I often check the "via" link on most tweets sent. Probably because I run a social media dashboard company, but I've been spotting some trends. Less and less people are using Tweetdeck. Let me start off with this: I have great respect for Tweetdeck. It's a great 'end-user' app for the consumer, for the Twitter power user who likes to watch what celebrities and news outlets are saying. But it is NOT a business tool. It never has been. It's always been about the Twitter power user.
Diversification of apps
In my endless quest to see where tweets are originating from, I see a lot of mobile names, echofon, ubersocial, twitter for iphone are by far the most popular. I also see a lot of desktop apps, Hootsuite leading the pack, an increasing number of MarketMeSuite, and a sprinkling of CoTweet. Tweetdeck used to dominate the via, but that time has passed. Now, in my home timeline (which I follow over 19,000 people) no more than 1 in every 50 "vias" are from the deck.
Why The Shift?
This is a result of a more crowded marketplace sure, people have more options, but I think it's something more. I think there's a transformation happening. People are changing the way they value Twitter. Twitter is incredibly important, and I'm a huge proponent of using it, but the social marketer is getting smarter. The social marketer "2.0" is realizing the importance of cross promotion. Having a solid Facebook presence, a good showing on Linkedin. The Social Marketer 2.0 is dabbling in Google Plus and seeing what results that yields. The Social Marketer 2.0 is armed to the teeth with a dashboard, some good plugins, good mobile apps to get their message as far and wide as possible. They are lead hungry.
Why Some Businesses Will Never Leave Tweetdeck
There's some... the 1 in 50 in my timeline who will never leave Tweetdeck. Even though they are a business, and it's not catering for business needs, they'll use it til their dying breath because, let's face it, change is hard. You get used to a workflow and even if something isn't perfectly suited for you, you're comfortable. It's working... why mess with a good thing?
Change May Well Be Inevitable
When Twitter bought Tweetdeck, and in Tweetdeck's last blog post Iain Dodsworth wrote "change may well be inevitable." What Iain knows is what probably the other 49 out of 50 have realized. Twitter is evolving. Social Media marketing is evolving. Of course I'd like each and every reader of this post to allow themselves to challenge their current strategy and give MarketMeSuite a try (it's free now!) if they haven't already, but that's not the moral of this post. There's a new wave in Social Media Marketing. It's Social Marketing 2.0 and there's no shortage of ways to tackle it. The question you have to ask yourself is this: Is your business using the best social marketing approach? Or is fear of change holding you back...
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