We will learn various ways to post on social media platforms, using additional features and scheduling of tweets.
This recipe will equip you for using social network selection and Compose message... options.
At the top of your HootSuite dashboard, you can see the ribbon as shown in the preceding screenshot that is used for composing a message, attaching files, selecting privacy settings, and many other options, which are very useful for marketers while posting on social networks. If you click anywhere on the blank area of this ribbon, it drops down and displays options, which we'll discuss now.
Let's learn about each numbered icon from the preceding screenshot:
Use ht.ly when you want to use HootSuite's Social Bar at the top of your browser page, and use ow.ly when you want your links to appear without their Social Bar.
Anything posted via HootSuite using ht.ly will have a Social Bar, as shown in the previous screenshot, that lets you forward posts, articles, and so on via Twitter, Facebook, Digg, and several other options.
Once the file gets uploaded, it automatically creates a shortened URL of the image or file and you can add a caption or title of the file before actually posting it on your social profiles. HootSuite also allows you to hide a URL while posting it on Facebook or Google+ profiles.
By clicking on the Scheduling icon, you can open a drop-down window wherein you can select the desired date and time for your message to be posted and then click on the Schedule button. In case you are not sure about the time zone that your HootSuite dashboard is following, then go to Settings | Accounts | Time Zone to identify and/or edit it.
All scheduled messages can be seen on a single page by going to Publisher | Scheduled as shown in the following screenshot. You can filter your scheduled messages by list, day, week, and month or by social media profile. Every message can be edited or deleted from this screen in addition to changing its time of publishing or social profiles. At the bottom-left corner of the screen, you can see the current time and time zone being followed by HootSuite.
You can also export your scheduled messages in CSV or Google CSV format.
If you are unaware of the optimal time of posting a message on your social profiles, you can also autoschedule your posts. After writing a message, select a desired social profile and click on the Scheduling icon; you can toggle the AutoSchedule switch to On and then click on the AutoSchedule button. The autoscheduling feature determines the best time to share messages from your social profiles on the basis of RT, replies, favorites, and the clicks your tweets receive from your followers at certain hours. This feature programs itself to send your tweets at the best time. Though it is not possible to accurately identify the best time to tweet, the autoschedule feature is still a useful tool.
You can view all such messages from the same location as scheduled messages; however, autoscheduled messages have a clock icon before its time of posting.
These messages are similar to scheduled messages and can be edited, rescheduled, or deleted at any time. After rescheduling, the clock icon disappears as an indicator that it has been manually scheduled.
This feature is useful for businesses who want to drive customers to their shops by posting locations with their messages.
While posting on Facebook, you can either post with Public settings, that is, visible to all users, or make your post visible to a specific list created on Facebook. You can share updates with Connections only or Anyone when you are updating your LinkedIn status message. Similarly, HootSuite's privacy option for Google+ allows you to share your posts with public, specific circles, all of your circles, or extended circles. This helps you to viral your messages to the target group.
The arrowhead next to the floppy disk icon shows all your saved messages. You can click on any saved draft message and it will come up in the Compose message... box, wherein you can edit the content, select more social profiles, and post it by clicking the Send Now button. You can also delete any saved draft message by clicking the trash bin icon.
To unpin a social profile, you have to click on its icon to remove it from the profile selection bar. Then, click on the Pin icon to unpin it. All unpinned social profiles have to be manually selected before posting comments on them.
You can see only Favorites by clicking on the dropdown present at the bottom-right corner of the profile selection. Select Favorites in it. You can then click on the desired social profile to post comments on it.
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