Village Gamer

HootSuite, makers of the market-leading social media management system, have announced the acquisition of Seesmic. HootSuite takes social business tools to the next level, allowing individuals and teams to analyze campaigns across multiple social networks from one secure, web-based dashboard. HootSuite’s Free, Pro, and Enterprise clients make up close to 5 million global users spanning six continents, who send over 1.5 million messages through the dashboard each day. Notable clients include 79 of the Fortune 100 companies such as McDonalds, PepsiCo, Virgin, FOX, Sony Music among others.

“We’ve always been big fans of Ryan Holmes and the HootSuite team, since the days we were all pioneering the Social Media landscape.” says Seesmic CEO, Loïc Le Meur. “We’re thrilled today to announce that Seesmic is joining HootSuite, and we’re excited for our users: they are becoming part of the HootSuite family, and they will be able to continue to build their brand and social business.”

Seesmic was founded by Loïc Le Meur in 2008, launching an app to help small business and enterprise customers build their brands using social media. Since then Seesmic has built a loyal following and played an important role in the evolution of social media tools for business.

“I have always had a lot of respect for Seesmic’s CEO, Loïc Le Meur, and the role Seesmic has played in advancing social business.” says HootSuite CEO, Ryan Holmes. “We are thrilled to welcome Seesmic’s users into the HootSuite family.”

HootSuite has a very robust offering, with a set of features tailored to small business and large enterprises, including:

• Major Social Media Integration Networks: Users can engage on multiple networks including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google + Pages, Foursquare, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, Evernote, Hubspot, Zendesk, and more.
• Team Collaboration:  HootSuite Teams provide large-scale team management and the granular level of control suited to smaller teams. It is designed to match any organizational setup, and can be scaled, empowering teams to engage effectively while maintaining control.
• Other Advanced Features: Users get access to unique functionality including Message Scheduling, Geo Targeting, Bulk Messaging, Real-Time Search, Quick & Custom Reporting, 50+ Drag-and-Drop Modules, Automated Sharing, Limited Permissions, and Secure Profiles.

HootSuite invites Seesmic’s business users to HootSuite Pro which is available on a free 30 day trial and starts at $9.99/month there after. Features include the ability to add an unlimited number of social networking profiles, access to bulk scheduling capabilities, ability to collaborate with up to 10 team members, monitor social analytic reports, and more. HootSuite Free is available for users interested in exploring the dashboard prior to upgrading to a pro account. The company also offers HootSuite University to assist users with advanced knowledge of the dashboard’s use and the social media industry.