Hootsuite iPhone App (full version) is Now Free

I was quite pleased when I noticed this the other day. The full version of the Hootsuite iPhone app is now free.

Hootsuite is a web application for managing your social networks. You can use it online with just a browser or on your mobile with one of the mobile apps.

For "live" Twitter browsing I prefer the official Twitter iPhone app, but Hootsuite allows me to schedule updates to both Facebook and Twitter. So if I want an update to go out at a strategic time, I can use Hootsuite to schedule it.

Scheduling is a must have feature for anyone who manages social networks for an organization.

Jason
@cooperjason
Cooper-ation Resourcing

Posted via email from Cooper-ation | resourcing for ministry

Hootsuite.com - A Great Tool for Organizations

As someone who manages multiple Twitter accounts and a couple Facebook pages, I have tried out several tools that are supposed to help make it easier.  Most have been pretty good - in that they let you post to multiple locations with one click.  Nice!

I was recently introduced to Hootsuite.com.  Hootsuite allows you to manage multiple social networks through one, online application.  Here is a list of the built in networks.  

In addition, you can setup columns to monitor searches, twitter hashtags, mentions, etc.  Pretty handy.

Here is what I LOVE about Hootsuite - you can schedule your updates!  I can plan out a whole weeks worth of posts and sit down at the first of the week and schedule them all in hootsuite.  How sweet is that!  Can't do that with any desktop app I know...

THE DOWN SIDE - It appears that you cannot post an image to a Facebook page without also posting it to a Twitter account.  And when you do, the image doesn't show on the FB page, just the link...  This is bad since our audience is primarily made of FB fans, not Twitter followers.  We often use graphics to add a little "attention" to our FB page updates - just can't to it in hootsuite.  Oh well.  

I will continue to use hootsuite.com though to schedule what I can.

What FB/Twitter applications do you use that allow scheduling?  How do they compare?

Jason Cooper (@cooperjason)

Cooper-ation Ministry Resourcing

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Facebook - Group vs. Page? Part 2

When to use a group?  When to use a page?

If you are using Facebook to supplement your ministry communication, here are some suggestions.

When to use a "page"

Use a "page" for your church or ministry.  The previous post about this issue explains the reasoning for this. (Facebook - Group vs. Page?)

If your church/ministry is large, you may consider using a "page" for major sub-ministries such as children, youth, etc. But only for MAJOR ministries.  Separate "pages" either double the necessary communication (posting to all ministry pages) or they divorce ministry communication from the main identity (children's info only posted on the children's page, for example). I am a fan of as much unified communication as possible.  Even though not everyone has kids, it is sometime beneficial for the congregation to see what is going on in the greater ministry of the church.

When to use a "group"

Use a "group" with all smaller sub-ministries.  Sunday school classes, small groups, men's groups, women's groups, service oriented ministries, etc.  In a small church, I would recommend a group even for things like children and youth.  Groups are more "grass-roots" oriented and pages are more "institutionally" oriented.  In a smaller church, the informal element can be stronger.  

If you have other thoughts, feel free to leave a comment.

Jason

Posted via email from Cooper-ation | resourcing for ministry

Facebook - Group vs. Page?

By now many ministries have become aware of and began utilizing social networks like Facebook. We started doing so just earlier this year.  We have found it to be a great way to do day to day communicating with our "friends" on Facebook.

While it cannot replace our other avenues of communication, it is worth taking a few minutes to add to the repertoire. 

We debated about whether or not to create a "group" or a "page" on Facebook for our church.  (If you don't know the difference, check out this blog post http://tiny.cc/g4i3y)  There are advantages to each, and it is worth thinking about which way to go.  For us, we went with a page.

The two main reasons we chose a page for our primary Facebook presence are external visibility and more visible communication.

External visibility.  Pages on Facebook are visible to those outside of Facebook.  You do not have to join Facebook to see a our church's Facebook page.  Not only that, my understanding is that pages are indexed and therefore have the potential to show up in search engines.  So, we can advertize our church's "page" as a direct link on our website or in our email marketing and anyone can stop by the page, whether a registered FB use or not.  (http://tiny.cc/calvary67)

Visible communication.  The other benefit of a page is the ability to do a "status update."  Just like a personal profile, page status updates are posted to all your friend's (technically, fan's) walls.  This allows these updates to be visible on a persons "feed" page - the default landing page after you log in. 

A side benefit is the ability to copy some code and put a "fan box" on your own website that show the "wall" from your page right on your sight.  Can't do this with a group.  

Jason Cooper

Posted via email from Cooper-ation | resourcing for ministry