By Kevin M
Using a tool to control the flow on the social media
One of the things that can make the social media seem a bit intimidating is the constant flow of messages. How do you get a handle on a flood tide of information, and channel it into a more limited form that will be of practical use? Or more specifically, how do you separate the relevant from the clutter? Doing it manually is beyond comprehension, but fortunately, we’re not without options.
To streamline Twitter or any other social media, there are applications that will simplify the process by separating and organizing incoming messages, as well as enable you to categorize your own messages. And best of all, you can get them for free.
A social media tool can make networking much easier. Hootsuite and TweetDeck are two of the most popular. I have both and use each at different times.
What I’ll describe here will pertain mostly to Twitter, since I’ve chosen to concentrate my efforts on one social media at a time. Both tools can work with multiple social media, including Facebook.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite neatly categorizes your messages by type. Columns include Home Feed (all messages), Mentions (when someone else mentions you in a message), Direct Messages In, Direct Messages Out, Sent Tweets, Pending Tweets (enabling the scheduling of messages ahead of time) and other columns as needed.
Because each category is assigned to a certain, specific column, there’s no guess work as to where a message might be, all you need to do is scroll down a column to search. You can add or delete any column you like.
The Mentions and Pending Tweets columns are especially important. Mentions enables you to see when anyone on Twitter is referencing you so not only can you monitor the network conversations that mention you, but you can also respond.
Pending Tweets allows you to schedule your messages hours or days in advance. This gives you the ability to space your messages over the course of the day keeping you active on the media even though you’re not sitting at your computer typing. You can schedule tweets freeing you to just check in every few hours to see what’s going on.
The Hootsuite application is completely free, and extremely user friendly.
TweetDeck
TweetDeck performs the same functions as Hootsuite, but does so with a different look and feel. It’s also free and very user friendly.
One of the features that can be most attractive to the user on TweetDeck is the fact that it combines both mentions by others, and sent tweets by the user, into one column. That creates a conversational column in which open exchanges with others display in sequential order. It does the same with direct messages. This arrangement means you can get by with two fewer columns than with Hootsuite.
TweetDeck also highlights select messages with a box that opens in the upper right hand corner of your screen at regular intervals. One or more of your messages could appear in the same way on the screens of other TweetDeck users, giving you added exposure.
One of the reasons I use both tools is that I have noticed that each will pick up messages that the other might miss and one thing you want to be aware of is mentions by others. Responding to those mentions is a critical aspect of the social networking experience and the best way to develop mutually beneficial friendships.
My preference: Hootsuite
Both Hootsuite and TweetDeck are effective social media tools, and which would work better in your particular situation would probably depend mostly on personal preference. But if I have to choose one over the other, Hootsuite is the winner.
I tend to like applications to be on the simpler side of the technology curve, and despite the need for more columns Hootsuite is most definitely the simpler of the two. TweetDeck often seems to have a mind of its own. It’s the more active tool, often seeming as if it wants to do some of the thinking for me.
Because it’s more complicated, TweetDeck takes longer to download. The dashboard itself is a bit on the busy side. The highlighted messages it flashes periodically throughout the day come up even when you’re on screens outside the tool. I have to admit that the flash messages are usually good ones, but it can get a bit…annoying.
But perhaps the feature that swings it most in favor of Hootsuite for me is the separation between Mentions/Sent Tweets and incoming and outgoing Direct Messages. While it might be convenient to have sent and received messages appearing in the same column, they’re listed by time, not by conversation, so the mix tends to complicate more than organize. But that’s just me.
As I said, both tools are effective at organizing your social media life, and it may come down to “favorite flavor” more than anything else. If you’re on the social media choose one or the other or a competing tool and the networks will become much more user friendly and beneficial.
Do you use Hootsuite or TweetDeck, or some other media tool? Which do you think works best and why?
Related posts on this topic:
You Are What You Tweet on Twitter
What Twitter Can Do For You
I hate HootSuite with an everloving passion. I can guarantee, if you are using it, I’m not clicking your links on Twitter. I despise ow.ly/ht.ly & their social toolbar. No matter how many times I tell it not to show, it just keeps popping up. So my solution is to no longer click on the links. It has to be a really, really good title to get me to head to my browser & type your blog in on my own. Mostly, I just skip them – plenty of other stuff to read. I found you on Stumble Upon, though, so I get to visit & leave my opinion.
TweetDeck offers everything HootSuite offers and more – integration with your choice of link shorteners, hashtag filters (for when you want to avoid those pesky Twitter parties) and customized looks & colors. Plus, you can tell it not to display the pop-up alerts, if they bother you.
Just Heather´s last [type] ..5 Awesome Tools to Make Blogging Easier
Heather – Like I said in the post, it’s largely a matter of personal preference, but I see your point. How do you stop the TweetDeck pop-ups???
Interesting – I never would have guessed that someone would be as passionate about not liking Hootsuite as some are about not liking Windows or Mac.
My preference is Hootsuite because I can access it anywhere without loading a program onto another computer (and then reconfiguring it). The integration with FaceBook and Twitter and LinkedIn and other social media is wonderful.
I also use the Hootlet a lot – this tool allows me to make a quick post from whatever page or article I am browsing. Since I put all my financial web research on my FaceBook Fan page, this makes it super easy to do.
So there you go – a different perspective. Although I really can’t imagine depriving myself of someone else’s tweets just because they use Tweetdeck (or any other system I don’t prefer). That’s like going to a theme park and not riding the rides because the janitors all wear a uniform color you don’t like. A bit weird.
John D. Buerger, CFP®´s last [type] ..Be-Have vs Behave
John – There are applications I despise too, but I won’t list them here!
A lot of times I think we just get comfortable with certain ones versus others to such a degree that we know all the nuances. That makes them even more user friendly.
BTW, I almost never use the ow.ly/ht.ly. The su.pr shortener has the advantage of drawning additional hits through Stumbleupon and often days or weeks later, so that’s my preference.
It has nothing to do with their Twitter client at all. I just won’t click ow.ly links, and I’m not the only one who has an issue with their social toolbar. First, it’s bad news from an SEO/link standpoint. Second, it’s a horrible user experience. Since ow.ly has decided I don’t get a choice in the matter, I solve it by not clicking any ht.ly/ow.ly links.
Just Heather´s last [type] ..5 Awesome Tools to Make Blogging Easier
Oh, and the pop-up setting is under Settings->Notifications. It’s a click to toggle them on and off. I have friends who love the full details. I prefer the summary pop-up, but the hubby keeps it all off. Again, it’s all about user control.
Just Heather´s last [type] ..5 Awesome Tools to Make Blogging Easier
Heather, thanks for the instructions on disabling the TweetDeck pop ups. Getting rid of it will improve the user experience a good bit. I may keep it on periodically because there is some good stuff coming from it.
Hey Kevin, I use Hootsuite and I love it. Unfortunately, it misses a lot of my @ mentions, so I use the Mention Notifier – http://software.engraph.com/managementionnotifier/default.aspx
This has saved me from looking like a total jerk and not acknowledging mentions on Twitter.
Khaleef @ KNS Financial´s last [type] ..Do You Really Need An Emergency Fund
That sounds like it’s worth checking on Khaleef. Is it an add-on to Hootsuite, or does it work independently on your computer?
Hey Kevin,
Awesome comparison. I wanted to know if you’d like to feature this post on mokabla.com – a project we’ve started to house all the best comparisons on the web under one roof! You can back-link to this original article of course. Check it out, and if you’re interested, I will send you an invite.
Cheers,
Akshay Arabolu, Founder