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Writer's pictureSimon Zaku

The IbiFoundry Hootsuite Review: What is Hootsuite? Hootsuite Features, Pricing, Pros and Cons

Updated: 4 days ago


Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows users to schedule, create content, view social analytics, and perform social listening all in one place. So rather than creating or using and switching from multiple platforms, and tools, Hootsuite offers an all-in-one platform for social media marketing and management.


Hootsuite was created by Ryan Holmes in 2008.

The IbiFoundry Hootsuite Review: What is Hootsuite? Hootsuite Features, Pricing, Pros and Cons

This social media management tool is one of the first social media management and scheduling tools. Hootsuite helps organizations, businesses, and freelancers, to organize, plan, and deliver enhanced social media tasks to their audience, their customers, or even clients.


Hootsuite is useful for managing all of your social media accounts. But that is not all.


Hootsuite offers a solution for data-driven marketing teams looking to organize their whole sales, content, marketing, and customer data in one place.


What Hootsuite does is it helps businesses save time and get real results on social media.


What social media results should I expect?


According to Hootsuite, there has been a 636% increase year in and year out in terms of ROI for users who have signed up or who use the huge platform. There has also been a 500% growth across all social media networks for Hootsuite users and a 250% increase in sourced revenue year in and year out.


This shows how effective and powerful the Hootsuite platform is. This is why it is often referred to as the number one social media management platform on the internet today. As I said, the platform has been created for the past 15 years.

Hootsuite's LinkedIn Page


Until today, Hootsuite has over 1000 employees in different cities and is still going strong on more platforms.


How many users does Hootsuite currently have?


At the moment, Hootsuite has over 200,000 users, over 4000 enterprise customers, and 15 years of experience in the game.


Hootsuite Features, Pros and Cons.

Hootsuite Features:


  1. Publish and schedule

  2. Social media analytics

  3. AI content creation

  4. Best times to post

  5. Social listening

  6. Engagement tools

  7. Inbox and messaging

  8. Employee advocacy

  9. Social advertising

Industries supported by the Hootsuite platform:


  1. Small business

  2. Financial services

  3. Government

  4. Healthcare

  5. Education

  6. Real estate

  7. Professional services

  8. Legal

  9. Agencies

  10. Nonprofit


Hootsuite Resources:

Hootsuite tutorials and how to videos


  1. Free tools

  2. Case studies

  3. Webinars

  4. Blog

  5. Tutorials and demos

  6. Social media trends

  7. Courses

  8. FAQ


Hootsuite Pricing:

Hootsuite offers three (3) pricing plans to users:


  1. Professional [$99]

  2. Team [$249]

  3. Enterprise [Custom pricing]


Features included in the Professional Plan [$99]:


  • 1 User

  • 10 Social accounts

  • Unlimited post scheduling

  • Best time to post recommendations

  • Canva integration

  • Hashtag generator

  • One inbox for all social accounts

  • Custom analytics and reports

  • Competitive benchmarking tool

  • Unlimited post boosting


Features included in the Team Plan [$249]:


Everything in the Professional Plan Plus:


  • 3 Users

  • 20 Social accounts

  • Link in bio tool

  • Suspend scheduled posts

  • Team roles and permissions

  • Assign DMs to teammates

  • One custom-branded URL

  • Automatic link tracking


Features included in the Enterprise Plan [Custom pricing]:


Everything included in the Team Plan, plus:


  • 5 users

  • 50 social accounts

  • Approval workflow and asset mgmt.

  • Content Library

  • Automated engagement tools

  • Single sign-on (SSO)

  • Unlimited ad spend

  • Free Hootsuite Academy training

  • Level up with these add-ons:

  • Advanced social listening

  • Advanced analytics

  • Advanced inbox

  • Employee advocacy


Now, let's talk about Hootsuite Education


Hootsuite Education

Hootsuite Academy

When it comes to resources, Hootsuite has;


  • Academy section,

  • The Hootsuite blog section,

  • Resource library,

  • Webinars,

  • Hootsuite FAQ,

  • App Directory,

  • Help center and,

  • Product Update center section.


Hootsuite Academy offers users the opportunity to build their skills to take the next step in their professional careers.


There are several certification courses you can join and learn for free. There are over 1 million courses delivered on the Hootsuite education platform.


We have over 500,000 learners enrolled and over 1000 universities enrolled as well.


Some of the Hootsuite Education Academy certification courses are;


  1. Hootsuite platform certification,

  2. Social media certification course,

  3. Advanced social media strategy.

Hootsuite Academy Certification Courses


Other free training includes the Hootsuite platform certification training where you get to learn how to use and advocate the Hootsuite platform.


We have a social media certification course, a social selling certification course, an advanced social media strategy, and more.


There is also an advanced social media advertising certification course which will help you showcase your ability to create great social media ad campaigns with the Hootsuite social media Advertising dashboard.


The next is the Hootsuite blog.


The Hootsuite Blog


I have been following for the past 6, or 7 years now. On the Hootsuite blogs, I've learned a lot.


Hootsuite creates a lot of really amazing content and basically as an SEO specialist for blog content creation, I believe Hootsuite has a powerful content strategy.

