HootSuite is a web-based Twitter client and statistics tool aimed mainly at hardcore users (although regular users should find it simple enough for normal tweeting).
Today their brand new companion app, HootSuite for iPhone, just went live in the App Store ($1.99 for a limited time) and it does not disappoint: it’s very quick, it has a gorgeous UI and it includes some popular features (lists, multiple accounts, columns for different streams…) along with some exciting new functionality that will make it that much more useful for businesses and people who rely on social media for networking:
– Tweets scheduling: In HootSuite, when composing a new tweet, you have the option to pick out a date and time for publishing it. This is very useful if you have a lot to say but don’t want to overwhelm your followers with too much tweets at once, by easily spacing them out throughout the day. It’s also a great way to maximize how many people you will reach since you can schedule them to be posted at a time when there’s more Twitter traffic so you’ll get a bigger response.
– Analytics tool: If you use Twitter for business, and not just as an outlet for your daily ramblings, the ability to analyze how many people click on your links and how that traffic is distributed is essential for figuring out the best strategic course of action to leverage Twitter to improve your social media presence, drive traffic to your blog or just to get some following for your own very important self.
– Sync: Last but not least HootSuite for the iPhone syncs seamlessly with the web client. That means that all your scheduled tweets and your shortened links (with the analytics graphs that go with them) are always up to date whether you’re using the iPhone app or the web version. Also this makes it extra easy to set up HootSuite on the iPhone if you already have an account: just login and all your Twitter accounts will be instantly set up.
I definitely will keep an eye out for HootSuite’s development, since it has some interesting possibilities, but I don’t think it will ever completely replace Tweetie for me (although some of its features might complement it nicely).
That being said, even though I really like this app and its features I’m not sure if I’ll use it for much more than just scheduling tweets. Why? Because for link shortening and tracking of traffic StumbleUpon’s su.pr format is still my favorite since it has the huge advantage of also sharing your content with the StumbleUpon community, which can potentially improve your social media presence by exposing it to a larger audience.
On the other hand the HootSuite iPhone app makes it that much easier to track and analyze your stats on the go, which can be very useful for busy people who might need instant access to all this information in order to make quick decisions and changes as they’re needed. Plus HootSuite has the cute owl icon.
Decisions, decisions…
Here’s a quick video demonstrating some of HootSuite’s features on the iPhone:
Have you tried HootSuite? Will it replace your regular Twitter client?
