I am a HootSuite Pro user. I pay $4.95 a month so I can manage multiple Twitter accounts using their handy dashboard. I like the convenience of the widget embedded in my browser, and I also like their mobile app, although my iPad version keeps crashing. Overall, the product is an easy way to scoop content from various websites and tweet it quickly and trackably.
Today, I decided to explore the application a little more. First, I decided to test their analytics. One can choose from four templates. Three of them require “points.” Hootsuite Pro members get 50 points per month. The Proposal template, not coincidentally, costs 45 points, as does Google Analytics and Facebook Insights. The owl.ly report is free.
I set up several Owl.ly reports first. They are spectacularly simple. Just choose the account you want to monitor,choose your time frame, customize the look and feel if you so desire, and presto: you have a snapshot of how popular your tweets with ow.ly links have been.
Next, I set up a proposal. This report will combine the analytics from multiple social networking conduits (including WordPress.)
Unfortunately, though, I wanted a report for a client for whom I do not have full access. I have access to the client’s Twitter feed and Google analytics, but another person owns the Facebook page. Without the Facebook username and password, I cannot create a complete picture of my client’s social networking profile.
There are team-based workflow management options within the dashboard, so I feel sure I can poke around until I figure out how to best serve my client. But I am not sure how useful these reports will be if there are multiple, temporary stakeholders, such as consultants, involved in the management of a company’s online presence.
Hootsuite has implemented an affiliate program, where people can earn points by recommending their product. For $21 a month, I can become a certified Hootsuite consultant by “attending” the online Hootsuite university and taking some tests. They even have a job board, which might justify the monthly cost for some. I do not yet think the value of a Hootsuite certification is worth the +/- $250 a year the certification would cost me.
About Hootsuite (from their website)
HootSuite helps organizations use the social web to launch marketing campaigns, identify and grow audience, and distribute targeted messages across multiple channels.
Using HootSuite’s unique social media dashboard, teams can collaboratively schedule updates to Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, WordPress and other social networks via web, desktop or mobile platforms plus track campaign results and industry trends to rapidly adjust tactics.
Launched in Dec. 2008 by Invoke Media, HootSuite’s rapidly growing user base includes governments, artists and organizations like The White House, Martha Stewart Media, SXSW and Zappos. Accolades include awards from Mashable’s Open Web, Canadian New Media, and Shorty Awards.