Hootsuite Pro - Fine for the Price
Updated July 23, 2016

Hootsuite Pro - Fine for the Price

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Hootsuite Pro

Overall Satisfaction with Hootsuite Pro

Hootsuite Pro does a fine, but unremarkable, job if introducing social media scheduling and monitoring to organizations both large and small. The interface is relatively simple to master. As with all tools, there are some quirks and hidden features. Its analytics features are relatively basic. We augment that with other products and vendors.

Pros

  • It's great for real time monitoring and social media listening.
  • The scheduling feature works well, assuming you don't have more than 10-15 messages per day.
  • The interface is relatively simple for new users to master.

Cons

  • The analytics component is somewhat lacking and limited.
  • The auto-schedule feature is great in theory. But to be truly effective, you still need to schedule manually. I simply don't trust the tool.
  • The groups and teams feature works when handling multiple accounts. It requires a bit of setup. Block off some time to get it right.
  • The interface is only usable with 4-5 columns. More than that, and things become very cluttered.
  • The default URL shortner is ow.ly, which creates a sub-par experience. Go in and change your shortner to bit.ly.
10 - Hootsuite is used by a wide variety of people from specialists to directors all the way up to executives. The cost per seat is reasonable.
  • It's affordable, so the ROI was easy to justify.
  • There are limitations with the product, so if your budget allows it, consider investing in a more robust tool.
  • The tool is easy to roll out and users seem to like it. It does lack many enterprise calibar features.
Hootsuite Pro is a fine but cheap product. Hootsuite Enterprise has many options, but costs substantially more. It introduces workflows, automation and more robust metrics and analytics. Sprinklr is the gold standard in the industry, with the associated price tag. Spredfast and Falcon are solid are more affordable. Sprout is great for medium-sized companies looking for a new tool to step up to.
Hootsuite Pro is great for small teams. It's not well suited for the enterprise and larger organizations. The interface is easy to master. Overall, it's a fine tool for people on a limited budget. It doesn't compare well to competitors such as Sprinklr, Spredfast and Sprout. Of course, those tools cost more.

Hootsuite Feature Ratings

5.7
Boolean keyword searches
6
Filtering out noise/spam
3
Broad channel coverage
8
4.8
Content planning and scheduling
10
Audience targeting
4
Content optimization
2
Workflow management
3
3.0
Automated routing and prioritization
3
Customer interaction histories
2
Bulk actions
4
2.7
Lead generation
2
Content marketing
4
Campaigns and promotions
2
6.6
Twitter
9
Facebook
7
LinkedIn
4
Google+
7
Instagram
6
Pinterest
Not Rated
YouTube
Not Rated
6.0
Campaign success analytics
3
Real-time tracking
10
Competitor analysis
5
4.5
Role-based user permissions & privileges
3
Mobile access
6

Using Hootsuite Pro

  • It's an easy tool for social media managers. The interface is familiar, but also somewhat limited.
  • Managers and executives may also use it for social media and traditional media monitoring.
  • It's a relatively old product in this media space. They are not innovating as much as they used it. It does not lend itself well to innovation. There are several add-ons, but they are very much tacked on and not built into the interface.
  • We are discouraging use of Hootsuite as the product development roadmap is limited.
  • The tool is use to use. It's relatively easy to pick up.
  • Many users are familiar with the interface, so the learning curve is not steep.
Competitors out there -- Sprinklr, Sprefast, Falcon, Sprout, etc. -- are much more competitive in this space. They are engineered from the ground up around the final product. Hootsuite's recent additions are very much tacked on and not integrated into the core offering. The interface is easy to use, but also limiting if are sifting through mentions.

Using Hootsuite Pro

ProsCons
Technical support not required
Quick to learn
Feel confident using
Familiar
Do not like to use
Not well integrated
Inconsistent
  • Publishing and scheduling is easy in Hootsuite
  • The calendar feature works well.
  • Listening in real time performs well.
Yes - Mobile app is fine, but not overly compelling

Comments

More Reviews of Hootsuite

  1. Home
  2. Social Media Management Tools
  3. Hootsuite Reviews
  4. User Review of Hootsuite