Facebook launched new Fan Page profiles last week with tons of great new features. But don’t worry, Fan Page profiles now look and function the same as a personal profile, so you already know how to navigate through them.

The new layout and features allow a Fan Page to look and feel more like a personal profile on Facebook, and relationships can be formed with fans.

Take a look at Maize Valley Farm Market & Winery’s Fan Page which has already switched over to the new Fan Page profile. The admins of this page can now interact with fans as Maize Valley, not the admins’ personal profiles.

According to an email that Facebook sent to Fan Page admins, the new profile offers the following:

• Notifications when fans interact with your page or posts
• A place to showcase photos along the top of your page
• A news feed for your page
• The ability to “Like” and post on other pages as your page. For example, Maize Valley can post information about a new wine or musical entertainment at the winery on fan profiles.
• I also read that you can now change your business category without having to redo your page…

These are all great updates, but there was one that jumped out at me (and it took a moment for my brain to process it). That’s right, admins can post on other pages as the Fan Page, making Facebook more interactive for businesses than ever before. Posting as your brand will be much more effective at gaining visibility than posting from admin profiles.

Just make sure that whatever your brand posts is appropriate and you stand behind it 100%. It might be a good time to brush up your online reputation management skills! Social media is all about just that – being social. These features open up new doors for businesses on Facebook.

What do you think of Facebook’s new Fan Page profiles? How will it impact your business’s activities on Facebook? Personally, I will be more apt to suggest Facebook Fan Pages to clients now that they can interact more with fans. The new features allow businesses to develop relationships with fans, whereas it was one-sided communication previously.

Many Fan Page admins are being asked if they want to preview the new profile now, though it will become mandatory for all Fan Pages in March.

Although TweetDeck and HootSuite are still known as “Twitter clients,” these applications can do so much more than update your Twitter. They can manage multiple social media profiles, allow you to schedule your updates, monitor your link analytics, do your homework, and listen to your wife while you watch the Super Bowl.

The only issue with these “Everything Social Media Clients” is that there are two major clients to choose from: TweetDeck and HootSuite. Which should you use? Well lucky for you, I’m about to tell you.

Let’s get on with this showdown!

Round 1: User Interface

In the beginning, TweetDeck’s dark, sleek interface was more appealing than HootSuite’s browser-based application. Now, if you’re lucky enough to own a Mac, Smartphone, or iPad, you can download a HootSuite application of your very own.

TweetDeck App:

• Standalone application for PC, Mac, Smartphones, iPad.
• Column-based system: All of the social media profiles are viewed in one window, but in separate columns.

HootSuite App:

• Standalone application for Mac, Smartphones, iPad.
• Desktop applications via Chrome, Prism.
• Hootlet Firefox Add On.
• Tab-based system: Each social media profile has its own tab.

Summary: It is easier to keep track of multiple profiles in one window using TweetDeck, whereas you have to click to different tabs in HootSuite.  Also, adding an update with a URL is much easier in TweetDeck, which automatically shortens any URLs you type in the box. When doing the same thing in HootSuite, you have to input your URL into a separate field in order to shorten them.

Round 1 Winner: TweetDeck

Round 2: Scheduled Updates

Both TweetDeck and HootSuite provide the ability to schedule your updates. However, in order to use TweeDeck’s scheduler, you must create a TweetDeck account.

HootSuite’s update scheduling tool is slightly more sophisticated than the competitor’s tool. You can schedule your updates in bulk, receive updates once the update is sent, and you can schedule an update for more social media profiles (Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn, MySpace, PingFm, WordPress, Foursquare, and Mixi).

Round 2 Winner: HootSuite

Round 3: Speed

This round has a clear winner – HootSuite is by far the faster client to use.  TweetDeck uses Adobe Air to function, therefore it is a massive resource hog.  HootSuite’s interface (both in the browser and the actual application) is very snappy and clean.

Round 3 Winner: HootSuite

Continue reading “TweetDeck VS HootSuite: The “Twitter Client” Showdown”

Last week, Facebook rolled out its very own location-based service, Facebook Places.  In Palo Alto, California, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a few words to say on the launch of this new service:

“This is going to be a really fun and interesting summer,” said Zuckerberg at the start of the evening. “We’ve got a lot of new products coming out.” The first of these new products — Places — is a smartphone-based service that takes on much of the functionality provided by existing services such as Foursquare and Yelp.

In other words – Foursquare, you’d better be ready for a battle of epic social proportions.

As with other location-based applications, Facebook Places is designed with a few simple goals in mind:

1. Help people share where they are, socially.

2. Let people see who is nearby.

3. Let people discover new places through their friends’ profiles.

Foursquare, Yelp!, and Gowalla have been consistently picking up steam, and it only makes sense that social giant Facebook would get in on the action. We know that people like these services – but the real question is, how quickly is Facebook going to decimate the competition?

With more than 500 million users already on Facebook, Places has a massive potential following. Although not every user will adopt Places, in a few weeks, as the brave begin to check-in to their favorite theaters and restaurants, there’s a (better than) good chance that a massive domino effect will start rippling throughout Facebook.

What do competitors need to stay afloat?

It’s simple, really – offer value above and beyond what Facebook can offer right now with extra features.

Gowalla may stay ahead of the curve, since its GPS “game” is a scavenger hunt. As people check-in to different places, they receive souvenirs. It isn’t simply a social check-in service, rather a program that people use to compete against each other using their smartphones and gas money.

Yelp!, and its already large database of user reviews, might be able to keep up momentum as well. The user following is already strong, and the focus on reviews is key. The addition of check-ins is relatively new to Yelp!, so knowing the location of friends is already a non-priority for these users.

The location-based giant that’s in Facebook’s sights is Foursquare, which has been the leader in location-based services. But that may not last for long. Foursquare has the least amount of differentiation from Facebook Places since goals and features are essentially the same. You check-in to different locations, share this information with your friends, and collect badges for different types of check-ins and achievements.

Although Foursquare plans to beef up its program with additional features, tips, to-dos and specials, the company should still be wary. Unless Facebook Places proves to be a clumsy, clunky program… Foursquare has some serious competition to worry about.