Sendible vs. Hootsuite

Each is uniquely wonderful, and I’ll scratch at the highlights of each.  They perform essentially the same functions – mainly scheduling tweets and Facebook posts.

In terms of simplicity, Sendible is a dead ringer.  For someone who is new to this kind of program, Sendible is definitely the place to start.  Elements are displayed almost identically to that of an email program, with folders for categories like pending updates, incoming messages, and mentions.  Each of those folders pools content from all the pages you use Sendible for, such as Twitter or Facebook.

Hootsuite is a bit more complicated, though what it lacks in simplicity it makes up for in style.  The flashy theme is customizable and there are few things that surpass that little owl in terms of cuteness.  With Hootsuite, each account is filtered into streams.  Facebook updates appear in a different section than those of Twitter, and each tab displays multiple streams.  A Twitter tab, for instance, might include your home feed, pending tweets, direct messages, and mentions.  While it is a bit more complicated, this system is also much more organized.

Though it isn’t flashy, Sendible has many redeeming qualities.  Its mention-tracking system, while not perfect, is very good at panning for instances where your company’s name comes up in the virtual world.  Sometimes it misinterprets mentions as negative feedback when it isn’t, but it is still extremely handy in pointing out where your name is being mentioned.

Another thing Sendible is good at is posting pictures to Facebook pages. Hootsuite just can’t seem to get this one down, as posting through it will produce a wallpost with a link to the picture, rather than actually publishing the picture in the post.  In an age of impatience and instant gratification, we simply don’t have time to be clicking this and that, and pictures add visual appeal to any Facebook wall.  I doubt it will be long before Hootsuite climbs aboard with that feature.

For now, Hootsuite is probably superior for posting links, because it tracks the clicks by converting URLs to owl.ly shortlinks and can be synced with Google Analytics.  I will also toss in a couple bonus points for the ability to post easily from any screen, whether you are checking out how many clicks your latest tweet got or editing the Linkedin updates you’ve scheduled for Easter of 2014.

One last factor that comes into play is the amount of posts you intend to make.  Both services are free, but Sendible sets limits on how many updates its free account holders may make each month.  Each post is a credit, and 100 are allotted each month, which is plenty for most users, but if you want to go crazy on it without shelling out any copper, Hootsuite is the way to go.

So which is the winner?  That’s really up to the user.  Let me know what you come up with.

About these ads