I'm thinking about using the social media application 'Buffer App'. What are the pros and cons of using it compared to HootSuite?

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Vikki Van Outen Profile
Vikki Van Outen answered
Buffer App vs HootSuite
Here's what I though of Buffer App when I tested it out:

Pros :)
  • Tidier layout, easy to see when things are scheduled (you can also drag and drop posts into different streams which is pretty cool)
  • You can create a schedule timetable, so that tweets go out at the same time every day (I think this can be done via the 'publisher' tab on hoot suite, but it looks messy)
  • Easy to get help. You're offered email/twitter help on a number of pages (they got back to my emails pretty quickly and were very helpful).
  • Facilitating features (like automatic shortening of links when you paste them into tweets, ability to "shuffle" tweets so the order they go out in can be randomised)
  • Can link with a number of different apps (for example I'm using the chrome extension so I can share pages straight from my browser)
  • Easy to see analytics of RTs, favourites etc...
Cons :(
  • Can't schedule individual tweets - they have to fit into the scheduled timetable (although you can save drafts and then post them real-time when you want them to go out)
  • If you want to remove a tweet/post that's already gone out, you have to log in to delete it from FB or Twitter itself
  • Can't create a stream that tracks mentions of a keyword (however, this can be down outside HootSuite with an app called Commun.it) HootSuite seems to give more comprehensive analytics data (through ow.ly), although you could probably use bit.ly (or alternative) in conjunction with BufferApp


Summary -_-
For what I need to do at the moment, I think HootSuite is still more comprehensive. I really really like BufferApp - it's simple, cool and you get great support with it - but I think there are a couple of things it's still missing that would need to be replaced by other services:

  • Analytics and click tracking on BufferApp is quite limited, so I'd need to use bit.ly in conjunction with BufferApp (can easily be done, but may complicate things).
  • The 'mention' stream facility that HootSuite offers would also need to be replaced by a separate app like commun.it
Even the paid version of BufferApp wouldn't offer me these features - although the lady from Buffer App that emailed me said they would be looking to develop these functions in the future.
thanked the writer.
Yo Kass
Yo Kass commented
***Update on this answer: In late August 2013 Buffer App introduced Google Plus integration - they've also included the ability to schedule posts too!

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