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July 19, 2012

Social Media for Businesses – 5 social media tools you need.


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Before we get going, you should understand the point of social media marketing. Here is a quick review of why social media marketing is important:

Twitter

There are things called hash tags (presented as the pound sign #). They are like keywords. For example, if a Twitter user searched for #2012 #Olympics they would receive all results that are relative to those key words. Another example, if Twitter users search for #Health and #Wellness they would see results that are relative to that search. The reason why consistent, daily “tweets” are important is because there are hundreds (sometimes thousands) of results (other Tweets) that match those keywords. You want to make sure your Tweet is the most recent and relevant so that the person who searched for these keywords see your Tweet over others. You want to make sure that it is relevant to those who are searching these keywords so you create a reason for those users to want to read more of your Tweets, and eventually be directed to your web page where they will complete a purchase. That is why it is so important for you to understand your customers because you want to relate directly with them, and others who are like them (your potential customers). The more captivating your Tweets are, the more likely users will “follow” your company Twitter account. They follow it because they want to read more of your tweets when they come out.

Facebook

Facebook is basically the same idea, but offers different methods to encourage interests. For example: One of your current followers (we’ll call her Cathy) “likes” a post you made about reflexology. That means that everyone Cathy’s friends see that she liked your posting. She may have 100-200 friends (Facebook users have an average of 140 friends). If one of Cathy’s friends (David) sees the post that Cathy liked and also “likes” it, that means that now all of Davids friends sees that he liked that posting. This works with comments, likes, and shares.

Again, the end goal of all of this is to get your followers to end up at your web page where they can make a purchase. We do that by making your business a thought leader in its industry. By being a thought leader who converses and communicates with its customers, more followers will trust your company because they see that their friends and so many others do. Next time they have a question or interest in something relative to your company, they will seek out the information from you and recommend you to others who are searching for the same information. Your page becomes a place of knowledge and interaction where followers feel comfortable asking questions and recommending you to others. You can then run promotions and advertisements to direct your followers to your webpage, where they can make a purchase.

Blog

The same for your blog network.

Twitter, Facebook and blogs are all essentially the same thing. They are just structure differently, and are used by different people. Some people only use Twitter, some only use Facebook, and some only use blogs. Some may use all three. The point is to be where your customers are, and engage them.

Today, the best and most effective efforts not only engage a wide audience , but are also managed, monitored and continually tweaked based on the feedback and actions (or non-actions) of your target audience. Take Jet Blue for example. They launched an innovative campaign offering discounted tickets through its online Twitter stream that increased ticket sales at a time when the rest of the airline industry was flailing.

If you don’t think social media is for you, consider this: According to recent study from the Center for Media Research, 21.3 million people in 2011 discovered a new brand or company through social media, and another 22.5 million say they use platforms to learn more about brands and products.

The benefits to a business’ bottom line can be tremendous when social media is done right, however a proper campaign chews up a good deal of time and requires a concentrated, coordinated effort.

Don’t despair. There are several tools to help lighten your load and increase the probably of your message being heard out there in the wild. Try these five solutions to help better manage and monitor your social media efforts.

Image1. HootSuite

HootSuite helps manage your different social networks by enabling you to track conversations and measure campaign results; manage and update your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ping.Fm, WordPress and Foursquare; and simultaneously post information across all networks. Having all your social content available on a single dashboard is a major advantage when trying to navigate the entire landscape.

Bottom line: HootSuite has a great system for analytics, tracking brand mentions, analyzing social media traffic, scheduling and distribution. This all will save you time.

Cost: Free for up to five networks. Pro version is $5.99 per month.

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2. Main Street Hub

Making new friends can be hard for anyone especially when you are trying to do it online. Main Street Hub provides a service that lets you circumvent part of that cumbersome process by helping build, manage and monitor your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Google Places, Yahoo Local and Yelp. This includes growing your fan base, posting status updates, responding to messages and comments from customers.

Bonus: Building a big network is the most time consuming aspect of social networking. Main Street Hub gives you a big head start.

