Hootsuite Social Marketing study plan

Map the social media operating system: define the roles of Lumen, Perch, Nest, Parliament, and AI within the Hootsuite platform and how data flows between them.

Connect at least two social accounts (e.g., a Facebook Page and an Instagram Business profile) in a trial or sandbox environment and verify permissions.

Configure organizational settings: time zone, approval workflows, user roles, and notification preferences.

Identify the key metrics and KPIs that each module surfaces (e.g., engagement rate in Lumen, response time in Nest) and where to find them.

Set up a Lumen by Talkwalker project: define search queries, add at least three topics, and configure data sources (e.g., Twitter/X, news, blogs).

Build a dashboard in Lumen that displays mention volume, sentiment, and top influencers for your chosen brand or topic.

Interpret sentiment scores and explain how Lumen classifies mentions as positive, neutral, or negative.

Export a Lumen report and schedule a recurring email digest.

Apply Lumen filters (language, location, date range, source type) to refine a dataset and compare results before and after filtering.

Create a custom Lumen alert for a keyword and set threshold-based notifications.

Describe the AI components in Hootsuite (e.g., OwlyWriter AI, sentiment analysis, predictive analytics) and their limitations.

Draft a prompt for an AI writing assistant to generate three social posts for a product launch, then critically evaluate the output for accuracy and brand voice.

Use OwlyWriter AI (or equivalent) to generate post copy for at least two platforms and refine the output to match brand guidelines.

Schedule a week's worth of content in Perch across two or more networks, using the calendar view and queue.

Set up an approval workflow in Perch and route a post through it.

Analyze the performance of a published post using Perch analytics and identify one improvement for future posts.

Configure Nest Inbox: connect at least two message channels (e.g., Facebook Messenger, Twitter/X DMs) and set up assignment rules.

Create canned responses and saved replies for common customer inquiries.

Simulate a customer care scenario: receive a message, assign it, reply using a canned response, and tag the conversation.

Measure response time and resolution rate using Nest analytics.

Set up Parliament: invite at least two team members, create a content library with three advocacy posts, and define sharing guidelines.

Configure gamification and leaderboards in Parliament and explain how points are awarded.

Train a team member on how to share content via Parliament and track their engagement.

Review Parliament analytics to identify which content types drive the most shares and clicks.

Integrate Lumen insights with LLM tools: export Lumen data and use a language model to summarize sentiment trends and generate topic clusters.

Compare Lumen's built-in sentiment analysis with an LLM's interpretation of the same dataset and note discrepancies.

Create a listening report that combines Lumen metrics with LLM-generated narrative insights.

Present findings to a stakeholder (or record a video) explaining how listening informs strategy.

Review all domain notes and complete a self-assessment against the exam objectives.

Take a full-length practice exam (or create 30 practice questions) covering all domains and score at least 80%.

Revisit weak areas identified by the practice exam and complete targeted exercises.

Finalize a one-page cheat sheet of key terms, workflows, and metrics for each domain.