# The Unofficial Book on Hootsuite  ## Metadata - Author: [[Mike Allton]] - Full Title: The Unofficial Book on Hootsuite - Category: #books ## Highlights - I'll often use HootSuite shortened links even if I'm putting the links somewhere other than a social media post. ([Location 234](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=234)) - A common technique is to include an image in your blog posts and then share those posts to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. While that's a great way to share your new content, it may not be the most effective for a number of reasons. For starters, sharing a blog post to Twitter will not include an image - only the text of the title or whatever you choose to type into the tweet (unless you’ve set up Twitter Cards). And on Facebook and Google+, the images that are included may only be as thumbnails only. ([Location 340](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=340)) - If you have HootSuite Pro and have set up your social networks, you can easily share full images to Facebook and Google+, and even attach an image to your Twitter update! Here's how: ([Location 345](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=345)) - I would encourage you to find a couple of scheduled chats that are on topics that interest you, and take place at a convenient time for your schedule. ([Location 416](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=416)) - The suggested usage is something like "New Post" but you can be creative. For instance, you might include the Twitter handle of the site's author so they get a mention every time you share. ([Location 438](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=438)) - So, first and foremost, let me be clear that I am not advocating that businesses put their social media on auto pilot. Simply using this RSS feature to automatically spam content to your social networks is not genuine and will do nothing to further your business goals.   Let me repeat that: spamming posts to social media will not further business goals. ([Location 448](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=448)) - Be careful though. If all you do is share content from other sources, your followers won't need you! They can go straight to the source. ([Location 458](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=458)) - Make sure that your sources are fantastic, and make an effort to add additional value through comments and your other shares. ([Location 459](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=459)) - One of the keys to a successful social media presence is consistency. Businesses need to be consistently active on their social networks. ([Location 462](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=462)) - Be careful though. Businesses who have scheduled or automated activity must be mindful of what they have scheduled, and be aware of any circumstances that may require a change in what's scheduled. A typical example is when a business has scheduled posts going out during a local or national crisis. It's ([Location 466](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=466)) - Therefore, I think it's a good idea for businesses to regularly share their older articles. They will put those articles in front of new eyes, as well as offer businesses a way to share and introduce them that might be different than before. You can tweet a different title, or write a different commentary. ([Location 475](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=475)) - Be careful though. You don't want to share too many old posts, and you don't want to share old posts that are not longer valid or helpful. Marketers refer to content that continues to be interesting and educating as "evergreen" content. If you use the bulk scheduler within HootSuite, you can maintain a spreadsheet of your evergreen content (I’ll tell you how in a moment). Be mindful of your audience, not only what they're interested in, but what volume of posting they can tolerate. ([Location 478](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=478)) - A good rule of thumb for businesses who want to present a well-rounded and effective social media presence is to maintain an 80/20 ratio for posted content. 80% of your social media posts should be from or about other people, while just 20% should be from or about you. ([Location 486](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=486)) - First, make sure that on your key social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+), you are carefully following and connecting with people who provide valuable content and information. ([Location 490](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=490)) - As you continue to create new connections and curate great Lists and Circles of thought leaders and influencers, you can jump into this Tab and see a steady stream of fantastic updates and shared posts. Any time you see a great post, you can choose to share it right within HootSuite. ([Location 497](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=497)) - Check your streams once or twice a day to look for great content from interesting people, and share it with your followers. Add in some of your own thoughts and information where appropriate, and use HootSuite's AutoSchedule to space everything out. ([Location 506](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=506)) - The other method for finding outstanding content and news stories to share is by using the HootSuite Syndicator, a feature released by HootSuite in 2013. The Syndicator allows you to set up one or more RSS feeds from whatever websites and sources you're interested in. For instance, business advisors might subscribe to feeds from Forbes and Wall Street Journal and Business Insider. ([Location 509](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=509)) - Just like with the Social Streams, you can set up a new Tab or create one or more streams within an existing Tab. I like to have an RSS Tab with one or more streams within it to keep things organized. ([Location 513](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=513)) - You can put all your RSS feeds into a single stream, or perhaps have different streams for different topics, or even one source per stream - whatever makes the most sense to you. ([Location 514](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=514)) - Time-saving Tip: Set up a stream with an RSS feed from your own site. This makes it easy for you to re-share versions of your latest blog post to Twitter, which you'll want to do at least a couple of times. ([Location 516](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=516)) - you've previously exported your Google Reader feeds into an .xml file, or perhaps run a quick export from Feedly or whatever other RSS reader you're using, you can upload your .xml file and import all of your feeds at once. ([Location 526](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00KJTCOCE&location=526))