Like many companies, Hootsuite knows that its social media management service isn’t going to be able to address all the needs of its users, especially those in the enterprise. The company has therefore opted to make an investment in its platform to incentivize third-party developers to build tools that extend its offering. To kick this off, the company has put $5 million into a new multi-year fund.
More than 250 apps are currently integrated with Hootsuite, a feat that the company’s senior vice president of strategy and corporate development, Matt Switzer, claims makes Hootsuite “the market leader with the largest ecosystem of any social media management platform.” While individuals can use the service to manage their presence on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, the real potential lies within businesses that need a robust service in oder to interact and share content with customers and the general public.
Developers interested in participating will have to apply for a chance at payment, and not everyone will be awarded a piece of the fund. Hootsuite said that the decision around disbursing funds will be based on customer needs and the app’s alignment with its “platform strategy.” Beneficiaries will receive support to help them go to market, along with additional opportunities to participate in co-marketing initiatives.
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“Hootsuite’s wide adoption and fast-paced growth is due in large part to the contributions of developers to our ecosystem. We’re investing in the Integration Fund to encourage them to continue to develop applications that enable our customers to connect social to marketing, analytics, and other business solutions they rely on every day,” Switzer said.
Through an updated portal, developers can access documentation, support, APIs, and SDKs to build on top of Hootsuite’s platform. There are plans to also launch channels that will keep the community informed about changes, new releases, and even a roadmap, something that has been highlighted by Slack and Twitter.
Hootsuite’s developer fund is similar to efforts undertaken by companies such as Slack, Box, Twilio, HTC, Telegram, Facebook, and Oculus.
“The fund is truly designed to fuel the innovation we have seen on our platform for the last four years and remove some of the financial barriers that the developers are facing,” Switzer explained. “It is also our commitment to the developer community.”
