10 ms·

Is Hootsuite worth $9.99 a month?

18 points by AznHisoka 12y ago

Does anyone here use Hootsuite for social media management? is it worth $9.99 a month? What alternatives would you recommend? Buffer? SproutSocial?

notastartup 12y ago
I really don't see why people buy Hootsuite when there's an open source self hosted version that you can use on your desktop computer.
- cabbeer 12y ago
  What's the alternative?
  - colinbartlett 12y ago
    Probably this, but just guessing: https://github.com/socioboard/socioboard https://github.com/socioboard/socioboard
    - devNoise 12y ago
      This project looks interesting, but the source code looks to be for Visual Studio. Which would limit the DIY option to windows users. They do offer a SaaS option which could run costs even higher.
      - socioboard 12y ago
        Hi, you can setup socioboard on linux using mono framework. We are porting it to mono for the linux community. Also an open source desktop version is under the works in python so it will be cross platform.
recalibrator 12y ago
I've used Hootsuite and Buffer, and Buffer is the better deal by a country mile IMO. Hootsuite is annoying with its "university" and other nonsense it tries to upsell.
samsnelling 12y ago
If you're asking the question, probably not. If social media drives a good portion of your business, and it will save you time, $120 a year could be nothing to your bottom line. In my trial and error, I like Buffer the most. SproutSocial 2nd. I haven't tried HootSuite, but recently read they raised an additional $35M in funding bringing their total funding to over $225M at a valuation of $800M - mind-blowing. My favorite Twitter tool currently is TweetAdder.
hollaur 12y ago
Hootsuite sucks. It's clunky, and the UI is horrible. Buffer writes great blog posts, but I just don't see the value in its service. HubSpot, if you can afford it, is what I enjoy using the most to post to social media because of its Social Inbox. For Pinterest and Instagram, Piquora looks promising and so does Postris. Read/skim these articles: -https://blog.kissmetrics.com/automate-pinterest-marketing/ https://blog.kissmetrics.com/automate-pinterest-marketing/ -http://www.inboundio.com/blog/ultimate-list-23-marketing-tools-software-plugins-pinterest/ http://www.inboundio.com/blog/ultimate-list-23-marketing-too... Another great tool I love for social media management is sproutsocial.com.
nobullet 12y ago
Take a look at http://meople.net http://meople.net. It might not be a business oriented solution but supports several social networks viewer and multipost (where the post is allowed).
- funkyy 12y ago
  Hard to trust company that didn't changed their C dates in footer...
  - nobullet 12y ago
    Will be fixed soon, sorry for that.
fookyong 12y ago
Gonna throw http://beatrixapp.com http://beatrixapp.com into the ring :) * better UI than Hootsuite and it helps suggest more types of content such as images, texts etc. But if you don't think Hootsuite is worth $10 a month, then you probably won't think Beatrix is worth $20 a month. I think the target market for these tools is more like people who need to use them for their jobs. Where $20 to $100 a month doesn't matter as long as it's creating concrete value. Selling directly to small businesses is a harder sell, I think. The ROI from social media is not as immediate as say, something like advertising or an email newsletter - so it's more difficult to demonstrate value in a short time (e.g. a free trial period). *disclosure: I'm the founder!
dhawalhs 12y ago
Not sure about Hootsuite, but I really like Buffer. I spend an hour every Sunday night scheduling shares for the next week. It works out well for my use case.
ernestipark 12y ago
When you ask if something "is worth" it, it really depends on your business and what kind of value you expect to gain from it. Unless you're talking about personal use, it's hard to believe any service is not worth at least $9.99 to a business unless it's providing negative value. What do you actually hope to gain from using Hootsuite and how do you want it to help your business? I'm a developer for HubSpot's Social Inbox and I think our tool is fantastic in helping you schedule/publish content, monitor social media activity relevant to your business, and interact with people interested in your company. If you're searching for other marketing tools as well, I'd suggest taking a look at HubSpot, especially since it integrates well with the rest of HubSpot's products.
- AznHisoka 12y ago
  From a content marketing perspective, I'm looking to monitor what ppl are saying in social media about certain keywords/trends across Twitter and Facebook. Not so much interested in the scheduling and publishing component. How can Hubspot help me in creating timely, relevant content?
johns 12y ago
Another option not yet mentioned: https://respond.ly/ https://respond.ly/ Especially good for doing support via twitter.
lenny_pistorio 12y ago
Not sure what your looking for exactly but we just launched a tool (still in Beta) that will help you select the right terms before you tweet. Check it out and let us know what you think. www.12perks.com
deedubkay 12y ago
Hi AznHisoka, Thanks for thinking about using Hootsuite. We think our Pro service is worth the price. There's a free version as well. It comes down to what your business goals are and whether you believe social media can help you accomplish these goals. There's lots of great discussion here already. To be honest, this is amazing feedback for us here at Hootsuite as our goal is to provide a tool to securely manage your social communication. Here's an article on Social Media Today about the benefits of social media monitoring, and how Hootsuite helps people do so: http://ow.ly/Bg3E2 http://ow.ly/Bg3E2. If you have any questions or would like us to help get you set up with a Hootsuite account so you can try it out, reach out to us at @HootClub. - David from Hootsuite
sittingoverhere 12y ago
It depends on what you want to do with it. I use it and I reckon its worth $10 a month because I can post to and monitor all my social media channels at the same time.
biancajsmith 12y ago
