• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

The Social Media Hat

Always On Top Of Social

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Articles
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • LinkedIn
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter
      • YouTube
    • Social Media Tools
    • Virtual Events
  • Marketing Resources
    • Newsletter
    • The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast
    • Marketing Hyperdrive Podcast
  • GET HELP
    • Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day
    • Social Media Planner
  • About
  • Search
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Digital Marketing
    • Social Media Articles
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • LinkedIn
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter
      • YouTube
    • Social Media Tools
    • Virtual Events
  • Marketing Resources
    • Newsletter
    • The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast
    • Marketing Hyperdrive Podcast
  • GET HELP
    • Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day
    • Social Media Planner
  • About
  • Search

HootSuite versus Buffer for the Heavyweight Championship

You are here: Home / Social Media Tools / HootSuite versus Buffer for the Heavyweight Championship

June 3, 2013 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 5 minutes

One question that has come up a lot recently from readers is why I use both HootSuite and Buffer. Isn’t one better than the other? I hope you won’t be too surprised to learn that there actually are good reasons for using both services, and in fact, I use the paid versions of both! While they may both fall within the category of “Social Media Management Software” I think you’ll find that there are stark differences and benefits to each.

Before we get into how I use each service, let’s compare and contrast some of the key aspects that may determine for some whether or not the service is useful. (I also discussed this briefly in the SiteSell Forums.)

Round One: Social Network Support

Buffer

Buffer supports personal Facebook profiles as well as business Facebook Pages. It also supports multiple Twitter accounts as well as personal LinkedIn profiles, LinkedIn Company Pages and LinkedIn Groups. For the one million App.net users, you can use Buffer too.

UPDATE: Buffer also now supports Google+ Pages.

UPDATE: Buffer also now supports Pinterest Boards.

HootSuite

HootSuite on the other hand has an even wider net. HootSuite supports Facebook profiles and Pages, as well as multiple Twitter accounts. It supports LinkedIn profiles and also LinkedIn Company Pages and LinkedIn Groups. HootSuite also supports Google+ Pages, but not personal profiles. Foursquare, WordPress, MySpace and Mixi can be connected as well.

Round Two: Mobile Support

Buffer

Buffer has an app that allows you to view scheduled posts, as well as past posts (posts via Buffer). When looking at past posts you also have access to metrics for each post. Additionally, the app gives you the ability to post to one or all of your connected accounts, either immediately or added to each network’s queue.

The Buffer app does not allow you to modify your schedule for each connected network and instead refers you to the website, which is not mobile optimized. Buffer does provide a bookmarklet that you can add that can be used to “bookmark” a website and add it to your Buffer. Buffer also sports tight integration with other apps like Feedly.

HootSuite

HootSuite also has an app, and similarly, there are limitations. Most striking is the reduction of social network support, as the HootSuite app currently only supports Facebook profiles and Pages, Twitter accounts, personal LinkedIn accounts and Foursquare. Connected social networks are managed within the app, and are independent of your web account.

UPDATE: The HootSuite app now syncs social networks across all devices.

The HootSuite app enables posting to all supported networks as well as monitoring of each connected network. For instance, if you have a Twitter account connected, you can view your own Sent Tweets, your Tweets that have been retweeted, your Direct Messages and your Mentions. You can also connect the main stream for each network so you can see what your connections are posting about.

The app allows you to search Twitter, and also displays Tending Topics and your recent searches.

There is a Stats tab within the app that is specifically for connected Twitter accounts. Selecting an account will show you recent tweets and you can tap one to see how many clickthroughs that tweet received and when.

A Contacts tab provides access to Twitter contacts for each connected Twitter account.

How I Use Buffer

I have connected my personal Twitter account and my company Twitter account, as well as my Facebook profile, Facebook Page and LinkedIn profile. I have different schedules set up for each network, based on the peak usage times for each. My Facebook Page, for instance, has a 2:30pm CST timeslot, whereas my personal LinkedIn profile has a schedule of 7am and 5pm each day.

