I really love blogging, both because I love writing, and sharing my experiences with my readers. But there would be little point to my blog if it does not get read, so each post I write is sent automatically to my Twitter account, and from there to my Facebook page and LinkedIn account.
I learned very early that the key to publicizing my blog was Twitter, and I spent time each day on Twitter, following people I was interested in, tweeting my own posts, re-tweeting their interesting posts, and building up my own followers. The effort I put in brought results and generated growing interest in myself, my posts, and my services, but it’s a time consuming business.
The answer, of course, is to automate some of the processes, and I decided to look for a tool to take on the bulk of the work. There are several around and it seemed difficult to chose the one most suitable for me out of the pack.
The first one I looked at was SocialOomph
My impression of the landing page is that its very cluttered. It seems a little old fashioned in its design, but as you wade through all the features, you see there are many possibilities.
you can
- add and manage social accounts (including Twitter, Facebook and ping)
- schedule updates, on your social accounts, and set them to recur
- track clicks
- find and manage friends and followers
- find influencers
- set up direct messaging
- and more
There is a free version, and you can add several of your social accounts, schedule an almost unlimited number of tweets, and track clicks – but the biggest advantage is the free 7 day trial of their pro version which gives you access to many more features.
In fact on the landing page, the button to access the free trial of SocialOomph Professional is the most eye catching item.
The second website I looked at was Buffer
I liked their slogan:
“Be awesome on Social Media. Add Tweets and Facebook posts to your Buffer from anywhere and we automagically share them for you through the day.”
But their homepage did not seem to be very interactive until I finally found the menus in the footer. Before I discovered them it had been difficult to see at a glance what the tool had to offer.
When I went to “plans and pricing” however, it was very clear what there was available in each version.
For $99 per month you got:
- Unlimited posts in Buffer
- Unlimited Social accounts
- 55 team members/account
- Free browser extensions
- Free mobile apps
- Use your Bit.ly details
- Advanced scheduling
- Direct line to founder
Impressive but pricey.
And their free version was much more limited:
- 10 posts in your Buffer
- 11 Twitter accounts
- 11 Facebook accounts
- Free browser extensions
- Free mobile apps
- Use your Bit.ly details
So which did I choose? Well I went for SocialOomph, a little old fashioned in appearance, but real value for money as I am running the free 7 day trial of SocialOomph professional as I write this and my stats are looking promising. Tell me which one you would choose?
