A Twitter Tryst: 3 Reasons Why I'm Cheating on My Beloved Tweetdeck (By Using HootSuite)

* Will you forgive me?
* I was thinking of you the whole time ...
* It didn't mean anything to me ...

Okay, okay, I know these are a bunch of stereotypical cliches to comically describe the types of apologies portrayed in "cheating scenarios" in relationships.  But, I also have have a confession to make.  Please don't hate me Tweetdeck, but I've started using HootSuite!

Why I Fell in Love with TweetDeck in the First Place ...

When I first started learning Twitter (about 6 months ago), I found TweetDeck a fantastic tool for broadcasting tweets.  For a Twitter novice, it represented my user-friendly multi-purpose tool, and it made the mechanics of tweeting less daunting.  My favorite features for TweetDeck at that time included:  

* Creating an "executive dashboard" multiple-column view
* Sending retweets (RT's) and @replies and
* Shortening URLs

When I want to monitor Twitter activity on my iPhone, I go straight to my TweetDeck app.  Even on a smaller screen, the information is displayed beautifully and zipping from column-to-column is just a finger swipe away.  But 645 tweets later (as of this morning), I found myself wanting something more ...

... and the 3 Reasons Why HootSuite Has Stolen My Twitter Affections

Reason #1 You Can Easily Schedule Tweets for a Future Date or Time.For me this is huge.  I conduct my article research either early in the morning or late at night so I can include their links in my tweets.  Also, I have a demanding full-time, daytime job so sending out tweets during the workday isn't going to work.  As a result, few followers would see my tweets because I was sending them out during "non-peak" Twitter viewing times (at least for my following which is primarily US based).  With the HootSuite Scheduler, this problem is easily addressed with an easy-to-navigate, "point-and-click" and click solution:

I now rely heavily on this feature and I love it!  Now, I can schedule the tweet to be sent out either the next day or later in the day during "peak Twitter viewing hours" (i.e., 9 AM - 9:30 AM Eastern Time, Noon Eastern Time).

Quite simply, the HootSuite Scheduler increases the likelihood of a follower reading my tweet.

And how do I know that followers are reading my tweets or "engaging with my content?"  That leads us to reason #2 ...

Reason#2 You Can Track Twitter Viewer Engagement. HootSuite allows you to view clicks on your URL-shortened links in near real-time.  This capability is very important for organizations who desire to:

(1) Measure audience engagement with their content
(2) Evaluate messaging effectiveness / tweeting effectiveness or
(3) Monitor what type of Twitter content really attracts consumers

Here's the link to the HootSuite YouTube video describing its viewer statistics capabilities.  Also, here are some screen shots from my computer showing how HootSuite can help you in measuring audience engagement, your messaging effectiveness, and content popularity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reason #3 Viewing User Information is a Lot Easier (My Opinion).  Admittedly, this is subjective argument on my part.  I just like being able to easily view information about other users (especially if they've granted me the privilege of their follow).  In TweetDeck, this feature usually set up what looked like a new column (even though it really wasn't).  The HootSuite solution just appears a little cleaner and more visually pleasing (at least to me).

Please let me know what you think by leaving me a comment:

* How many of you out there have a preferred Twitter client / user interface?

* Which one do you prefer (i.e, the Twitter web interface, TweetDeck, HootSuite, others?)

* What's the favorite feature(s) of your favorite Twitter Tool?

* Are their other Twitter Tools you can share with us that I need to learn?

Many thanks and I hope to hear from you in your comments! 

Comments

[Chuck Franks]

Tony,
I have a friend who suggested Hootsuite to me about 6 months ago. I tried it but at the time found Tweetdeck to be much easier for the novice to use. Now that I've pretty much started over and dumped a lot of followers who I don't ever even remember being in contact with I still am using tweetdeck. I promote it and suggest it to everyone I come in contact with. I consider myself a pretty loyal guy.

But after reading your post I am now going to give Hootsuite another try. You point out some very interesting and strategic differences and at this point in my own learning and developing I'm ready to move on and be more strategic in my use of Twitter. You did an awesome job of blogging about the differences.
Thanks
Chuck Franks

[Tony Faustino]

Chuck, I really appreciate you stopping by and providing your feedback - thank you!

I still love TweetDeck not only because of its ease-of-use but I really love it's dashboard quality. When you need to focus specifically on monitoring or listening, I think TweetDeck really shines in this function because you can see so much information.

Hmmm, you've just given me an idea. Maybe, there's room here to use both HootSuite and TweetDeck in tandem. You could have both apps running simultaneously so you can listen with TweetDeck but you respond via HootSuite (particularly if you're attaching a link). This way you have the best of both worlds. I'm going to have to try this -- thanks for your comment Chuck and I'll let you know how this works ...