I've used all three for clients and my own profiles and prefer Hootsuite Pro. I currently manage five different sets of profiles, so it can get messy easily. Sprout Social has beautiful analytics, but with a hack I can get the same for only a quarter of the price. I also work better with multiple columns so Hootsuite wins me over there. With more than a couple of profiles, it's too hard working out what came from which profile in Sprout. I was using Buffer free to post content, but Hootlet is built into Hootsuite and gives me Ow.ly URLs for tracking, so I found myself not using Buffer as much then not at all. Probably the biggest clincher for me with Hootsuite Pro is the price and extra user. I have a client also managing their profiles, so I set them up with my extra user. At $10 a month it's amazing value. Two users on Sprout Social is at least $80.
majose 12y ago
Worth every dollar spent, Hootsuite is a very powerful tool, facilitates work in social media, easy to handle, with many options to take full advantage the dashboard, 70 free apps that give us very many utilities which other tools can not give us, and of course i love the Hootsuite help support. And all that for only $9.99?!
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
AndryantoS 12y ago
Yeah!, its worth if you are Social junkie! :) Hootsuite is one of the greatest tools that helps you to manage your social accounts into one account and easy to use!
ChrisJG 12y ago
I use Hootsuite to manage multiple accounts across different platforms. It saves me time, allows me to keep an eye on keywords (that I can geo target if need be) and share clients content. Easily for me the best £10 a month; what's that 33 pence a day?
bonniezink 12y ago
Hootsuite saves time and makes it easy to manage various profiles across a number of different platforms. Hootsuite's added bonus is its stellar customer service. Got a question? Experiencing technical glitches? Hootsuite's professional and courteous staff are always ready to deliver what you need with a smile. Yes, Hootsuite is definitely worth the cost of admission.
mamscluis 12y ago
I use it everyday and my results have been great. I use it for so much more than writing and scheduling posts. It's the best social listening tool out there and it provides great social media reports. $9.99? I think it's worth a lot more.
enricogi 12y ago
I manage multiple Social Media Accounts. Hootsuite saves me time and effort. With Hootsuite I can listen for keywords and with Smart Queries I can easily analyze conversations about my brand, my competitors, doing sentiment analysis on the fly and also geo targeted analysis if required. With Team Functions I can coordinate a social media team in sharing content and answering to prospects. With analysis functions I can monitor KPI and have a clear comprehension of the effects of my communication strategies. Yes, it is really worth 10$ a month
patanbcn 12y ago
Of course that you have a lot Hootsuite alternatives. But not any as Hootsuite. Really do you know how work with the dashboard¿? Perhaps in Hootsuite University you would learn more about it
christiandperez 12y ago
It is known that Hootsuite allows update, schedule and monitor our activities through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Foursquare from one single platform. With the latest dashboard update of Hootsuite it's easier than ever to create publications for these social networks with the renovated profile selector. Not only is it possible to select which social network we want to send, it can be marked as favorites or set them to appear selected by default each time draft a message. Easy to manage, easy to get reports... easy at all!!! Wouldn't you want to pay a small price to make your work easier and fast?
valerialandivar 12y ago
Yes I do, I use the Pro version since 2011 and I love it!
- sergio_sosa 12y ago
  I use the Hootsuite Pro Version since 2013 and I find it very useful.
sergio_sosa 12y ago
I use the Hootsuite Pro Version since 2013 and I find it very useful.
Lue 12y ago
I been using HootSuite for nearly 4 years and most if not all of the success I had and keep having with social media is thanks to the many useful tools HootSuite provides. For $9.99 a month is more than worth it BUT you need to take your time to master the platform if not you will not get proper results. Also is very important that you prepare a social media marketing strategy so you know exactly where you want to go. No matter what your social media goals are HootSuite will have the tools you will need to make it happen. So give it a try and if you have any questions HootSuite customer support is awesome. Also the HootSuite forums are great to ask because the HootSuite community Ambassadors are always happy to help.
Ungvall 12y ago
I've been using Hootsuite for several years, and find it crucial to the day-to-day Social Media workflow. There's just no comparable tools on the market. And add the Hootlet to really streamline your work and you have everything you need. / Toby
AdelDM 12y ago
I've been using Hootsuite for about two years now and I loved it so much that I decided to do the Hootsuite university course and get certified too. With Hootsuite there are so much more to it than just scheduling posts and getting analytics - you can track keywords, URL's, see tweets in your area, see tweets or conversations in any area actually. You can integrate different apps into Hootsuite like youtube, instagram, tumblr etc so you can literally manage EVERYTHING from ONE dashboard. Is it worth $10 per month? Absolutely! P.s - complete the Hootsuite university course to learn about everything you can do with this great social media tool :)
mvp 12y ago
Many comments here are from accounts created after the link was posted!! I hope HN does some highlighting of such comments, so it's easy to ignore them.
- sergiotapia 12y ago
  That's pretty disgusting and so easy to verify. Such a shame. I use this Chrome extension, and new accounts have a -green- name: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news-enhancement-s/bappiabcodbpphnojdiaddhnilfnjmpm https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news-enhanc...
  - mvp 12y ago
    Thanks sergiotapia. It is good.
  - rahimnathwani 12y ago
    I'm not sure you need an extension for that. I'm reading this on Safari/iOS (which has no plugins) and those usernames show up in green for me too.
    - mvp 12y ago
      That seems to be the case on Chrome/Android as well.
- narrowrail 12y ago
  Apparently, the hootsuite mkt and help support team have been directed here for astroturfing. This whole thread should be deleted and accounts shadow banned that only have comments here. This is why we can't have nice things.

