REVIEW: Hootsuite - An Inside look.

The all-in-one social media scheduler

Desktop view of Hootsuite website homepage.

Hootsuite has been around for over a decade. They are always a popular named thrown around when mentioning social media management tools. Many individuals and businesses utilize the tool via the website or the app. The longevity begs the question, is it still relevant today?

Hootsuite launched in 2008 as a way to manage multiple social media accounts. Originally, it only supported Twitter and was used primarily as a tweet scheduler. Over the years they have added more social media integration. If you’re looking for a Facebook scheduler, Instagram scheduler, or Pinterest scheduler, Hootsuite will work for you.

Currently, Hootsuite supports Twitter, Facebook (profiles, pages, and groups), LinkedIn (profiles and pages), Instagram (business and personal profiles), Pinterest, and YouTube channels. It also supports Google My Business through the Hootsuite app directory.

Here comes the real question on everyone's mind. Is Hootsuite free? Not exactly. One of the best things about Hootsuite is that it has a free plan. That gives a single user a social media dashboard for up to three social accounts. Also, you can set up a social media posting schedule, with up to 30 messages scheduled in advance. This particular feature is definitely help in the world of PR because we are always on the go. If you can schedule the posts a head of time you are saving time where you could be out networking and moving shaking.

Of course there is a caveat right? If you need to schedule content for more than three profiles you’ll need one of the paid Hootsuite plans. However, once you upgrade, there are no more limits, which means you get unlimited social media scheduling.

There is also a Professional option. Hootsuite Professional lets a single user manage ten social media profiles. If you’re not sure which one to choose, all paid plans come with a 30-day free trial, so there’s plenty of time to test out Hootsuite’s social media scheduling tools.

Mobile view of Hootsuite

The Best Thing

Hootsuite is an awesome resource for all things social media. Being able to reach all your followers through one app is so convenient.

The Worst Thing

You don’t get all the unlimited access without the paid purchase of a better plan. With the free plan you are limited as far as how much you can post and schedule.

Final Verdict

Come and check out Hootsuite. If you are a individual and you are unsure of the functionality or how you would want to integrate this tool into your life check out the images to get a sense of function. the Free app is great. However, if you want to take full advantage of the tools and many functions the paid version is the way to go. Hootsuite can save you lots of time. You have to commit to using Hootsuite to make it the most out of it for your business. Either way free or not Hootsuite is a great app to utilize and promote your individual brand or the brand of another company.

References

Hootsuite Media Inc. (n.d.). Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved from http://www.hootsuite.com

TBWHS.com. (2018, February 16). Hootsuite Pros and Cons - Good For Social Media? |. Retrieved from https://blog.tbwhs.com/hootsuite-pros-and-cons/