5 Ways to Use Hootsuite to Build Your Online Presence
When I first started social networking (using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), I didn’t think that it was for me. It seemed like too much work and trust me, I already have A LOT of work to do. I considered the value it would add to my business but needed a system to make it all manageable. One day a friend told me about Hootsuite. I checked it out and fell in love. I would not have the connections or social media presence without this online application.
Check out 5 ways I use it to build my online presence.
It allows me to integrate my Twitter, WordPress, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. From one master screen I can toggle between all of these accounts and read updates as well as post status updates.- I have ten columns per tab. I take full advantage of those tabs. On my main Twitter tab, I have a list of timeline updates from all the people I follow, mentions so that I can see when someone posts something directly to me, a list of sent tweets (because I sometimes forget what I tweeted or retweeted), a list of pending tweets (more about that in a second) and timelines of several of my Twitter lists and keyword searches.
- I can schedule posts. When I tell people this, they are surprised. First surprised that I admit it and second surprised to know that I am not really online as much as it seems. There are a million things that I want to say and retweet but it feels rude to bombard someone’s timeline with my thoughts. So… I play nice and schedule tweets to post about every 15 to 30 minutes. It is amazing how many followers I have attained since using this system. It also allows me time to respond to someone before the next scheduled tweet. I also like the fact that I can schedule posts to my Facebook personal and business pages. Sometimes I will schedule a full day of tweets and only respond to mentions when I receive them on my phone. *Remember, the object of the game is to work smarter, not harder.
- It is easier to view profiles. From the Twitter site, you have to go to a person’s page to read their profile and get a general idea of whether you want to follow them. My #FF (Follow Friday) can get crazy and I don’t have time to visit a hundred profiles. Hootsuite allows you to click on their name and get a profile synopsis then you can follow or unfollow from that screen shot.
- You can shorten urls and track their statistics. Many applications provide the ability to shorten an url but I like being able to see whether people are actually clicking through. I’m a statistics junkie (which is part of my love affair with WordPress).
I hope this nugget of information helps you build your online presence, after all, social networking is not only fun but it is also FREE. What better way to establish and build your brand?