18 points by AznHisoka 12y ago

Does anyone here use Hootsuite for social media management? is it worth $9.99 a month? What alternatives would you recommend? Buffer? SproutSocial?

notastartup 12y ago

I really don't see why people buy Hootsuite when there's an open source self hosted version that you can use on your desktop computer.

cabbeer 12y ago
What's the alternative?
- colinbartlett 12y ago
  Probably this, but just guessing: https://github.com/socioboard/socioboard https://github.com/socioboard/socioboard
  - devNoise 12y ago
    This project looks interesting, but the source code looks to be for Visual Studio. Which would limit the DIY option to windows users. They do offer a SaaS option which could run costs even higher.
    - socioboard 12y ago
      Hi, you can setup socioboard on linux using mono framework. We are porting it to mono for the linux community. Also an open source desktop version is under the works in python so it will be cross platform.

recalibrator 12y ago

I've used Hootsuite and Buffer, and Buffer is the better deal by a country mile IMO. Hootsuite is annoying with its "university" and other nonsense it tries to upsell.

samsnelling 12y ago

If you're asking the question, probably not. If social media drives a good portion of your business, and it will save you time, $120 a year could be nothing to your bottom line. In my trial and error, I like Buffer the most. SproutSocial 2nd. I haven't tried HootSuite, but recently read they raised an additional $35M in funding bringing their total funding to over $225M at a valuation of $800M - mind-blowing. My favorite Twitter tool currently is TweetAdder.

hollaur 12y ago

Hootsuite sucks. It's clunky, and the UI is horrible. Buffer writes great blog posts, but I just don't see the value in its service. HubSpot, if you can afford it, is what I enjoy using the most to post to social media because of its Social Inbox. For Pinterest and Instagram, Piquora looks promising and so does Postris. Read/skim these articles: -https://blog.kissmetrics.com/automate-pinterest-marketing/ https://blog.kissmetrics.com/automate-pinterest-marketing/ -http://www.inboundio.com/blog/ultimate-list-23-marketing-tools-software-plugins-pinterest/ http://www.inboundio.com/blog/ultimate-list-23-marketing-too... Another great tool I love for social media management is sproutsocial.com.