Cost: $199 to $299 per month, depending on the plan you select.

Image3. CrowdBooster

When trying to win new friends and influence people it’s important to know what is working. CrowdBooster is the kind of social media barometer that can help you effectively grow and manage an effective presence online. The tool provides graphics that show which posts or tweets receive the highest number of retweets or Likes, and measures the largest impact based on number of impressions. Let’s say you’ve been actively promoting a product but have received scant feedback from any of the many social media platforms you use. You start to wonder if anyone is listening. Well, CrowdBooster’s social media dashboard will report who is receiving your message and who is not, and will even notify you when influential (based on Klout score) users are available. CrowdBooster also recommends which course of action to take in order to best reach this desired audience.

ImageBonus: Analytics and recommendations show businesses how to more effectively reach important influencers, create relevant content that resonates with your audience, and send content at the most effective times.

Cost: Free

Image4. Klout

In today’s fast paced Web environment, measuring success in real-time is imperative. If you spend too much time barking up the wrong tree, you’ll end up chasing your own tail. Social media analytics provider Klout measures influence online using data from your social networks.

How it works: An algorithm measures several factors including amount of posts, the number people sharing these posts and the overall number of followers. It then calculates your Klout score to help users understand their influence and determine the source. Armed with this knowledge you’ll be better equipped to improve and extend your reach. For example, if you’re in the ice business you likely wouldn’t expend much effort trying to sell to people living in igloos.

Bonus: Measuring influence based on the ability to drive action in social networks leads to more targeted audience.

Costs: Free

Image5. Social Mention

Sometimes separating the medium from the message is a tough task, especially when it comes to social media.

However, if your goal is social awareness – eavesdropping in on what people are saying about your product, service, business and competitors – Social Mention can help. The platform allows you to program alerts based on chosen keywords and pulls content from more than 80 online spaces including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, etc. —more than 80 in all.

If someone posts a negative comment about your business on Facebook, The Social Mention platform alerts you immediately. This allows you to engage with your customers in a real and meaningful manner.

Bonus: Understanding the conversation is one of the most important ingredients to social media success. If you know what they are saying, you can act accordingly.

Costs: Free with charges based on higher levels of use.

Conclusion

Just because companies are collectively spending hundreds of millions of dollars on social media marketing, doesn’t mean you have to donate a large portion of your budget to leverage the medium’s benefits. Although eventually you may need to enlist the services of a professional, these five easy to use tools are more than enough to put you on the right social media path.

Tim Gray is content strategist with Blue Fountain Media. He often writes about the innovative tools small businesses and entrepreneurs can use to be successful. Read more about Tim here.

 PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS ABOUT THESE TOOLS IF YOU HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THEM.

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13 Comments
July 19, 2012

Social Mention


Social Mention is a social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user generated content from across the universe into a single stream of information.

It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. Social Mention monitors 100+ social media properties directly including: Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google etc.

Social Mention currently provides a point-in-time social media search and analysis service, daily social media alerts, and API.

Who’s behind this?

Jon Cianciullo
   
hello {at} socialmention {dot} com

 

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3 Comments
July 19, 2012

All about Klout


All information below is information provided on the Klout website:

Your Klout Score measures your online influence on a scale of 1 to 100

People have always had the power to influence others, and that power is being democratized with new social media tools. Klout’s mission is to provide insights into everyone’s influence.

We measure your influence based on your ability to drive action in social networks. We process this data on a daily basis to give you an updated Klout Score each morning.

Here are a few of the actions we use to measure influence:

  • Twitter: Retweets and Mentions
  • Facebook: Comments, Wall-Posts, Likes
  • LinkedIn: Comments, Likes
  • Foursquare: Tips, To-Do’s, Done
  • Google+: Comments, Reshares, +1

Other networks that we’re working to measure are Facebook Pages, Youtube, Instagram,Tumblr, Blogger, WordPress, Last.fm and Flickr. You can already link these accounts with your Klout profile, and we look forward to incorporating your activity from these networks to our score soon.

Did You Know?

