I’m a certified Hootsuite Professional
I’ve just completed the training and exams required for the Hootsuite professional scheme. I’ve been very impressed with Hootsuite after initially being skeptical. I’m using the Pro version which is good value for money (IMHO) and has loads more features than Tweetdeck. Having said that, Tweetdeck is probably more than enough for individual users and small businesses. If you want to schedule Tweets, share links properly on Facebook pages, have detailed analytics and better (and more advanced) search facility, then I think Hootsuite is the best Twitter client. I’ve yet to have a go with CoTweet, but looking at the features I still think it’s no contest.
Where Hootsuite gets a thumbs down is the fact that you have no choice but to use the ow.ly url shortener. Having a url shortener is a good thing in that you can track your links. With Tweetdeck you can use bit.ly (which is free) and this gives you the option to create your own url shortener with your own domain (which is free if you don’t count the domain. Hootsuite charges $50 per month for this, which I think is way off the mark (especially if you are an individual or small business.
However, these are minor gripes, I’d highly recommend Hootsuite and is one of the most intuitive yet advanced Twitter clients out there. It is particularly useful when used in medium to large marketing teams, but small businesses and individuals will find it helpful too.
The tutorial videos for the Hootsuite University are very useful and very informative and presented by Tasia Custode (thanks!)
