11 Things Your Startup SHOULD Copy From HootSuite

HootSuite helps organizations use the social web to launch marketing campaigns, identify and grow audience, and distribute targeted messages across multiple channels. HootSuite is a professional Twitter client. With HootSuite, you can manage multiple Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Ping.fm profiles, pre-schedule messages, and measure your success.

As of June 2010, the service manages over one million social media accounts for 400,000 unique users. The HootSuite software has won awards from Mashable at their Open Web Awards 2009, the Canadian New Media Award, the Shorty Awards, and “Best Twitter app” from Australia’s mX newspaper.

Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes has shared Hootsuite lessons and startup tips on different platforms. These are the 11 things you SHOULD copy from Hootsuite.

1. The name HootSuite came from a crowd-sourced naming contest we initiated when we were ready to launch the dashboard as it’s own company.
2. Partnering can be a risk, but it allows you to fill your weaknesses. Get over the desire to be the lone wolf, and consider partnerships.
3. We have always used HootSuite to market HootSuite – by creating a tool we use ourselves, we’re able to build a product that is truly beneficial and continually improving for our users.
4. By developing HootSuite within Invoke, we were able to take the time to develop it properly using resources and a team that was supported by other revenue sources, relieving us of time pressure and initial set up cost.
5. Think about channels you can use to promote your business. Ryan spends a lot of time building up their followers so they can point people to campaigns and contests. They also use that account to build their other accounts (Facebook, e-mail list, etc.)
6. Products scale easily, but services don’t scale as well. Services keep cash coming in the door, but it can be more cyclical. Product companies are a little more linear.
7. We are always listening to market needs and user feedback to identify new ways we can develop the tool.
8. Our recent release of security focused tools like Secure Profiles and HTTPS is a great example of this – these were released hot off the heels of some high-profile mis-tweets by large brands, and a celebrity Twitter account hi-jacking.
9. A passion for the product you’re creating – you gotta believe in what you are doing but be ready to adapt quickly – plus a thick skin.
10. You should take investment if you need more money than you’re bringing in before you hit a critical mass growth point.
11. Hootsuite was born out of filling a need in the daily lives of the Invoke staff. Talk to your friends, family and customers – find out what their need is and fill it.