Item: Hootsuite
Rating: 10
Author: Terry Coniglio

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Hootsuite Enterprise has been our go to tool for managing social media at Georgia State University. Universities by nature are very siloed and this tool gives us the ability to effectively monitor the conversation and get it in the hands of the right departments across campus. As a result customer services has improved as well as our lead generation for admissions.

I have also been very pleased with the level of customer support and service Hootsuite provides. They are always willing to go above and beyond to help their clients solve business problems. You will also find as you start to work with Hootsuite, they are always improving and adding new services. We are very pleased with the product and the way Hootsuite has helped shape our interactions with our audience.

Pros and Cons

Social dashboard - integrates with most social services and has a robust selection of apps
Work flow - provides great work flow for social customer service
Listening - gives us the tools we need to monitor the conversation

LinkedIn University integration - This is more on LinkedIn's end of not opening the API, but it is a gap for universities.

Users and Roles

We currently have 30 accounts ranging from process focused departments like admissions and registrar to more communications/pr focused departments at the college level. It gives me a birds-eye-view of what some of these critical units at the university are doing on social and what can be pushed to the main accounts.

Return on Investment

Lead generation in admissions
Improved customer service

Alternatives Considered

We used Sysomos for a year and found the product didn't fit our needs as well as Hootsuite. Additionally we did not see Sysomos grow in that time or provide good customer service. Hootsuite has exceeded our expectations in those two areas. We have recently added UberVu to our account which will compliment the other functions of Hootsuite.

Likelihood to Renew

We have a great partnership with the product and I'm looking forward to continuing the relationship.

Likelihood to Recommend

Hootsuite Enterprise is great for customer service oriented departments. We monitor the conversation in the central public relations office and are able to feed the offices who have less time to monitor the information they need to better serve their customer.
It's also great for bulk scheduling across many platforms. Many accounts at a university are events and deadline driven. This gives them the opportunity to schedule things out well in advance.

Hootsuite Enterprise for Universities

Overall Satisfaction with Hootsuite Enterprise