screenshots or other media is available.
• Facebook Business and Personal Account (Meta) : Another social media platform for contacting Hootsuite customer service.
• E-mail : A more traditional option for more formal or detailed communication.
• Hootsuite Academy : Free learning resources for effective self-study.
• Help center : An online portal with answers to the most frequently asked questions.

To conclude, Hootsuite offers a variety of support channels to help its users, although the effectiveness of these channels may vary. It's always best to use the Hootsuite Academy and Help Center for common or general questions.

FAQs

What is Hootsuite for?

Hootsuite is social media management software that allows you to schedule posts, reply to messages, and control multiple social media accounts from a single interface.

Does Hootsuite have a free version?

The free Hootsuite account is limited to one user and three social media channels. You can also only schedule 30 messages with the free version.

How much does Hootsuite cost?

There are three main paid plans for Hootsuite, namely the professional plan ($19/month), the team plan ($99/month), and the enterprise plan ($599/month). There is also a business plan with custom pricing.

Is Hootsuite trustworthy?

Yes, Hootsuite is a safe and trustworthy company. Over 16 million people and 270 large businesses use Hootsuite for their social media management needs. For more information, read our full Hootsuite review.

Final Verdict

We can safely say that Hootsuite is a great social media management tool. With a free plan and a 30-day free trial for paid subscriptions, it has something for everyone. However, we think the prices are high, especially if they have increased in the last few years.

However, the list of software features has also grown over the years. There are so many great tools that are exclusively in Hootsuite. If you're willing to pay a bit more, you can expect a smooth social media management process.