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Organising Social Media: Hootsuite

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Paul Whybrow

Paul Whybrow

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As I clamber about various social media sites like a drunk gibbon, I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. Then, I saw a Twitter expert mention Hootsuite as a way of organising one's posts on different sites.

Hootsuite - Wikipedia

Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard - Hootsuite

There's a free version of it, which handles three different sites, which would suit me.

Have any of you used it?

iu
 
Eva Ulian said:
I tried once, but lost my patience... we didn't like each other. Let me know how you get on.
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Will do. I had a frustrating evening attempting to get into my dormant Instagram account. I wanted to start a separate account for my Cornish Detective, but it wouldn't let me do that either. Checking my emails, I found notification that I had logged into my Instagram account, even though I hadn't because I couldn't! Sometimes, with computers, it feels like the tail is wagging the dog.
 
Paul Whybrow said:
I had a frustrating evening attempting to get into my dormant Instagram account.
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I tried to do exactly the same thing last night too. I could access the account but I couldn't upload anything so I "temporarily disabled" it. When I feel I want to start again, I'll have another bash... But I've other things to do at the moment. All this webbing is so time consuming.
 
I use the free version of Hootsuite for Twitter and Facebook and like it. I found it a bit difficult using it with Instagram, but I don't use IG as much so it's wasn't a deal breaker. I was trying Buffer before Hootsuite and found it quite limiting. Hootsuite also felt a bit more intuitive to me than anything else I'd encountered while looking for social media management tool. But could just be me!
 
Just an opinion, but I have the feeling that social media is best suited to content marketing. From the OED:

content marketing [noun]​
a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services​

Red Bull is a good example of this. They're a soft drinks manufacturer, yet they have an entire department dedicated to producing extreme-sports videos. As for authors, there's a sci-fi writer I follow whose YouTube channel is all about the scientific mysteries of the universe. His books are only ever mentioned in passing, if at all.

georginaK said:
the whole social media promotion stuff is SO time consuming
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Certainly true, however you approach it.
 
Rich. said:
that social media is best suited to content marketing.
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Have you no soul @Rich. ? Social media was set up so that people like me and you could meet each other, chat, fight and what have you... But then some wise crack thought it would be a good idea to exploit it for advertising- though if truth is told, it is not through internet that books are sold but by word of mouth and knowing people; which is why social media if used with the heart and not the purse can be fruitful. My opinion only, of course.
 
Rich. said:
No idea. But I am a pragmatist. ;)
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Even if pragmatic people have no souls, if they create a work of art; a painting, a book, that in itself has a "soul", for a work of art by its very nature transpires meaning/feeling and that is not something you can capture and put it in a jar, just like a soul.
 
Eva Ulian said:
Even if pragmatic people have no souls, if they create a work of art; a painting, a book, that in itself has a "soul", for a work of art by its very nature transpires meaning/feeling and that is not something you can capture and put it in a jar, just like a soul.
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That is a beautiful sentiment, and I'm inclined to agree. But I thought we were talking about selling books, not the nature of art.

...without knowing it, (or perhaps some of us do), when we communicate on the net with the heart, we are in effect putting into practise content marketing
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I think that's true. It certainly is if you have something to sell. But I'm also acutely aware how unpalatable the language of business can be (in general, I loathe it).
 
I fear that I'm going to have to be sneaky in an 'It's not what you know, but who you know' way to get anywhere with social media. By that, I mean conversing with famous authors and celebrities who live in Cornwall. One of my favourite authors is Patrick Gale who lives near Land's End and who helps to organise the North Cornwall Book Festival. Much-loved comedian Dawn French lives at Fowey and is a novelist.

Along the coast at Looe reside, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan, both of whom are novelists, though they're best known for their chat show, which spawned a book club:

List of books from the Richard & Judy Book Club - Wikipedia

These people likely get unpublished writers approaching them all the time. One took a direct approach with Richard and Judy:

Struggling author bags her first book deal after leaving copy on Richard and Judy's doorstep

Considering what a recluse I've been for the last decade, it's weird to be transforming myself into an attention-seeker. Look at me, look at me, look at me! o_O
 
Although I have an IG account, it was mainly set up as research for a novel (character becomes obsessed with a similar social media site to IG), but I've been using it to micro-blog the books I've been reading and I've grown rather fond of it as a record of what I've read over the last year or two.

But Book Twitter is quite something. I'm definitely influenced in my reading habits by the titles I see mentioned/promoted online. And what's rather lovely is that, for the most part, there's a great deal of kindness and mutual support among writerly tweeters. And it proliferates beyond writers: librarians, literature teachers, bloggers, reading enthusiasts, the publishing industry etc. all get on board, and there's a definite sense of community which I'm starting to find really helpful. I've discovered loads of useful tips, sites, supporters, books, new contacts etc. via Book Twitter.

Sometimes it's not so much the content, it's about how you participate in the conversation. If you've got pertinent or entertaining things to share, people will be happy to have you on their team and with the extra visibility comes extra opportunity. So it's worth persevering.

Sorry, bit of a swerve! I think the long and short of it is that you'll get more out of social media if you do it for the fun, not just for the promotional oppportunities. The tweeters that simply spurt out book adverts are the ones I tend to ignore because they're not very interesting. The ones that share a book cover full of genuine excitement/admiration/pride etc. will tend to grab me and make me seriously consider buying or downloading them.
 
Nmlee said:
I use the free version of Hootsuite for Twitter and Facebook and like it. I found it a bit difficult using it with Instagram, but I don't use IG as much so it's wasn't a deal breaker. I was trying Buffer before Hootsuite and found it quite limiting. Hootsuite also felt a bit more intuitive to me than anything else I'd encountered while looking for social media management tool. But could just be me!
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Instagram is rather under the radar for most writers, but it’s a powerful medium. Often get 10x the response there compared to FB or Twitter.
 
AgentPete said:
Instagram is rather under the radar for most writers, but it’s a powerful medium. Often get 10x the response there compared to FB or Twitter.
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I can definitely believe this. I've a few author friends who get heaps of engagement through Instagram. I should really do more with mine. Maybe I'll make it one of my 2020 goals.
 
Eva Ulian said:
Are you on Instagram @AgentPete? Could I have your handle please. Now that I've got my account working, I'd love to connect. Also anyone else?
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I’m not. Sigh. The days are too short.

Let me just qualify the above by adding that yes, the response we get on Instagram is considerably greater than the same posts on Twiutter or FB.

However, you do have to know your audience / readership. Simply getting tons of likes etc doesn’t equate to book sales! It’s very important to understand the demographic you’re reaching, and to work out whether it/they lie within your target market, or not.
 
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