nobullet 12y ago

Take a look at http://meople.net http://meople.net. It might not be a business oriented solution but supports several social networks viewer and multipost (where the post is allowed).

funkyy 12y ago
Hard to trust company that didn't changed their C dates in footer...
- nobullet 12y ago
  Will be fixed soon, sorry for that.

fookyong 12y ago

Gonna throw http://beatrixapp.com http://beatrixapp.com into the ring :) * better UI than Hootsuite and it helps suggest more types of content such as images, texts etc. But if you don't think Hootsuite is worth $10 a month, then you probably won't think Beatrix is worth $20 a month. I think the target market for these tools is more like people who need to use them for their jobs. Where $20 to $100 a month doesn't matter as long as it's creating concrete value. Selling directly to small businesses is a harder sell, I think. The ROI from social media is not as immediate as say, something like advertising or an email newsletter - so it's more difficult to demonstrate value in a short time (e.g. a free trial period). *disclosure: I'm the founder!

dhawalhs 12y ago

Not sure about Hootsuite, but I really like Buffer. I spend an hour every Sunday night scheduling shares for the next week. It works out well for my use case.

ernestipark 12y ago

When you ask if something "is worth" it, it really depends on your business and what kind of value you expect to gain from it. Unless you're talking about personal use, it's hard to believe any service is not worth at least $9.99 to a business unless it's providing negative value. What do you actually hope to gain from using Hootsuite and how do you want it to help your business? I'm a developer for HubSpot's Social Inbox and I think our tool is fantastic in helping you schedule/publish content, monitor social media activity relevant to your business, and interact with people interested in your company. If you're searching for other marketing tools as well, I'd suggest taking a look at HubSpot, especially since it integrates well with the rest of HubSpot's products.

AznHisoka 12y ago
From a content marketing perspective, I'm looking to monitor what ppl are saying in social media about certain keywords/trends across Twitter and Facebook. Not so much interested in the scheduling and publishing component. How can Hubspot help me in creating timely, relevant content?

johns 12y ago

Another option not yet mentioned: https://respond.ly/ https://respond.ly/ Especially good for doing support via twitter.

lenny_pistorio 12y ago

Not sure what your looking for exactly but we just launched a tool (still in Beta) that will help you select the right terms before you tweet. Check it out and let us know what you think. www.12perks.com

deedubkay 12y ago

Hi AznHisoka, Thanks for thinking about using Hootsuite. We think our Pro service is worth the price. There's a free version as well. It comes down to what your business goals are and whether you believe social media can help you accomplish these goals. There's lots of great discussion here already. To be honest, this is amazing feedback for us here at Hootsuite as our goal is to provide a tool to securely manage your social communication. Here's an article on Social Media Today about the benefits of social media monitoring, and how Hootsuite helps people do so: http://ow.ly/Bg3E2 http://ow.ly/Bg3E2. If you have any questions or would like us to help get you set up with a Hootsuite account so you can try it out, reach out to us at @HootClub. - David from Hootsuite

sittingoverhere 12y ago

It depends on what you want to do with it. I use it and I reckon its worth $10 a month because I can post to and monitor all my social media channels at the same time.

biancajsmith 12y ago

I've used all three for clients and my own profiles and prefer Hootsuite Pro. I currently manage five different sets of profiles, so it can get messy easily. Sprout Social has beautiful analytics, but with a hack I can get the same for only a quarter of the price. I also work better with multiple columns so Hootsuite wins me over there. With more than a couple of profiles, it's too hard working out what came from which profile in Sprout. I was using Buffer free to post content, but Hootlet is built into Hootsuite and gives me Ow.ly URLs for tracking, so I found myself not using Buffer as much then not at all. Probably the biggest clincher for me with Hootsuite Pro is the price and extra user. I have a client also managing their profiles, so I set them up with my extra user. At $10 a month it's amazing value. Two users on Sprout Social is at least $80.

majose 12y ago

Worth every dollar spent, Hootsuite is a very powerful tool, facilitates work in social media, easy to handle, with many options to take full advantage the dashboard, 70 free apps that give us very many utilities which other tools can not give us, and of course i love the Hootsuite help support. And all that for only $9.99?!

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

AndryantoS 12y ago

Yeah!, its worth if you are Social junkie! :) Hootsuite is one of the greatest tools that helps you to manage your social accounts into one account and easy to use!

