Automating Social Media – My experience

When I began working as a Social Media Coordinator just a little over six years ago, it wasn’t long before I gave Hootsuite a go. I found it easy enough to schedule posts on multiple social media platforms and with the mobile app, my work was simplified. The tool saves a lot of time and energy for those requiring to schedule posts to appear on social media platforms on a future time and date.

Over the years Hootsuite has grown a short space of time to become one of the world’s leading social media scheduling tools due to its robust features and the level of support offered.

Here are some basic instructions on how I use Hootsuite, explained in simple terms.  

First you will need a Hootsuite account,  (a paid business account) then you will need to add your social networks and once you’ve got those sorted, you’re ready to begin scheduling posts on Hootsuite.

LOG INTO THE DASHBOARD FROM A DESKTOP COMPUTER OR LAPTOP

Go to:

1. Publisher – found in your left column
2. Content – located on the top bar
3. Scheduled – found in your left column
4. Month –  located on the top right under the round avatar image placeholder

To schedule on Hootsuite (don’t use this method for Pinterest)

1. Click on the desired calendar date box
2. The new post form will open up.
3. Choose the Social network/s you wish to schedule your content to. Choose multiple sites. Note that each Social platform has it’s own word count limitations and image specification requirements. I strongly advise that you get to know what they are before scheduling posts to them.  
4. Enter the text, hashtags and your link to a site or video.
5. Upload media images or use the free images provided by Pixabay.
6. Select post time (bottom right next to schedule button)
7. Schedule your post.

Posting on Pinterest:

In the dashboard after following the Go to step above.  go to the green drop down arrow next to ‘NEW POST’ and choose Pinterest. Fill out the form and choose to post now or schedule at a later. Then submit your post using the green button.

Note: Ensure you get to know and understand the text limitations for each social platform and approved image specifications…for instance, don’t post square pictures on LinkedIn they look untidy, nor do I recommend the use of *.png images for header banners or featured blog images on your website as they are larger in volume and are best used for the creation of logo or image transparencies.

I recommend that you sign up for a Hootsuite newsletter to receive notifications of the latest news about products and changes to Hootsuite.

Important things to remember

Hootsuite social media disconnections happen due to password changes or software updates. Security Tokens have a short lifespan so they’re not connected to a site forever and may expire. Social networks also have the ability to revoke access for security reasons. 

Solution

1. Click on your avatar, top right circle
2. Choose ‘MANAGE SOCIAL NETWORKS’ from the drop-down menu
3. Click on your social media platform and reconnect. Usually there’s an exclamation mark next to the disconnected SM platform;

Note: In my experience, the exclamation mark does not always appear. Email notifications are sent when a post fails.

Access Hootsuite Support

Hootsuite Helpers are located on Twitter. They respond pretty quickly to enquiries. Click on the Envelope under their profile image to message them.

NOTE:  if you invite staff members to share Hootsuite it’s an added expense. 

STREAMS: Use Streams for social listening and respond to multiple social media platforms from the one place. Social media streams can be added and removed.

How to use HootSuite in 11 Minutes – Andrea Vicic – Hootsuite Sr. Solutions Consultant.

Sandra Ciminelli
Web Designer at ACT Websites