Those of you who manage multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts are probably familiar with tools such as TweetDeck and HootSuite. However, those tools can sometimes be lacking because they don’t necessarily provide you with the analytics you really need.

Today, however, HootSuite announced that all users, no matter what their account type, will have access to social analytics. This is a huge step because even basic accounts will be able to track mentions, measure follower growth, look at Facebook likes and demographics in detail and overlay social links with Google Analytics.

Additionally, HootSuite is rolling out real reporting that can be broad, campaign-focused and integrated with both Facebook Insights and Google Analytics.

A new dashboard is available to users, and the service is designed to help marketers better track social media growth. Social media has grown into an industry in its own right, and associations and nonprofits are also joining the party.

If you manage social media channels for your association, what platform do you use? I highly recommend a tool such as HootSuite, especially with these new reporting features. Have you used HootSuite in the past? Are these new features more likely to make you reconsider it?

After a few days of percolating on what I experienced at GSAE’s Annual Meeting and Tradeshow, I’ve finally got a recap! Because I’m extremely interested in how association professionals use social media, I attended Deirdre Reid’s session, “Using Social Media Effectively,” and Sterling Raphael’s “Social Media and Your Membership: Engagement Strategies.” (MemberClicks sponsored the latter session.)

Everyone has different levels of understanding when it comes to social media, so I think it can be very difficult to present a session on that topic. It’s so broad, and encompasses so much, and there’s no way to hit all of the fine points during a 60- or 90-minute presentation.

However, I think both Sterling and Deirdre did a fantastic job of hitting the high points during their sessions – the key for any organization is to listen before jumping in.

Some of the key points I got from the sessions:

- You can’t just throw up a Facebook page for your organization without nurturing it.
- Be authentic
- There’s a complete paradigm shift between different generations regarding the way they communicate
- There are three building blocks to an organization’s Web presence: database, website and social media
- The average user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events on Facebook – brands, organizations and companies are all competing for attention
- Aim small and miss small. Get out there and learn what does and doesn’t work
- Your members are your best tools online
- Leverage your database to create a community and engage with your members – marry new and old media

Some great tools recommended:

- To collect and distribute conversations: Tweetdoc or Wthashtag
- To recap and evolve conversations, and drive people back to your website: Slideshare, YouTube, Flickr
- To improve operational efficiency: Skype, GoTo Meeting, BaseCamp, Remember the Milk, HootSuite

I think all organizations, no matter how big or small, can take advantage of these tools. In a way, some small-staff organizations could almost have an easier time engaging their members online because if the organization has fewer members, they likely know each other better to begin with.

If your organization has a social media strategy, how did you get started? What is your best tip for associations that are just getting started? Do you have any cool tools to recommend to others?

For more photos from GSAE’s Annual Meeting, check out our Facebook page!

It’s time for the weekly grab-bag of association and social media blogs. Here’s what I found especially interesting on the interweb this week.

I Upgraded to HootSuite 2.0 Because It Works by Chris Abraham at socialmedia.biz. My Twitter stream was abuzz with this message Thursday as HootSuite, a popular Web-based Twitter service, released a new update. HootSuite lets users track multiple accounts and mentions, and the new release has a powerful monitoring feature. In the interest of full disclosure, I upgraded MemberClicks‘ HootSuite account, but haven’t gotten around to playing with it yet. It’s on my weekend to-do list!

Transitioning from Young to Young Professional by Aaron Wolowiec for ASAE’s Acronym. Aaron’s post really resonated with me — I think the dilemma he describes of young professionals trying to be taken seriously is a common one. Some of his tips are common ones (e. g. find a mentor, develop a network), but they’re suggestions we’d all do well to remember. “Being persistent” is the key.

10 Insights Gained From Spending 7,280 Hours on Social Networking Web sites by Heather Mansfield for Nonprofits 2.0. Heather is the nonprofit community manager for change.org, so she’s spent a lot of time on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Her insights are extremely valuable and are backed up by her many years of experience.

Google rules by Jeff De Cagna for SmartBlog Insights. Jeff, the editor at large of SmartBlog Insights, asks associations to question whether their point of view lines up with Google’s core beliefs about how the company should run. Google’s best practices referenced: “Google doesn’t need to control everything,” “Google doesn’t need to be evil” and “Google doesn’t need to be evil.” Great stuff here.

ASAE’s mobile hub for the annual meeting and expo is freakin’ awesome. Direct your mobile phone’s browser to http://asae09.org/m for the mobile version. Basically it aggregates information about the conference from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and other social networking sites. If you log in with your ASAE info, it connects to Twitter and will automatically add the #asae09 hashtag. Plus there’s a schedule of events and you can add stuff the “Contributions” tab to share with everyone.

Social Media Mavens: An Interview with Kodak’s Tom Hoehn by Mack Collier at The Viral Garden. Mack interviewed Kodak’s director of interactive marketing and convergence media about the company’s social media strategy and some of its best practices. There are some great thoughts here from a huge company’s “social media maven” – and many of them can be applied to smaller organizations.

Share your favorites blog posts or news articles in the comments, and have a great weekend!