What The Hootsuite Blog Looks Like


If you're looking to learn digital marketing, social media marketing, social advertising, SEO, and lots more, the blog section will help you to learn all of that.


Here are the Pros of Using the Hootsuite Platform:


  1. An All-in-One Platform - Hootsuite allows users to manage multiple social media management profiles. It is also referred to as social media tools in one. Users can schedule posts, analyze social media performance, and perform social listening all in one place.

  2. Hootsuite's Time-Saving Features - Hootsuite helps users, and businesses save time by enabling social media scheduling of posts and automating various social media tasks.

  3. Detailed Social Analytics - The Hootsuite platform provides users with detailed social media analytics and data helping businesses track performance metrics, and measure social ROI, and content effectiveness.

  4. Hootsuite Supports Multiple Social Media Networks - Hootsuite supports a range of social media networks, including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, WhatsApp, and Threads (beta).

  5. Hootsuite's Flexible Pricing Plans - With three pricing tiers (Professional, Team, and Enterprise), Hootsuite offers flexible options tailored to different business sizes and needs.

  6. Hootsuite's Educational Resources - Hootsuite Academy offers certification courses and extensive resources, helping users enhance their social media skills and stay updated with industry trends.


What are Some Cons/Disadvantages of Hootsuite


  1. High Cost - Compared to other social media management tools, Hootsuite’s pricing can be prohibitive for small businesses and freelancers, with the Professional plan starting at $99 per month, which may be out of reach for some users.

  2. Complex Interface - The platform's extensive features can be overwhelming for those unfamiliar with social media management tools (or Hootsuite).

  3. No Forever Free Plan - Hootsuite no longer offers a free plan, which might send potential users away as they might be looking for a cost-free social media management tool.

Want to try Hootsuite Out? Use my unique and secure link.


Finally, what are some frequently asked questions about the Hootsuite platform?


What are Some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Around Hootsuite?


What exactly does Hootsuite do now?


Hootsuite is simply a social media management software that allows users to manage or handle social media management tasks daily. With the Hootsuite platform, users can curate content, schedule your content, you can edit your posts, and you can also publish your social media posts.


You can also manage your teams, you can also view your analytics to be able to measure ROI all on this very one platform called Hootsuite.


Is Hootsuite free to use?


The Hootsuite free plan is no longer available and it was discontinued early last year, in 2023. So at the moment, there is no free Hootsuite plan but Hootsuite does offer a 30-day free trial. After 30 days, you are encouraged to sign up for any of the premium plans.


Does Hootsuite have a CRM?


Yes, Hootsuite has a CRM too. A CRM tool is simply a tool or software that allows users to convert prospects into contacts. In this case, you convert social prospects into business contacts. And this helps businesses to close and make more sales on social media platforms. Hootsuite is a social CRM built for businesses, entrepreneurs, and brands looking to grow on social media as their primary marketing platform.

What platforms work with Hootsuite? Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads?


Hootsuite supports all the major social media networks that we have today. We have Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, WhatsApp, and threads (beta).


There are more platforms and social media networks currently in the beta test.


How do I use Hootsuite for social media marketing?


To begin with, social media marketing is the art of promoting a business, product, service, or brand on various social media platforms.


To use Hootsuite for social media marketing, sign up by choosing a plan.


Sign in to your Hootsuite account and connect all your social media profiles.


Now, on your Hootsuite dashboard, you can create, schedule, and publish social media content at your desired time using Hootsuite. You can also view and manage all of your scheduled posts in a calendar on the Hootsuite dashboard.


You can also monitor and engage with social media leads using Hootsuite.


Who owns/created Hootsuite?


Hootsuite is a social media management platform created by Ryan Holmes in 2008.


Can I pay Hootsuite monthly?

Yes, Hootsuite offers both monthly and annual subscriptions. Depending on what you want, you can choose the monthly or the annual subscription.

Though the annual subscription saves you more, Hootsuite also offers monthly subscriptions as well.


How easy it is to use Hootsuite?


Hootsuite is easy to use and not hard to learn. The Hootsuite Academy is a free course you can use to learn about using and navigating around the Hootsuite platform and dashboard.


And at the end of this Hootsuite Academy course, users are given the Hootsuite certification.


And unlike many other social media management platforms, the Hootsuite Academy training videos are simple and easy to follow.


Does Hootsuite offer support?


Yes, Hootsuite offers one of the best customer support. You can use Hootsuite on various channels, and social media networks.


Does Hootsuite have an application for the mobile version of iPhone and Android?


Yes, Hootsuite is available on the App Store and Google Play Store.


You can download the Hootsuite platform on the App Store here or on Google Play Store.


At the moment, does Hootsuite offer a free trial?


Yes, at the moment Hootsuite offers a 30-day free trial to new users.


Are there some free alternatives to Hootsuite?


Yes, there are several free Hootsuite alternatives you can try. We have;



But my one top recommendation and favorite Hootsuite free alternative is Buffer. It offers a free plan with cheaper paid plans Hootsuite even though it offers limited features compared to Hootsuite.


If you ever need to try out other social media management tools, I'll be posting reviews. So subscribe to the blog and I'll see you in the forum.


Best,

Simon Taki Zaku,

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