Using Hootsuite to Manage Your Social Media Accounts

I've recently been using Hootsuite, a software system that enables users to post updates on several social media sites at once, including what I consider the big three: Twitter, Facebook (Profiles and Pages), and LinkedIn.

I've been trying this out as an alternative to continuing to use the "Selective Tweets" app for Facebook and LinkedIn.

One advantage with Hootsuite is that for each update I can decide which of my Facebook Pages actually gets the specific update, something I couldn't do with "Selective Tweets."

You can get the FREE Hootsuite account, which allows five "tabs" — you can have your LinkedIn profile, your Facebook Page, Twitter, your Facebook personal profile and one more site if you want.

(I'm actually using the $6 a month option because I manage more than five profiles/accounts.)

One tip: I could not set up my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts on my Hootsuite account while using my usual browser of Firefox; I had to switch to Internet Explorer.

When I was frustrated trying to set up my accounts, I tweeted to http://twitter.com/hootsuite_help and found out about this browser issue. (If you usually use Chrome or Safari, you could try those first.)

Once my Hootsuite account was set up, I could go back to using Firefox for updating through the Hootsuite software.

Check out the FREE system now — www.hootsuite.com — to make it easier to participate on social media for your brand, book, cause or business. (This is NOT an affiliate link.)

P.S. And while we're on the subject of social media tips: If you're not yet using your Twitter account on a regular basis, do NOT put your Twitter username on your LinkedIn profile. Wait to do this when you are active on Twitter.

Otherwise having people click on a link only to find you're not active on Twitter doesn't look very professional.

© 2011 Miller Mosaic, LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ZimblerMiller and Yael K. Miller can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MillerMosaicLLC

Miller Mosaic has a set of three how-to social media videos – Twitter, Facebook Page and LinkedIn – to help people set up their accounts on these sites.