The average Klout Score is actually 20, not 50. As your Score increases, it becomes exponentially harder to increase your Klout. That’s why you see so many 20s and not as many 90s!

Klout Core Concepts

Now that you know what information goes into Klout, here are the principles that guide the Klout Score:

  • Influence is the ability to drive action

It’s great to have lots of connections but what really matters is how people engage with the content you create. We believe it’s better to have a small and engaged audience than a large network that doesn’t act upon your content.

  • Connecting networks can only help your Score

We want to help you understand your influence wherever it may exist. We also understand given the number of different networks out there that it is nearly impossible for any person to be consistently effective across every network. Adding more networks helps us more accurately measure your influence and can only increase your Score.

  • Everyone has Klout

You are never penalized for connecting or engaging with someone with a low Klout score.In fact, you are helping build their Klout Score. The more influential you are the greater impact you have. All engagement positively contributes to your Score.

  • Influence is built over time

In most instances, your influence should not radically change from one day to the next. The Klout Score is based on a rolling 90-day window, with recent activity being weighted more than older activity. So being inactive over the weekend or taking short break won’t have a major impact on your Score, but if you’re inactive for longer periods your Score will decrease gradually.

  • Being active is different than being influential

Retweets, Likes, comments and other interactions on the social web are all signals of influence. However, just looking at the count of these actions does not tell the whole story of a person’s influence. It’s important to look at how much content a person creates compared to the amount of engagement they generate.

  • Klout is constantly evolving

The social web is changing every day and the Klout Score will continue to evolve and improve. The best strategy for obtaining a high Klout Score is to simply create great content that your network wants to share and engage with.

Did You Know?

Klout calculates billions of data points across over 100 million influencers every day.

Topics fill out the picture and are based on your interactions

While the Klout Score is useful for ranking overall influence, we also strongly believe you’re more than just a number. Whether you’re a musician, an engineer, or the President of the United States, everyone is special in areas that can’t always be boiled down to a single number, and Klout wants to recognize you for that.

Along with your Score, Klout finds your most influential topics based on the engagement you receive from others. You can see these in your topics section.

Getting Topics on your profile

Topics can be added to your profile in two ways:

  • Klout analyzes the content you produce on social networks and your audience’s responses in order to assign you topics automatically.
  • While we process billions of pieces of content every day to generate topics, Klout users can also suggest topics for themselves and friends. Use the “Add Topic” button on any person’s profile to give them another topic.

Recognize your peers:

You may notice orange +K buttons across the site. Giving someone a +K is a great way to acknowledge that someone has influenced you. For example, giving your friend a +K in food after a stellar restaurant recommendation is a great way to explicitly signal their influence.

Giving +K is easy: just visit someone’s topics section and click on the orange +K button next to the topic. Your network will be sure to reciprocate when you start giving out your +Ks!

Did You Know?

Klout users give each other over 50 thousand +Ks every day. Giving +K to your network is a powerful signal to show how they influence you.

Discover top influencers

For some of the most popular topics, Klout has created topic pages. For example, on the Music topic page, you will find people who are noted as Top Influencers and Top +K recipients.

Top influencers are people that we have found to be the most influential based on their content. Top +K recipients shows the people who have received the most +Ks in a certain topic in the past 90 days.

If you are on a topic page leaderboard, you will receive a sash on your score!

Top influencers detected by Klout receive a gold sash.

Top +K recipients receive a blue sash.

People who are top +K recipients and top influencers receive a blue and gold sash.

Klout and your data

Privacy is central to what we do and enters into every decision we make here at Klout.

In the same way Google analyzes public websites to generate PageRank, Klout analyzes publicly-available data to measure a person’s influence.

It’s why we respect the privacy settings of all the networks we measure and do not analyze private accounts unless given explicit permission to do so.

It’s why we enable anyone, even those with public data, to opt-out of being measured by Klout.

It’s why we have no interest in understanding the influence of minors.

And it’s why we’ll continue to work with our network partners, and build our own safeguards, to ensure the strictest of compliance with all privacy policies and regulations.

