Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at Hootsuite and whether it would be useful to continue using for our client afterwards. While the company itself is arguably the biggest name in social media management, it’s not suitable for all – and thus I present some Pros and Cons of Hootsuite.
The Pros
It’s great with Facebook and Twitter
Hootsuite is fantastic for scheduling Facebook and Twitter posts – the calendar feature is incredibly valuable, the user interface is neat and easy to follow, and the analytics give small businesses some analytics data for free. If your target market is primarily engaging with your brand on these platforms, then Hootsuite might be a good choice for your organisation.
Scheduling
As mentioned above, the calendar feature and the ability to schedule posts is one of Hootsuite’s best features. Basic Facebook analytics can tell me the most effective time to post for maximum engagement, but I’m not always free at 2:00 pm to run to my computer and post whatever the day’s content is. Hootsuite takes care of that with an easy-to-use scheduling tool which I can use to set up posts for my organisation and also to schedule a full month’s worth of personal tweets for participation credit.
The Cons
It doesn’t integrate with Instagram
It seems strange that this is the case – Facebook owns Instagram, and yet while there is a well designed Facebook management platform, Instagram can only be found as an App that you can monitor. There aren’t any analytics or posting abilities to be found. Considering that Instagram is now the most popular social network for Teens, if you are catering to a younger demographic then Hootsuite doesn’t have much to offer.
Too much focus on Twitter
While Instagram gains in popularity, Twitter is starting to fall behind. The once-great social network is being surpassed by the likes of Pinterest, SnapChat, and Instagram, with many more “localized” apps such as YikYak gaining popularity as well. Yet Twitter is still easily Hootsuite’s key social network, with more analytics and features available for the network compared to others. If Hootsuite isn’t careful, they risk becoming obsolete as they themselves fail to keep up with the trends in social.