What do I share? It’s a combination of my best past articles and other people’s articles that I find from time to time. Using the Buffer extension for my Chrome browser, I will regularly go through some of my past articles and add them to my queue, formatting and adjusting as needed. I often find other great articles using Scoop.it or Feedly, but I don’t want to share five articles at once, even if they’re all good, so I Buffer them and rest assured that they will be shared at appropriate times.

I also use Buffer to sprinkle in plugs for my business. It’s OK to talk about yourself and your business on social media! You are there to promote yourself, after all. You just have to make sure that most of what you’re doing is sharing information and connecting with others. So, I regularly add links to some of my landing pages, like Blog Coaching Services, and let Buffer make sure that they’re shared to my networks, yet spaced out enough so as not to be overwhelming.

It’s important to understand here that Buffer is not automating my social media activity. I am creating each post and crafting it according to each network – Buffer just ensures that the post is published at an appropriate time. This gives you the freedom to plan ahead, as well as not worry about whether or not you have something posted each day during your networks peak time of activity.

How I Use HootSuite

HootSuite on the other hand, doesn’t have the same easy to use scheduler. You can create individual posts and schedule them, but you have to specifically choose a date and time, and then that post will be posted to every network selected at that time. HootSuite does offer a bulk scheduler, but to use it you have to fight with an Excel spreadsheet, and options are limited.

What HootSuite does have that works extremely well is an Auto Scheduler. What’s different is that you can create a post, select one or more networks, and then HootSuite will automatically select the next best time to share that post. And if you choose more than one network, it selects a different time for each network so that you’re not blasting all your networks at the same time.

Generally, I have different posts and activity on each of my networks, but when I have a new blog post to share, I do share that to every network. This is where HootSuite comes in particularly useful for me. Once I have published a new article, I manually share that post to my personal Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. I do that so that I can tailor the post for each network, particularly Google+, where I encourage and receive a lot of engagement. I then use HootSuite (desktop) to share that new post to each of my branded accounts – The Social Media Hat on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter, and all of the posts are spaced out.

For me, I use my “personal brand” to connect and engage more than my “company brand” but how you use social media may be a bit different, particularly if you’re a larger business. If you’re not sure the best way to communicate your own brand and want help with social media, let me know.

I also use HootSuite on my iPhone when I am out of the office, but want to share something to multiple networks. This is typically short announcements or breaking stories.

Even more important is HootSuite’s built in reporting, which is extremely powerful. You can build custom reports that provide great insight into how your individual networks are performing, and have those reports automatically generated and emailed to you regularly. The most typical is a ow.ly click summary. Links sent through HootSuite are shrunk using the HootSuite shortened link service ow.ly, and you can then see exactly how often a specific link was clicked, no matter where or how often that link was shared.

The Decision

So for me, Buffer and HootSuite both serve different and vital roles in my online presence and activity. Buffer ensures that my shared posts are spread out and timed perfectly, while HootSuite provides easier management of my company accounts and in depth metrics. They’re both well worth the $10 a month price tag.

Both services have free packages that are understandably limited, mostly in the number of social networks that you can connect. If your business has a presence on all of the major networks as I do, you will want to invest in the upgraded packages. You can try HootSuite for free for a month here.

What questions do you have regarding either of these services? Let me know if you need help getting started, particularly with HootSuite which offers additional corporate-grade services like Teams for those who are interested. If you use a different social media management service, what is it and why?

Image courtesy of Eric Langley, Flickr.

Related

Category: Social Media ToolsTag: Buffer, Hootsuite

About Mike Allton

Mike Allton is a Content Marketing Practitioner – a title he invented to represent his holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blogging, social media, email marketing and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales. He is an award-winning Blogger, Speaker, and Author, and Head of Strategic Partnerships at Agorapulse.

