There’s a reason why around one quarter of all verified Twitter accounts are journalists: Twitter is a great online platform to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world.  Therefore, it is one of the most useful networks for digital marketing. Staying on top of current trends is important, so too is enhancing how you use Twitter to publish content and market your brand.

What social media marketing is really about

The key to social media marketing is taking control of your social media, not letting it control you. But businesses, particularly now, want to optimise their online reach with as little pinch to the pocket as possible. Fortunately, the free Twitter dashboard applications, TweetDeck and Tweeten, make this a reality. Both applications act as your very own Twitter command centre to schedule and post content in one place as well as stay on top of business trends by organising tweets and hashtags into manageable columns.

TweetDeck

TweetDeck centralises your business’ Twitter accounts while helping you “reach your audiences and discover the best of Twitter.” As it is owned by Twitter, there are very few hiccups between both interfaces, and it has advanced social listening functions. On top of this, you can add as many TweetDeck columns as you wish. TweetDeck not only enhances the way businesses create and schedule content but how they gauge reactions in the Twitterverse.

MAIN FEATURES

• Monitor multiple accounts at once with real-time tweets
• Schedule tweets effortlessly from the ‘New Tweet’ function
• Track topics and hashtags to stay on top of industry trends
• Build collections to store personalised searches, lists, etc.
• Direct messages appear straight on your interface, streamlining response times
• Keyboard shortcuts quicken how you reply, tweet and retweet
• Keep an eye on hashtags and mentions related to your business or your competition
• Integrated into the Twitter website or downloadable as a desktop app

TweetDeck’s efficient interface can help strengthen your Twitter marketing approach (Image courtesy of tweetdeck.twitter.com)

HELPFUL TOOLS

• Social Listening: Track Twitter mentions even in the absence of brand names or specific hashtags
• Column Filters: Filter TweetDeck columns by content, location, user, level of engagement, date or a specific search word
• TweetDeck Teams: Enable multiple users, of modifiable access, to contribute to shared Twitter accounts without having to share passwords

PLANS & PRICING

Free

*Twitter also offer a free native analytics service that could bolster your marketing plan.

Tweeten

Tweeten “removes the unnecessary noise and keeps you updated in real-time” by building off of TweetDeck. Though both applications currently lack a mobile version, the size of TweetDeck and Tweeten’s dashboard demands sufficient screen space to keep track of your Twitter marketing content. While Tweeten adopts the same minimalist design of TweetDeck, its main drawcard is its customisability. Tweeten’s totally customisable interface presents a personal social media manager for those who want to take control of how they post and monitor content.

MAIN FEATURES

• Manage multiple accounts without having to hit refresh
• Schedule tweets to be posted later on
• Sleek interface makes it easy to oversee all of your Twitter content
• Track your liked tweets and new follows
• Choose whether to display direct messages or blur the sender’s details for privacy
• Download any Twitter video straight from your Tweeten timeline
• Search for GIFS and add them directly to your tweets with the in-built GIF search
• Available as a desktop app or browser extension

Tweeten’s dashboard can be changed to personalise how you view your Twitter content (Image courtesy of tweeten app)

HELPFUL TOOLS

• Content Filters: Mute any hashtag or account to block unwanted or irrelevant tweets that are clogging up your feed
• Customisation: Adjust the visuals of your Tweeten dashboard including column width, font and picture size
• Custom CSS: Enable developer features to customise your Tweeten interface further if your savvy with CSS

PLANS & PRICING

Free

*However, Tweeten do appreciate donations to keep the application running smoothly and add new features.

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