By Sasha Fritzel
As the number of social networks grows, so does the time involved in maintaining those platforms for your self-storage business. First there was Facebook. Then Twitter came around. Before you knew it, you were expected to have a presence on Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest, too.
With the rise in social media platforms came social media management systems such as HootSuite, which saves time and improves your productivity by managing all of your social networks from a single dashboard. Its designed to allow you to work from one simple interface. Here are five ways HootSuite can improve your social media efforts.
1. Manage Social Media on One Platform
The days of keeping 10 windows open with Facebook, Instagram, WordPress, LinkedIn, etc., are gone. By using HootSuite, you can navigate between all social media accounts by switching tabs on your HootSuite page. Monitoring the happenings on those pages is easier when theyre all in one place! Here are just a few examples of the possibilities:
- Facebook: Post updates, add images, monitor feeds and more. Self-storage operators can manage complex campaigns including profiles, pages, events, groups and search.
- Twitter: Send and schedule tweets; listen using search, list and keyword tracking streams; and monitor mentions, direct messages, sent tweets, favorite tweets and more in dedicated streams.
- Google+: This integration allow brands to use HootSuite's business-focused functionality for account management and to publish targeted messaging to circles. Share and comment on posts, search public posts and updates, see recent user activity, and view comments and +1s.
2. Schedule Your Posts
While Facebook offers the ability to pre-schedule posts, other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram do not. HootSuite will allow you to pre-schedule items for any social media platform for any timethis afternoon, tomorrow or even next week. This allows you to schedule your posts for an entire month in just one sitting. You can select specific days or use the AutoSchedule tool, which uses algorithms to determine the best time to post per network and schedules your post to take advantage of that timeframe. Also, if you need or want confirmation that a post has gone out, you can check the e-mail me when message is sent box, and receive a confirmation.
3. Respond to Customer FAQs
Do you ever feel like youre saying the same things to customers on social media over and over again? With HootSuite, you can save common responses, such as your answer to a customer complaint or company phone number, which saves you time and allows you to standardize common replies for customer support. You can even assign customer questions to specific employees, have them follow up and see when it gets resolved.
4. Delegate Responses to Your Social Team
HootSuite offers a delegation feature where you can divvy out mentions and interactions between all the team members on your HootSuite account. It can provide organization and simplicity for businesses managing multiple pages, and if you stick with the free plan, you dont pay a cent! It makes monitoring your social presence even easier and allows you to develop an inclusive brand strategy between accounts.
Make the most of your collaboration efforts using Message Assignments. Assign messages within and across teams to improve engagement with your audience. Plus, administrators can choose to view all assignments on the organizational or team level tabs for flexibility and control.
HootSuite is an essential tool for managing social networks by allowing teams to efficiently track conversations and measure campaign results, said Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable, which follows social media news.
5. Get Social Reports
You probably have a system for measuring your social progress, but you can save time by having HootSuite send you weekly reporting e-mails detailing click rates, 
user demographics and link clicks. View your Facebook Insights, Twitter Profile stats and much more.
Get a better overall view of your social campaigns with powerful analytics tools and customizable reports that will give you a complete and comprehensive picture of your participation in social spaces. Want to learn more? Visit Hootsuite.com for more information or to start a free 30-day trial of the software. Already using Hootsuite? Tell us about some of your favorite features.
Sasha Fritzel has been writing and creating all her life. After graduating from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas School, she decided she might as well make a living at it. She found her dream job at Go Local Interactive as a marketing coordinator and assists the team with any and all things marketing. Go Local Interactive helps businesses acquire new customers through results-based online marketing solutions. For more information, visit www.golocalinteractive.com .
