Advanced Twitter Techniques: Scheduling, Monitoring, and Managing with HootSuite

This is part two of our feature on using HootSuite to get more out of Twitter. Since you learned the basics of HootSuite in part one, we'll use this guide to tell you how to schedule your tweets throughout the day, manage multiple Twitter (and Facebook, and LinkedIn) accounts, and monitor keywords. Get ready to experience a whole new Twitter. HootSuite is a powerful dashboard that allows you to increase Twitter's functionality. If you want to learn how to set up your HootSuite account and navigate its basic features, we've got that how-to for you right here. Once you've got that down, you're ready to move onto HootSuite's advanced features, and really see what Twitter can do for you and your brand. Scheduling tweets One of HootSuite's most useful advanced features is its ability to let you schedule tweets in advance. You can write a tweet (or two, or twenty), and choose what day and time you want them to be tweeted. When you write a tweet, simply click the calendar icon to the right of the the URL shorterner and "add a link" buttons. A full calendar will pop up, which allows you to modify the day, time, and AM/PM. Choose when to schedule your tweet, and click "OK". You'll have to click "Schedule" again to confirm. You can check to make sure the tweet is scheduled by refreshing your "Pending Tweets" column. Scheduling tweets is one of the best ways to keep your Twitter account active without having to log on every two hours and tweet something. You can create a tweet schedule a week or two in advance, writing evergreen posts, tips, observations and thoughts in bulk and staggering them throughout each day. Just be sure you don't schedule all of your tweets - people still want you to interact with them! Managing multiple social media accounts You can add up to five social media profiles to HootSuite's basic version, and unlimited to its Pro version. If you are managing a brand's Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare account, for instance, you can update them all from HootSuite's dashboard - no more logging in to multiple sites, flipping between browser tabs, and keeping a massive list of passwords handy. It's easy to add a new social network to manage, as HootSuite allows you to sign in with one click and never requires you to enter your password after syncing the accounts. You can post the same message to multiple social networks, which makes sharing content across networks super simple. And using HootSuite's URL shortener means that you can add links, images and videos to each post across all of your networks with a single click. Monitoring keywords Another advanced HootSuite feature is the ability to monitor keywords. You can set up a keyword to follow on HootSuite by clicking "Add Stream" underneath your social network tabs. From here, you can choose to add a variety of different streams, including streams of your sent messages, your retweets, and more. However, we think keywords are one of the most valuable - and most overlooked - aspects of HootSuite's streams. Click the "Keyword" tab, and enter a word or phrase you want to monitor. You can monitor any word or phrase you like, including your brand name, personal name, competitor's name, or keywords from your niche or industry. Once entered, this keyword will appear in a new column on your HootSuite dashboard, and you can watch tweets that include that keyword stream in real-time.

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Advanced Twitter Techniques: Scheduling, Monitoring, and Managing with HootSuite

Lauren Dugan

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Lauren Dugan