Item: Hootsuite
Rating: 10
Author: Jaime Hunt, MS IMC

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have implemented Hootsuite Enterprise in four departments at Radford University: the Office of Web Strategy and Interactive Media, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Career Center and the Office of Alumni Relations. Hootsuite Enterprise has revolutionized how we manage social media. We are able to see at a glance all of our key social media accounts, post easily across them, view the content calendar across all the areas within Hootsuite, assign inquires to the appropriate users, and get robust and useful reports that aid us in analyzing our strategies and tweak them as needed.

Pros and Cons

The ability to create customized dashboards allows us to get a high-level view of how everything is going -- all in one place.
The reporting capabilities allow us to see what is working and what is not so we can tweak our strategy.
The ability to manage permissions across a broad team is awesome!

Currently, university LinkedIn accounts cannot be linked through Hootsuite, so we still have to log in separately to manage that account.
I wish we could customize the look and feel of the dashboard a bit.

Users and Roles

10 - Web strategy
Undergraduate admissions
Career services
Alumni relations

Return on Investment

Increased employee efficiency
Better customer service
Improved strategy

Alternatives Considered

Sprout Social,Vocus PR Suite

Sprout Social and Vocus were very similar, but we felt that Hootsuite was more robust. The implementation services definitely were a selling point.

Likelihood to Renew

10

Hootsuite has absolutely changed how we do business -- for the better! It is a robust tool that creates efficiency, fosters collaboration and allows us to provide a higher level of customer service. We are extremely happy with our account rep and appreciate the check-in calls to help us better use the tool.

Likelihood to Recommend

Hootsuite Enterprise is ideal if you have a team of users (5 or more) that manage multiple social media accounts. When choosing a tool like this, I would be sure to ask:

Can permissions be managed at a micro level? Can you create users who have limited permissions that allow them to view and create posts but require someone with more advanced permissions to approve the posts?
What is the implementation process? Will you need to set up the system yourself or will the vendor provide implementation services?
What is the reporting like? Can you export executive reports that are branded for your company/university?

Support Headcount Required

1 - Basic computing skills are necessary. The staff person who supports it is responsible for managing permissions, adding social channels and answering questions about how to use the tool. It is a very easy process that is not time consuming.