Did you know that most of the posts, videos, pictures and other data you create and share on the social web are available for the world to see? From Google to ad networks, thousands of companies track this data and use it for purposes ranging from providing better search results to targeting you with advertising.

Klout uses your content only to help you understand and benefit from your influence. We also want to help you understand how your data is used across the web.

If you are uncomfortable with your data being publicly available, we recommend that you set your various social media accounts to private. For most networks, having a private account will limit your data to only those you give access to.

Privacy by Network

Klout measures online influence based on public data; we measure private data only when we are explicitly given access from you, the user. We will never publicly share or display your private updates.

You can ALWAYS

  • Control information that’s displayed on your profile, such as topics and influencers.
  • Choose which networks Klout can access.
  • Choose to opt-out at any time.

Klout will NEVER

  • Give any personally identifiable data to any third party without your explicit permission.
  • Access any private data without your explicit permission.
  • Access your private communications such as Facebook messages or Twitter DMs.

Klout values your privacy and works with all network partners to ensure the strictest of compliance regarding how your data is used.

Your data and perks

Your Klout can earn you Perks: exclusive products and experiences from brands. Throughout the Perks process, the power is always in your hands. No matter what, brands do not get access to your private data.

The perk process

  • Perks Selection. Because Klout does not collect or use your private network data, brands cannot target based on your private data. They simply set high-level requirements for the Perk (e.g. technology influencers with a Score above 30), and you decide if you wish to participate in a Perk or not.
  • Participating in a Perk. Even when you choose to participate in a Perk, the only information they see is the public posts you choose to make about their brand. If a Perk ever requires more information, we will explicitly let you know what information is needed before you decide to participate.
  • Receiving a Perk. Klout will ship items to you directly if a Perk involves a deliverable good.Your address and contact information is not, and will never be, shared with any brands or Perk sponsors. For Perk events, the brand is only given your name so that they can let you in at the door. Any other information will only be provided after your personal explicit consent.

Code of ethics

  • Klout will never sell or give away your contact info.
  • Participating (or not participating) will not change your Klout Score.
  • You are receiving the Perk because you are influential and have authority on topics related to the Perk. You are welcome to tell the world you love the Perk, you dislike the Perk or say nothing at all.
  • If you decide to talk about the Perk, we will ask you to disclose that you received a sample (http://klout.com/corp/perks).
  • You must be 18 or older to qualify for Perks. Make sure your age is up-to-date in your profile.

Understand and improve your online influence

Klout provides powerful analysis and tools to help you more clearly understand your own influence, your network’s influence, and the topical interests that make each of us special. Using Klout, you can improve your use of social media and better reach your network.

  • Benchmark your success. Your Klout Score updates daily and your dashboard gives you insights as to why your Score has changed.
  • Learn about your influence network. On your Klout profile you can see who you’re influencing by your content and who influences you.

Unlock your Influence

You’re influential and we believe that should be rewarded.

  • Earn Klout Perks. Klout Perks are exclusive products or experiences that you earn based on your influence. Influencers have earned sweet perks like phones and airline tickets, all because of their impact online. You can always find out Perks you qualify for on the Perks page!

Did You Know?

Klout has run Perks with over 100 companies and Perks have been claimed over 300,000 times.

  • Your VIP Pass to the World. Klout helps companies reward you for your influence. For instance, your Score or topics could get you exclusive sneak peeks, service upgrades, and free goods to try out.
  • Be discovered in the topics you care about. Become a top influencer on our Topic pages and improve your online reputation.

This is just the beginning of what Klout can offer you. We will continue to improve in our goal to help you understand and unlock your influence.SIGN UP FOR KLOUT

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3 Comments
July 19, 2012

CrowdBooster


First, about you:

You are a visionary who believes in the promise of social media marketing. You believe that relationships with customers are everything and that every business should be an active participant in the community both on and offline.

Twitter and Facebook present a tremendous opportunity for businesses to develop genuine, one-on-one relationships with their customers. You are there to represent the business not only as someone with interesting and relevant things to say, but also as a leader of a community who actively participates and understands what the community is looking for.