ChrisJG 12y ago

I use Hootsuite to manage multiple accounts across different platforms. It saves me time, allows me to keep an eye on keywords (that I can geo target if need be) and share clients content. Easily for me the best £10 a month; what's that 33 pence a day?

bonniezink 12y ago

Hootsuite saves time and makes it easy to manage various profiles across a number of different platforms. Hootsuite's added bonus is its stellar customer service. Got a question? Experiencing technical glitches? Hootsuite's professional and courteous staff are always ready to deliver what you need with a smile. Yes, Hootsuite is definitely worth the cost of admission.

mamscluis 12y ago

I use it everyday and my results have been great. I use it for so much more than writing and scheduling posts. It's the best social listening tool out there and it provides great social media reports. $9.99? I think it's worth a lot more.

enricogi 12y ago

I manage multiple Social Media Accounts. Hootsuite saves me time and effort. With Hootsuite I can listen for keywords and with Smart Queries I can easily analyze conversations about my brand, my competitors, doing sentiment analysis on the fly and also geo targeted analysis if required. With Team Functions I can coordinate a social media team in sharing content and answering to prospects. With analysis functions I can monitor KPI and have a clear comprehension of the effects of my communication strategies. Yes, it is really worth 10$ a month

patanbcn 12y ago

Of course that you have a lot Hootsuite alternatives. But not any as Hootsuite. Really do you know how work with the dashboard¿? Perhaps in Hootsuite University you would learn more about it

christiandperez 12y ago

It is known that Hootsuite allows update, schedule and monitor our activities through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Foursquare from one single platform. With the latest dashboard update of Hootsuite it's easier than ever to create publications for these social networks with the renovated profile selector. Not only is it possible to select which social network we want to send, it can be marked as favorites or set them to appear selected by default each time draft a message. Easy to manage, easy to get reports... easy at all!!! Wouldn't you want to pay a small price to make your work easier and fast?

valerialandivar 12y ago

Yes I do, I use the Pro version since 2011 and I love it!

sergio_sosa 12y ago
I use the Hootsuite Pro Version since 2013 and I find it very useful.

sergio_sosa 12y ago

I use the Hootsuite Pro Version since 2013 and I find it very useful.

Lue 12y ago

I been using HootSuite for nearly 4 years and most if not all of the success I had and keep having with social media is thanks to the many useful tools HootSuite provides. For $9.99 a month is more than worth it BUT you need to take your time to master the platform if not you will not get proper results. Also is very important that you prepare a social media marketing strategy so you know exactly where you want to go. No matter what your social media goals are HootSuite will have the tools you will need to make it happen. So give it a try and if you have any questions HootSuite customer support is awesome. Also the HootSuite forums are great to ask because the HootSuite community Ambassadors are always happy to help.

Ungvall 12y ago

I've been using Hootsuite for several years, and find it crucial to the day-to-day Social Media workflow. There's just no comparable tools on the market. And add the Hootlet to really streamline your work and you have everything you need. / Toby

AdelDM 12y ago

I've been using Hootsuite for about two years now and I loved it so much that I decided to do the Hootsuite university course and get certified too. With Hootsuite there are so much more to it than just scheduling posts and getting analytics - you can track keywords, URL's, see tweets in your area, see tweets or conversations in any area actually. You can integrate different apps into Hootsuite like youtube, instagram, tumblr etc so you can literally manage EVERYTHING from ONE dashboard. Is it worth $10 per month? Absolutely! P.s - complete the Hootsuite university course to learn about everything you can do with this great social media tool :)

mvp 12y ago

Many comments here are from accounts created after the link was posted!! I hope HN does some highlighting of such comments, so it's easy to ignore them.

sergiotapia 12y ago
That's pretty disgusting and so easy to verify. Such a shame. I use this Chrome extension, and new accounts have a -green- name: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news-enhancement-s/bappiabcodbpphnojdiaddhnilfnjmpm https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news-enhanc...
- mvp 12y ago
  Thanks sergiotapia. It is good.
- rahimnathwani 12y ago
  I'm not sure you need an extension for that. I'm reading this on Safari/iOS (which has no plugins) and those usernames show up in green for me too.
  - mvp 12y ago
    That seems to be the case on Chrome/Android as well.
narrowrail 12y ago
Apparently, the hootsuite mkt and help support team have been directed here for astroturfing. This whole thread should be deleted and accounts shadow banned that only have comments here. This is why we can't have nice things.