Social management system Hootsuite adds new APIs to open up its platform

Hootsuite is acting today to make its social media management platform a more complete citizen of the marketing ecosystem.

The Vancouver-based company is announcing three new open APIs that expand on previous integrations, for publishing, user management and URL management. This is “absolutely” a new phase for the company, vice president of platform Patience Yi told me, as it becomes “more of an open platform.”

Hootsuite has had an app directory that integrated with over 200 vendors, but, she noted, the integrations required the user to work inside Hootsuite.

For instance, the new publishing API, designed for content creation, content management and customer relationship management systems, allows customers to use their own CMS to create text or find images, and then to publish to Hootsuite inside the CMS.

Previously, you would need to save the text/images, exit the CMS, and find/open the text/images while you’re in Hootsuite.

The user management API is also intended for CRMs, as well as for enterprise systems that assist with granting user access to Hootsuite for new employees.

An Ow.ly API supports the shortening of website URLs, along with synching the click reports on those web links with reporting systems.

Yi noted that Hootsuite’s previous APIs had limited functionality, weren’t made public and were available on an “as-needed” basis. The new APIs, she said, help Hootsuite keep pace with competitors that are also looking to support a more open environment.

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.

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