Mike is a Virtual Event Consultant and has partnered with Jenn Herman, Stephanie Liu, Amanda Robinson and Eric Butow to write Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing published by Entrepreneur Press.

Free Virtual Event Webinar

10 Benefits of Virtual Events for SaaS Brands
Hosted by  Mike Allton
Most people are hesitant to try virtual events because they don’t understand all the benefits. They think it’s just a webinar or a conference call, but there’s so much more that can be done! 10 Benefits of Virtual Events for SaaS Brands is the answer to your questions. In this webinar, Mike Allton will teach you everything you need to know about virtual events. You’ll learn how to make them work for your company and get everyone on board with the idea.

Join The Community!

17 savvy marketers sign up every day to get the latest social media insights and ideas.


Previous Post: « 5 Biggest Issues Faced by First Time Entrepreneurs When Starting a Business
Next Post: Can Social Media Help During Disasters? »

Primary Sidebar

LISTEN to The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast

Virtual Event VIP Strategy Day

Meet Mike

Mike Allton is a Virtual Event Strategist, and an award-winning blogger, speaker, and author at The Social Media Hat, where he has been educating businesses and organizations on the best use of content marketing for reaching and converting target audiences. He has spearheaded dozens of live shows and virtual events, reaching tens of thousands of potential customers on behalf of represented brands.

Since 2012, Mike has excelled at helping his community understand the nuance and best practices involved in utilizing social platforms, leveraging social media management tools, and creating 10X content. He has established a reputation for being able to explain complex tools or topics in easy to understand ways, all while bringing a necessary sense of overall brand strategy and business purpose.

Featured Posts

Virtual Event Deadly Sins

7 Deadly Sins To Avoid In Your Virtual Event

November 9, 2021 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 8 minutes Avoid these sins to create a virtual event that is remarkable and cherished.

How To Replicate In-Person Event Networking for Virtual Events

February 5, 2022 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 12 minutes 8 Ways To Encourage Virtual Event Networking

Virtual Event Planning

Steal This Virtual Event Plan For A Flawless Event

May 11, 2022 //  by Mike Allton

Reading Time: 14 minutes Don’t leave your virtual event plan for the last minute. Start now!

More Like This

  • Virtual Events As Powerful Customer Discovery Tools
  • Steal This Virtual Event Plan For A Flawless Event
  • Virtual Event Strategy: How To Narrow Focus To Achieve Broader Goals

Footer

Recent Posts

  • Virtual Event Strategy: How To Rally Resources To Help You
  • Virtual Event Planner Options You Need To Consider Today
  • Virtual Event Strategy: Getting Started With Elephantine Events
  • Virtual Events As Powerful Customer Discovery Tools
  • Steal This Virtual Event Plan For A Flawless Event
  • Virtual Event Strategy: How To Narrow Focus To Achieve Broader Goals
  • Virtual Event Strategy: Your Why is Why You’re Unfocused
  • Introducing The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast by Mike Allton

Key Topics

Agorapulse Bing Blab Blogging Buffer Business Canva Content Marketing Easil Email Marketing Evernote Facebook Google+ Holidays Hootsuite Influencer Marketing Infograph Instagram Klout LinkedIn Live Video Marketing Meerkat Mobile MySpace Pinterest Podcast ROI SEO SnapChat Social Media Marketing Social Pulse Summit Strategy Tailwind Triberr Twitter Video Vine Virtual Event Virtual Event Planning Virtual Event Speakers Virtual Event Strategy Yahoo Yelp YouTube
  • Home
  • Virtual Event Strategy
  • Subscribe
  • About The Social Media Hat
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Site Footer

The Virtual Event Strategist Podcast

  • Listen on Apple
  • Listen on Spotify
  • Listen on Amazon
  • Listen on Stitcher
  • Social Media Articles
  • Digital Marketing Articles
  • Social Media Tools & Resources
  • Virtual Events Articles
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 The Social Media Hat · All Rights Reserved