How to Use ClickUp as a Hootsuite Alternative

ClickUp can replace traditional social media tools by giving marketing teams one place to plan content, manage campaigns, and collaborate on every task. This how-to guide walks you through using ClickUp as a practical alternative to Hootsuite-style platforms for organizing your entire social media workflow.

The steps below are based on the features and use cases highlighted in the Hootsuite alternatives overview, adapted into a clear setup process you can follow.

1. Plan Your Social Strategy in ClickUp

Before scheduling or publishing anything, build a simple planning structure in ClickUp so your team has a single source of truth for campaigns and ideas.

1.1 Create a ClickUp Workspace for Marketing

Start by grouping all marketing efforts into one place. This makes it easy to see campaigns across channels.

1. Create or open your Marketing workspace in ClickUp.
2. Add a Space called “Social Media & Content.”
3. Within that Space, create a Folder named “Campaigns & Calendar.”

This structure keeps strategy, content production, and performance notes tied together instead of split across several disconnected tools.

1.2 Build a ClickUp List for Your Social Calendar

A dedicated List acts as your command center for social posts.

1. Inside the “Campaigns & Calendar” Folder, create a List named “Social Content Calendar.”
2. Switch the view to Calendar so you can see posts by date.
3. Add custom fields for:

• Channel (e.g., Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook)
• Content type (post, reel, story, blog promo)
• Campaign name
• Publish date and time
• Owner or assignee

This mirrors the planning aspects of traditional social tools while keeping everything inside your ClickUp account.

2. Turn Ideas into Posts with ClickUp Tasks

Every social media post, thread, or campaign asset should live as an individual task in ClickUp so your team can collaborate, comment, and track progress.

2.1 Capture Ideas Quickly in ClickUp

Use tasks to store ideas before they turn into finished posts.

1. In the “Social Content Calendar” List, click “New Task.”
2. Name the task with a clear post title, such as “Product launch teaser video.”
3. Use the Description area to draft caption concepts, hashtags, and visual ideas.
4. Add tags like #awareness or #product-launch to organize similar content.

By keeping all ideas in ClickUp, you avoid scattered documents or chat threads and reduce the risk of losing valuable concepts.

2.2 Use ClickUp Subtasks for Multi-Step Content

Complex campaigns often involve copy, design, approvals, and tracking. Break this work into subtasks.

1. Open the main task for your post.
2. Create subtasks such as:

• Draft copy
• Design graphic or video
• Internal review
• Client or stakeholder approval
• Schedule or publish

3. Assign each subtask to the right teammate with due dates.

This approach makes ClickUp a central coordination hub, eliminating long email threads or confusing status updates spread across multiple apps.

3. Build a ClickUp Content Calendar View

A strong calendar view lets you visualize upcoming posts across campaigns and channels so you never miss a deadline.

3.1 Configure Calendar View in ClickUp

Transform your List into a functional content calendar with a few settings.

1. In your “Social Content Calendar” List, click “+ View.”
2. Select “Calendar.”
3. Choose the custom field or date field you use for publish dates.
4. Group or color-code by Channel or Campaign name.

Now you can drag and drop tasks on the calendar to adjust posting dates, similar to adjusting queues in other social scheduling tools.

3.2 Create Saved Filters for ClickUp Calendars

Filters help focus on specific channels or campaigns.

1. From the Calendar view, open the filter options.
2. Filter by Channel to see only Instagram, LinkedIn, or another platform.
3. Save the view as “Instagram Calendar” or “Launch Campaign Calendar.”

Multiple saved views in ClickUp let each stakeholder focus on the feeds and projects that matter most to them.

4. Standardize Posts with ClickUp Templates

Instead of rebuilding structure every time, use templates in ClickUp to standardize tasks for repeatable social workflows.

4.1 Create a Reusable ClickUp Task Template

Design one perfect post task, then turn it into a template.

1. Open a well-organized post task with all relevant subtasks and fields.
2. Click the task menu and choose “Save as Template.”
3. Name it “Standard Social Post” or “Sponsored Campaign Post.”
4. Include checklists for QA steps such as:

• Check links and UTM parameters
• Verify brand voice and style
• Review formatting for each platform

This ensures every new post created in ClickUp follows the same quality process, helping teams scale without losing consistency.

4.2 Use ClickUp Templates for Campaigns

Big launches often repeat the same structure across channels. You can create Folder or List templates to clone entire workflows.

1. Group tasks for a complete campaign in a dedicated List.
2. Save the List as a template with all views and custom fields.
3. Next time, apply the template to launch a similar campaign in minutes.

Templates keep campaign planning in ClickUp fast and reliable, reducing setup time for recurring initiatives.

5. Collaborate and Approve Content in ClickUp

Instead of reviewing posts in chat apps or email, use built-in collaboration tools to centralize feedback.

5.1 Use ClickUp Comments for Feedback Loops

Comments allow real-time collaboration on posts and assets.

1. Open the task for a specific post.
2. Use the comment section to request changes, ask questions, or share suggestions.
3. Mention teammates with @ to notify them.
4. Attach images, drafts, or final creatives directly to the task.

This keeps the full context of each post inside ClickUp, so reviewers and creators always see the latest version.

5.2 Manage Approvals with ClickUp Statuses

Statuses show where each post is in the workflow, from draft to published.

1. Edit the List statuses to include stages such as:

• Idea
• Drafting
• In Design
• In Review
• Approved
• Published

2. Move each task through statuses as work progresses.
3. Use an automation to notify approvers when a task moves into “In Review.”

By handling approvals in ClickUp, teams avoid bottlenecks and gain a visible pipeline of upcoming posts.

6. Track Performance Notes in ClickUp

While dedicated analytics tools remain essential, using ClickUp to record performance summaries gives your team context for future content decisions.

6.1 Add Performance Fields in ClickUp

Simple fields can store outcome data for each post.

1. Create custom fields for metrics such as:

• Engagement summary
• Link clicks (approximate)
• Key takeaways

2. After campaigns run, manually log highlights or add links to analytics dashboards.

Over time, these notes turn ClickUp into a learning hub, helping you identify which topics, formats, and channels perform best.

6.2 Review Campaigns with ClickUp Views

Use different views to analyze your work across campaigns.

• List view: sort posts by performance or campaign.
• Board view: group posts by status or channel for a kanban-style board.
• Calendar view: review content density around key dates and launches.

These views give marketers the visibility usually expected from dedicated social tools, while still working entirely inside ClickUp.

7. Scale Your Workflow Beyond Social with ClickUp

Once your content calendar and approvals are stable, extend the same system to manage blogs, newsletters, or paid campaigns.

• Create additional Lists for blog production or email workflows.
• Reuse your best task templates for those channels.
• Link related tasks so one central campaign drives multiple assets.

This multi-channel approach helps teams run social, content, and operations in one platform instead of juggling several disconnected tools.

Next Steps: Optimize Your ClickUp Setup

If you want more advanced optimization, automation, and workflow design around your ClickUp setup, you can explore expert resources from partners such as Consultevo. Pairing strong processes with the features highlighted above will help you build a scalable, efficient system that can stand in for traditional social media management tools while also supporting your wider marketing operations.

By following these steps, your team can use ClickUp to plan, collaborate on, and track social media content in a single workspace, creating a powerful alternative to typical Hootsuite-style platforms and unifying your entire marketing workflow.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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