Social Networking Management: A Comparison of HootSuite, TweetDeck and Seesmic.

As a Virtual Assistant or Online Business Owner in general, do you find it difficult to manage your Social Networking activities? If so, you’re not alone. With the emergence and growing prominence of Social Media Marketing, it can be overwhelming to keep everything organized and ensure that your activities are well timed and effective.

For this reason, some cool tools have been created to help Marketers get the most out of their Social Networking and save a lot of time and frustration. The most popular ones are HootSuite.com, TweetDeck.com and Seesmic.com, and we’d like to show you a little comparison of them so that you can decide which one would work best for you.

First of all, check out this video showing how their dashboards can be used to manage Twitter activities:

Thankfully, though they began as Twitter clients, these tools have in some cases also begun to integrate multiple social networks, a great improvement as Social Marketing activities are certainly not limited to Twitter.

Below is a comparison of some of the more distinguishing features of HootSuite, TweetDeck and Seesmic:

HootSuite:

•    Entirely web-based
•    Manages multiple social networks
•    Tracks link statistics
•    Tabbed layout for different accounts
•    Schedules tweets and status updates
•    Built-in URL shortener

TweetDeck:

•    Has Desktop, iPhone and iPad browsers
•    Manages multiple social networks
•    Ability to customize tweets with groups, columns, saved searches and automatic updates
•    Schedules tweets

Seesmic:

•    Has web-based, Desktop and Mobile applications for iPhone, iPod Touch, Android and Blackberry
•    Manages multiple social networks
•    Ability to customize columns and save searches
•    Ability to personalize the application

Paul Sutton’s blog post “TweetDeck v Seesmic v HootSuite: Which is the Most Awesome Twitter Client?” has a great analysis of the big three and concludes that “HootSuite is best for those who need to manage several distinct accounts, and anyone who wants integrated statistical link reporting. It’s also very useful as a tweet scheduler in its own right due to the integrated URL shortening. Seesmic, on the other hand, is best for everyday management of Twitter accounts and engaging in conversations, making it easy to keep on top of timelines with its clear views and unobtrusive but effective notifications.”

In terms of TweetDeck, however, Sutton feels it has some good features, but “the white on black interface is hard on the eyes and is stylized to the expense of usability, and the column functionality is limited, especially when compared to that of Seesmic.”

Tastes may vary, though, so check them out and see which one works best for you in your Social Networking and Virtual Assistance services. If you already have a favorite, please comment below and let us know which tool you like and how it has helped you and your clients!

Choosing the Right Venue for Your Virtual Events.

Often times we’ve discussed the growing importance of Virtual Events and the undeniable fact that they’re quickly replacing offline meetings as a more economical and environmentally friendly option. But how do you choose the right Virtual Venue for your big event?

Just as you would investigate conference rooms, hotels or restaurants before booking an offline meeting, it’s important to investigate different types of Virtual Venues so that you can choose the one that’s most appropriate for the type of event you’re hosting.

One of our VAClassroom graduates, Carlana Charles, recently published a blog post entitled “Virtual Events – Why They are Hit” and featured a video that explains the different options that are available:

Let’s look more closely at the four options discussed here and see which types of events are best suited to them:

•    Webinars –Since these are typically one-way, from the speaker to the audience with little audience interaction, they work best for online teaching sessions or workshops. We’ve used Yugma or GoToWebinar in the past, which also offer the option of connecting participants via a phone line, VoIP or an online chat box.

•    Internet Live TV – This venue works great for presenting dynamic talk shows, presentations or interviews, the types of shows you would normally broadcast on television. In this case, Ustream or Livestream is used, and the presenter has a webcam on themselves and a camera on other presenters.

•   Internet Live Radio – This is a good option for events that require or invite audience participation, as people can call in live and interact with the presenter via a tool like Blog Talk Radio. Another advantage is that they are syndicated and can be listened to and subscribed to long after the event has taken place.

•    Teleseminars – Since these involve mainly audio, they work best for conference calls or group coaching sessions. Usually there is a certain period of time devoted to a presentation, followed by a question and answer session. Often online handouts will be given out for participants to refer to during the presentation. In this case, tools like GoToMeeting or Skype can be used to facilitate the event.

So there you have it – four popular Virtual Event venues to choose from! There are many factors to consider, but as the tools become more streamlined, the choices are becoming easier to make, and the emergence of Virtual Event Specialists has provided business owners with a valuable resource to draw on when planning their big events.

What Virtual Venues have worked for you or your clients in the past? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

The Bridge between Traditional Press Releases and Dynamic Social Media

Have you heard of PitchEngine yet? I came across this cool site recently and though you might find it interesting!

The traditional Press Release has now evolved into the Social Media Release (“SMR”), which you can now share for free. The evolution of all things Web 2.0 has provided a new platform for Press Releases to integrate your social media accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and easily embed video and audio, along with the usual text.  No technical skills are needed, and you can create as many company brand accounts that you want for free.

PitchEngine is the new one-stop answer for larger PR firms, small businesses or anyone on a budget with their public relations campaign wanting to cast a wide net with their message.  As a social platform, it provides the means of virally spreading your SMR to the social media sites and networks, journalists, bloggers, and your SMR is also picked up by Google News.

A quick overview:

• Your easy-to-share SMR package can be edited even after it's been made live;

• Your release is hosted free for 30 days and then expires, with the option to purchase a subscription for a more permanent social media newsroom;

• Provides an ideal solution for journalists and media, allowing search filters for stories they’re looking for;

• After your SMR is saved, PitchEngine provides sharing capabilities to your Facebook profile and your Twitter followers with an option to personalize your message to suit your relevant audience;

• Not only aimed for the media, PitchEngine has made press release more social and suitable for both consumers and your friends and followers;

• They provide a video tutorial, blog, lots of instructions, and an easy to use application for any business wanting to integrate their Press Release with the dynamic world of Social Media!

PitchEngine is yet another powerful tool ready to be leveraged to get your message out virally. Another Web 2.0 Marketing tool to add to your arsenal!

Create a Live Blogging Event with CoveritLive.com

Isn't it truly amazing to see how fast Internet Technology moves? Just when you think you have mastered a particular technology or skill, a new one pops up! Well, I have been following the whole new phenomenon of "Live Blogging" as of late and have been brainstorming ways that I can incorporate this into my own business endeavors. For those of you new to this concept, "Live Blogging" is simply offering "live coverage" of a particular event you are running via an "Instant Message" style web application loaded on to your blog. Let's say you are attending a particular Internet Business Conference and would like to broadcast live commentary to your Blog readers of your experience and what you are learning, then you might want to take advantage of a tool like "Coveritlive.com" CoveritLive's Web-based software allows you to publish your commentary on your own event or another event you might be attending in real time just like Instant Message. They also offer "one-click" publishing for uploading polls, videos, pictures and audio clips. For example; you might use an "UltraFlip Camera" at an event to shoot some video that you can then quickly upload on you blog through their "Media Uploader" tool. In addition to offering interactive polls to your audience on the fly, you can also bring in a "panel" of experts that can provide commentary on this event as it is unfolding. How cool is that? It also offers a "Instant Replay" feature for those readers that missed the live blog session. CoveritLive is a free application and very easy to integrate! You simply set-up the event via their user-friendly interface and cut and paste the script into your respective blog post and you are off to the races! Watch for my first live blogging event coming to you shortly! Maybe I wil live blog the finale of "Americas Got Talent":)