If I had to describe Buffer in just three words I’d choose “ease of use”.
Go to Buffer’s about page and you’ll find this: “Buffer helps you manage multiple social media accounts at once.”
No kidding.
That much should be assumed, but they’re downright humble about how easy it is to pull off.
Full disclosure: I’ve got a Hootsuite Pro account, but I’ve been using the free version of Buffer to make almost 90% of my Twitter and Google+ posts. Why you ask?
Hootsuite’s interface is intimidating and clunky. I don’t have time to learn the intricacies of the program as I try to do 100 other things during the day. Interestingly enough, check out what happened when I typed Buffer into Google…
What’s the first thing you see? Now tell me that Hootsuite isn’t a little worried about Buffer gaining traction in the marketplace.
Opening Buffer is like a breath of fresh air. It has a clean user interface and simplistic tabs that lead to an intuitive feel. The 180 of Hootsuite.
Unlike Facebook, I don’t spend tons of time on Twitter and G+ so Buffer makes it super easy to share anything I want, whenever I come across it and then forget about it.
Once your queue is filled (up to 10 items for a free account, 100 items for the ‘awesome’ plan — $10/mo) you’re all set.
Buffer’s not all perfect because their analytics are a little skimpy and conversations are a one-way street — meaning there are no ways to receive or respond to your fans and followers.
I’m confident numerous things will be implemented to Buffer that will make it even more of a full-fledged competitor to Hootsuite. It has a ton going for it already and I’m rooting for them. In the foreseeable future I’ll still be using Buffer to handle the bulk of my Tweets and G+ posts.
I’ll update this blog post if more functionality gets added to Buffer, but for now you can’t go wrong with at least trying it out and seeing for yourself whether it’s something you prefer over the other competitors in the field.
