HootSuite Certified (pt. 1)

As a requirement for my social media class we were asked to complete a HootSuite certification.  If you're not familiar with HootSuite, it is a social media management systems that allows you to access all of your social media outlets from one dashboard platform.  It's a great asset for individuals or companies who use multiple social media services and want to be able to track and analyze all of the data in one place.  I personally use this to manage many social media accounts and I don't know that I could do my job nearly as efficiently without it.

The certification is made available through HootSuite University, an online service offered through HootSuite to help you get the most out of its use.  In addition to offering the certification, the University offers lecture series covering a multitude of subjects surrounding social media and using it for business.  Once you've passed the certification exam, you are then listed in a database of certified professionals where potential employers can search for you.  It's a great asset for a resume--especially if you're considering a career in social media as I am.

Normally this is a paid service, however HootSuite allowed us to use the service for free as students.  If you're not as fortunate, they're currently offering a 30-day free trial of both HootSuite Pro and HootSuite University.  It only took me a couple of hours to get through most of the University so it is certainly something that could be completed within a 30-day time frame.  You can find all of the information here.