Hootsuite has become absolutely essential to my business, much like my iPhone has (more on that some other time). Haven’t heard of Hootsuite? Well let me get you in the know! First off there are many uses for Hootsuite & there is a FREE version (which is what I have) and a paid version which has alot more bells & whistles.
I use Hootsuite to manage my social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, RSS blog feed, etc. It’s a one stop shop where I can view all of my social media accounts without having to log into each one separately. But the best part in my opinion? I can actively post on Facebook, Twitter, etc. without ever logging onto them…even all week if I want! Going on vacation and no internet access? Have a job where you can’t surf the web, much less Facebook? Forgot your password…again? No problem! You are probably saying “HUH? I have a business to build, manage & keep active so not posting content often on social media sites will kill me!” Well dear have no fear – in comes Hootsuite, allowing me to schedule my posts & status updates ahead of time. Hours, days, even weeks in advance if wanted/needed….and then it posts them for me directly to my social media site! It’s like an alarm clock for Facebook/Twitter (but it actually gets it up and moving).
This has become essential for me because as a girl working in the corporate world M-F 9-5, yet actively building and managing a photography business. I cannot surf the web, log onto Facebook or Tweet during the day (big no-no-and assuming I have the time!), which is prime time for social media interaction. Up until using Hootsuite my options were to either post status updates & blog topics in the morning or the evening during the week, or on weekends. Not ideal for business because it really limits the viewership, participation & pretty much means it will be buried amongst the news feed. Now with this nifty tool in my arsenal, I can write my blog posts the night before (or if I’m real ambitious I can write several ahead of time and have enough ready for the week), schedule them to be published for all to see at a certain time, schedule Hootsuite to post links to my new blog post on Facebook & Twitter at a certain time & VIOLA! It’s that easy. I never have to log into Facebook or Twitter during the day when I simply can’t, yet it allows me to be seen & heard during those vital hours. I can also schedule quotes, photos, links – anything I want posted on my social media sites! Sure, there are occassional times when I can access Facebook & Twitter during lunch breaks via my iPhone apps & I’m able to post myself – but mainly this is how I get thru the 9-5 hours when I can’t and wouldn’t be on social media sites.
Here is an example of my current Hootsuite workflow for the blog:
Sunday night:
Prepare blog post for Monday, Tuesday & Thursday. Schedule them all to post at 11:30am on the corresponding day.
Log into Hootsuite. Create message: Add link to my blog post -type a caption-choose a photo thumbnail. Schedule to publish for 11:45am on the corresponding day. Choose what social media sites I want it to post on. Do this for each blog post (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday)
If I want to add a few extra status updates or tweets I can create a separate message for each one & schedule the date & time for it to post onthe social media site of my choice. (Ex. On Wednesday night I can schedule “Can’t wait for the new episode of Grey’s tonight!” to be posted on Facebook Thursday at 1pm (since I’ll be working my 9-5 and can’t be all up on Facebook but I know my friends & followers are!).
All done! All in one night. So now if I can’t get on social media daily or even for an extended period of time I am still “online & present”. Tricky huh? Well its not meant to be tricky but instead to help me better manage my business when I can’t always be hands on and present.
Intrigued yet? Hopefully you aren’t confused because it is actually really simple…and FREE!
P.S. I totally “Hootsuited” this post last night 😉
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