Welcome to Part One in the series of “Are you wanting more than just a Social Business platform?”
This is where I look at various Social Business platforms which I use and what my thoughts are on them….
I keep being asked as to why I like to be part of a community and whether communities work within the Social Business Marketplace and the Applications that are available.
Well for me the answer is simple….
YES
Why?
Well, yes some Social Business platforms are just platforms and never pay you attention or recognise you – such as Facebook, Google or Twitter for example. Which, if it wasn’t for you, they wouldn’t exist and yet if you are in the Social Business arena, they are happy to invite you to events but they never engage or recognise you!
Despite YOU promoting and selling their services!!
Hence, whilst there are many more like the above that I use and the same happens across the majority of Social Business platforms, there are some, that make you feel welcome by engaging with you, promoting you, sending you out of the blue gifts or rewarding you financially for being active in their community.
So, this is the first in a series of blogs where I highlight Social Business platforms actually understand the power of Social Collaboration and Social Engagement.
Hootsuite – a platform that goes beyond just been a Social Business Platform
A few years ago (I think it was actually more like about 5 or 6 years or more!!) when I was entering the arena of moving from just using Social Media for “Personal Use” to embracing and incorporating it in to my “Business Toolbox” – I wanted a facility that would make things easier for myself when managing and finding information. After evaluating many platforms, the one I settled on from day one was Hootsuite.
One of the main reasons that struck back them, I was welcomed after signing-up for the free trial and asked if I wanted any help or assistance. After the trial ended, it didn’t stop, I was regularly emailed to ask if I was need any help, informed about helpful hints, videos and guides for me to use to enable making using Hootsuite easier to understand. I have to say, too many companies once you sign up, never reach out to you again unless it is to send you an invoice – this is a huge mistake when it comes to Social Engagement!
Hootsuite are in my opinion, are a “Two-Way Company” where they want to involve you and help you develop further by inviting you to take part in webinars on a regular basis. This is where they help you to learn more (or just a refresher course) on the Hootsuite platform.
All of the above was a great conception from day one of Hootsuite and has continued to the present day – but now it is even better!
Hootsuite have moved forward with the Webinars making them interactive, so you can ask questions not just though the Webinar Chatroom Facility but by raising questions via Twitter and using the relevant Webinar hashtag too! This means that not only are you able to ask the presenters questions but ask them to go back and explain something that you may have missed or didn’t understand.
To take this more educational (and again interactive), they have introduced weekly chat sessions on Twitter where they have Guest Q&A sessions with people who can offer you even more help as well as been able to interact with them.
Several years ago – I guess due to my enthusiasm of the product and that I was recommending the Hootsuite programme to so many – I was asked by Hootsuite if I would like to become a Hootsuite Ambassador which I was proud to accept.
The Hootsuite Ammbassador Community has grown substanially since I was asked and today, stand at 1,000 Ambassadors Worldwide. These Ambassadors have their owne groups and platforms where they can help one another, share features, share tips and provide assistance too in helping one another. They even Collaborate to help each other to create and promote Hootsuite Events too!
The Hootsuite Community even has it’s own account on Twitter – @HootCommunity – and coupled with the Ambassador hashtag – #HootAMB – you are able to interact drectly with the community or the Ambassadors directly. Thus, allowing you to learn, discover and ask either the Community or Ambassadors by asking them questions on Twitter.
Last year, I was fortunate to be invited to #CvHL in London where Hootsuite had chosen as the event and location to announce it’s re-brand, have guests to explain how and why they use Hootsuite to manage their business plus have some great guest speakers to explain how they see the world of social Business moving forward including NATO and Twitter.
At the event, Hootsuite were giving away gifts – which went very fast – and they were seeking guests opinions on them. With the feedback received, they decided to go one step further!
They expanded the Ambassador Programme to create further interaction, sharing, feedback and offering REWARDS !!
This then followed with the launch of the Ambassador Hub which means all this working together and helping provide feedback to Hootsuite were awarded reward points to claim rewards. These rewards were either for Ambassadors to have themselves or share/gvie to their clients.
Just before Christmas, I was fortunate to be sent – out of the blue – a small box as token of appreciation for the help that I had given Hootsuite, some notebooks, stickers, pins (or badges as we call them here in the UK) and a bandana! Whilst this may be dismissed by many, it was not asked for or requested!!
In my opinion, it just goes to show that Hootsuite care about just their customers, but the people who actually help them too.
As you can see here, the rewards which they call HootSWAG – #HootSWAG – includes items such as Pins (or badges as we call them here in the UK), Stickers, Powerchargers, Hootsuite Notebooks, Mugs and now even Owly too!!
All of which mean that Hootsuite are now enabling the Ambassadors to not only continue to promote Hootsuite but share the Rewards / #HootSWAG with people attending their events or give to their clients.
#HootSWAG rewards proved so popular that requests and ideas for future rewards came thick and fast plus members of the public and non-customers started asking too – thus the #HootSWAG Shop was born!
Through the #HootSWAG Shop (which is currently only available in Canada and the US at present), you can a wider of products (some that even Ambassadors can’t get through th Rewards Programme) including items such as
- Mugs
- Pens
- Pins (Badges)
- Hootsuite Notebooks
- Stickers
- Hoodies
- Moleskin Notebooks
- Up-cycle Lunch Bags
- T-shirts
- Laptop bags
with of course the chance for you to buy your own Owly and many more items being added all the time…..
People even started sharing photos on Facebook, Google, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, that Hootsuite are now asking people to send in #HootSWAG selfies too!!
Seems the selfie is here to stay – even within the Hootsuite Community!!
So, I hope you see, what I am mean by companies going that extra mile and that “Hootsuite – a platform that goes beyond just been a Social Business Platform” does show that Hootsuite are looking beyond their customer base, and thus enable and offer items, products, services, tutorials, events and webinars to everyone – customers or non-customers.
Can you really name many other companies that offer an all round interactive experience like?
The number of companies are small and over the next few weeks, I will again share with you other companies that are just like Hootsuite and understand the terms
Social Collaboration
and
Social Engagement
I hope that you will enjoy the next Application that I will be highlighting just as much as you did reading this….
Oh and if you are wondering what I did with the Hootsuite Bandana they sent me – Idid nothing as @SamsBellaBob claimed it and is enjoying it alongside of her collection of Bandanas….
To learn more about bringing the future into your business today and setting you on the correct path for your future, as well as understanding the forward thinking and the views & opinions of Ian Calvert, the research for other companies that he is looking into and undertaking for companies or just to learn more about Ian Calvert and how he can help you further, you can visit his website here
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