Hootsuite (http://hootsuite.com):

I like Hootsuite for several reasons. The biggest reason is because unlike its main competitor, Tweetdeck, (I’m a former Tweetdeck user) there is no need to install the Adobe Air application software to any computer you need to use in order access your Twitter account(s). It also doesn’t take up processing resources like applications using Adobe Air would. However, if you use Google Chrome as your browser there is a web only version of Tweetdeck. One can only guess this is an attempt to answer Hootsuite’s computability across all popular web browsers on the market today.

Hootsuite feature advantages:

• ability to schedule tweets
• updates faster
• provides robust statistics from clickthroughs
• advanced filter streaming
• allows for the incorporation of additional social networks
• Hootsuite also offers many more features in its for power users who are serious about their SMM efforts.

*Note – Hootsuite is very competitive when it comes using it as a team interface for businesses that require 24/7 customer service, however a popular team software that doesn’t require premium pricing is called CoTweet. I don’t like CoTweet as much because of the graphic user interface “GUI” takes a little getting use too, but then again it is a personal preference.

Snippetweet (http://snippetweet.com/)

This is another web based API driven app that I love from some good friends of mine at Egolabel here in Columbus, OH. As a busy working professional I have certain tweets that I use to increase followers on my other social media networks like LinkedIn or Facebook. I also have regular followers who are strategic business partners or just great people I think my followers should know. Snippetweet is the best way to bookmark and tweet information to your followers whether it is informing them of promotional ads, events, other social networks, or other Twitter users you want to promote using the FollowFriday hashtag #FF. I highly recommend this simple, but effective Twitter tool.

Timely (http://timely.flowtown.com)

While Hootsuite does a great job of scheduling tweets in the free version and even more extensively in the pro version as mentioned in this tutorial by my friend Nate Riggs, Timely is a great alternative that I learned about only recently from friend and 80′s metal afficiando, Shawn Morton who is the Director of Emerging Media with Nationwide Insurance. Along with Hootsuite and Snippetweet I have this bookmarked in my Social Media folder under SMM Tools. Unlike Hootsuite’s built in scheduler, Timely predicts the best time to schedule your tweet for optimal viewing and tracks the clickthroughs or “reach” as it is referred too.

Paper.li (http://paper.li)

Paper.li organizes links shared on Twitter and Facebook into an easy to read newspaper-style format. I like it because I don’t always have time to read the articles that people I follow on Twitter. Paper.li aggregates those tweeps I follow into the most popular clickthroughs from the day prior and allows you to give them kudos in a RT of the links they posted the day before. Major karma points in terms of online relationship building and engagement.

Twtvite (http://twtvite.com)

Twtvite is great from taking the conversation offline which ultimately is what you want to do and make those online network connections a reality and where still a majority of business deals are done. Twtvite is great for event planners looking to market and promote organizations and even more importantly retail space. Again, my friends at Egolabel are great at getting small business owners to understand how the power of hype and social media gets people in the doors. Group think is a double edged sword and in this case it has a positive tribal snowball effect.

Twitterfeed (http://twitterfeed.com)

Twitterfeed is good in small doses. I like Twitterfeed because you can attach RSS feeds of bloggers that you like and produce good content, but don’t always have time to read. Be very careful when using this though. Don’t use RSS feeds from blogs that update many times in one day. Your followers will unfollow you and the ones that stick around will accuse you of being a “bot” which defeats the purpose of using Twitter as it is intended.

ManageFlitter (http://manageflitter.com)

ManageFlitter is a great tool for keeping your Twitter account streamlined. There are a lot of other Twitter unfollow web apps, but they usually break Twitter’s Terms of Service. However, the developer of ManageFlitter keeps up with Twitter’s rules and regulations. ManageFlitter is a great tool for:

• Cleaning up and manage who you follow.
• Find out who isn’t following you back.
• Find out which inactive accounts you follow.
• Easily search inside your Twitter stream.
• Twitter Directories

Twellow (http://twellow.com)

Twellow is the original Twitter directory. You can drill down people who you want to follow by industry and location. The only problem is that the industry categories are a little too specific and you can miss some potential connections.

WeFollow (http://wefollow.com)

WeFollow is probably my favorite of the Twitter directories. It breaks down tweeps by industry and then breaks down by most influential in each category and by most followers so you can judge for yourself which ones produce the most valuable content.

NearbyTweets (http://nearbytweets.com)

NearbyTweets was developed by another friend from Columbus, OH, Brian Cray who is an incredibly smart guy and knows code like the back of his hand. It is great because it is a livestreaming geo-location web app that displays tweeps usernames and what they have listed as their hometown. It is great for finding active tweeps that are local.

At the end of the day there are a ton of different tools you can use, but it really comes down to personal preference. These are the tools that find myself using most often and feel that I’ve had some above average success with especially when used in combination with each other. I have no affiliation with any of the developers of the previously mentioned tools I mentioned above and have found them to be the best tools in terms of productivity with respect to SMM efforts. Hopefully you will find them as useful as I do.