Digital Resources: Hootsuite

This is a screenshot of my messages that are scheduled for future posts to
my social networks.

So for those of you who come to me through my Facebook and Twitter feeds, you may notice that my social media promotion of my blog is pretty on point. It is not because I am constantly logged in to my social media platforms during the day, nor is it thanks to my stellar memory for repetitive tasks. Instead of relying on my own brain to post alerts about new blog posts, I discovered Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a social media dashboard that allows me to post a single message to multiple platforms, schedule messages to post at times and dates I set, or autoschedule posts for when they are most likely to be seen by my audience (a great option for Twitter, since it's easy to get lost in users' feeds if you don't post when they're actively watching). Hootsuite also offers a paid upgrade, that provides access to analytics, allows you to post to up to 100 different social networks (the free version limits you to 3), and schedule bulk messages all at one time, as well as many other benefits.

The free package is great for teachers who use social networks to communicate with families, community members and colleagues. It is easy to use, and allows you to compose messages, shrink URLs to fit into messages, and attach images to the messages you've scheduled. You can also save drafts of messages, so if you post the same message each week you don't need to retype it each time you'd like to post it.


Where: hootsuite.com
Cost: Free (with paid upgrade)
What: Social media manager

Students! Try Hootsuite if you...

Need to manage a social network that requires regular updates
Frequently post the same message across several platforms


Teachers! Try Hootsuite if you...

Need to schedule posts to send at a later date
Frequently post the same message across several platforms

Use social media frequently for classroom or professional development purposes