Hootsuite Knows Social Media So Well
“Importantly, companies are using social media to do things that go way beyond just chatting up existing customers on Facebook. Sales departments use social to nurture leads and close sales. HR posts job openings and vets applicants. Community and support squads mine networks, blogs, and forums with deep listening tools.” In this quote, Ryan Holmes, founder and CEO of Hootsuite, explains the vital role social media plays in marketing today and why it is important to understand its uses and benefits for business and your company.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Hootsuite defines Social Media Marketing as "the use of social media by marketers to increase brand awareness, identify key audiences, generate leads, and build meaningful relationships with customers." Social media can also support customer service and give potential employees insight into a company's culture. Build and maintain a social media presence that reflects the company's values and supports business goals and objectives.
Depending on your business and the platforms where your customers spend most of their time, you will need to set up the right pages and accounts to interact with them. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Blogging lend themselves to a combination of text, images, and video, while Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube are more visual.
The Certification Process
Hootsuite has six free courses on Hootsuite Academy to help you learn about social media marketing and prepare for the exam. The videos are split into two categories: beginner and intermediate levels. Two courses are beginner-level: Introduction to Social Media Marketing and Optimizing Your Social Media Profiles. The remaining four courses are intermediate-level: Social Media Strategy from A to Z, Grow Your Online Community, Content Marketing Fundamentals, and Social Advertising Fundamentals.
Each course is divided into sections, most of which include detailed examples and quizzes to support learning and exam prep. Downloadable PDF study guides are also provided for each course. The videos are about 3 hours long, or about 30 minutes per course. The certification focuses primarily on strategy, content marketing, and social advertising fundamentals for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.
The Exam
The exam has 60 multiple-choice questions and must be completed in 60 minutes. 80% is the passing score. The certification never expires once you pass. If you fail, you do not need to pay to retake the exam.
The certification costs $199 and includes a year of access to Hootsuite's Certified Professionals Directory, which makes it easier for clients and employers to discover you. You also get access to updated courses and exams, plus discounts on future certifications.
Hootsuite recently reshuffled its certification suite, renaming it from Hootsuite Podium to Hootsuite Academy. With the change came easier access to the Hootsuite Social Media Management certification for $99. I will discuss that process in a future post.
Developed in partnership with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Hootsuite also offers an Advanced Social Media Strategy Certification for Marketing Strategists, Social Media Managers, Brand and Agency Ambassadors, and anyone else looking to build advanced knowledge in the field. The course costs $2200 or $194 per month for about 11 months.
To learn more about the Hootsuite Social Media Marketing certification process and/or take the exam, click here
Thanks for reading!