Now, a little bit about us:

We believe that effective use of social media is about creating authentic, engaging experiences with relevant users. There are no shortcuts or fully-automated solutions to connect with a real audience. Our goal is to help you do the hard work of building a connection with your fans by giving you insightful and actionable information about your social media presence.

Crowdbooster helps you achieve an effective presence on Twitter and Facebook. We show you analytics that aren’t based on abstract scores but numbers that are connected to your business and your social media strategies: impressions, total reach, engagement, and more. We then give you the tools and recommendations you need to take action and improve each one of these metrics.

Our Team

Conversely, Inc., the company behind Crowdbooster.com, was founded in the Spring of 2010 by three Stanford graduates who are passionate about connecting people through social media. We are funded by Y Combinator. To learn more, read our blog or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr.

Interested?

Sign up now

 

Contact us

Email: support@crowdbooster.com
Phone: 1 (888) 944-9466
M-F 9AM-6PM Pacific Time
Tweet @Crowdbooster

Mailing address:
Ricky Yean
Crowdbooster
395 Page Mill Rd 
Palo Alto, CA 94306

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3 Comments
July 19, 2012

Main Street Hub


Straight from their website…

“Our mission is to help great local businesses around the world connect with customers.”

CUSTOMERS ARE TALKING, ONLINE.

Thanks to social media, conversations about local businesses are happening on the web every day.

Nearly a billion people use Facebook every month, hundreds of millions of people search Google for a local product or service every day, and over 80% of all consumers read online reviews before they buy.

Word of mouth, the greatest offline marketing tool of all time, has finally moved online.

ImageSUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES ARE JOINING THE CONVERSATION.

These websites are more important than other forms of marketing because (1) they are more objective and credible, and (2) customers turn to them first.

The future of your business depends on you being where customers are. We put you there, and we make sure you’re taking advantage of all of these opportunities.

WE HELP THOSE BUSINESSES BUILD RELATIONSHIPS ONLINE.

We specialize in small businesses like doctors, salons, florists, mechanics, spas, vets, and more.

We build and optimize social media profiles for your business on websites like Facebook, post messages regularly to engage your customers, create campaigns that encourage your customers to spread the word about you to their friends, and suggest responses to customer reviews to ensure that your business looks as good as possible online.

AND WE DO ALL OF THIS IN A WAY THAT TAKES THE BURDEN OFF OF YOU WHILE KEEPING YOU IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT.

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2 Comments
July 19, 2012

Hootsuite – Social Media is already impacting your business


Social Media is already impacting your business. 
Ensure it’s for the better.

Whether you use social media for Sales, Marketing, Support or HR, the social web is awash in opportunity to drive your business objectives forward and improve your results – if you have the right tools and know-how to use them.

Empower your team to succeed with HootSuite Enterprise, a scalable solution for businesses to streamline all social media efforts from one secure dashboard.

Devices

More than a listening and engagement tool for managing multiple social networks, the HootSuite dashboard layers industry-leading security controls over an intuitive team collaboration system providing the autonomy teams need to succeed with the peace of mind that comes with global governance. And HootSuite Enterprise includes advanced Social Analytics which deliver actionable data to evaluate efforts and plan solid social strategies. View the HootSuite overview presentation.

 

Social Business Benefits

Top 10 reasons clients choose HootSuite:

Service – Highest Service Level Possible – Account Manager, Premier Technical Support, Phone Support, Prioritized Product Feedback.
Ease – Implementation is simple and efficient allowing for scalability and ease of use throughout the organization
Security – Exclusive Security Features to ensure control messaging and access.
Setup – Personalized Account Setup and Assistance to Launch Faster.
Analytics – Unlimited Analytics and Reports to analyze and optimize the performance of communications and users including exclusive Enterprise Analytics.
Education – Includes Online Education, Live Training and Premium Options.
Collaboration – Build out teams from 10 to 1000s of users under global governance that scales and mirrors the structure of your org.
Tracking – Track volume and engagement metrics while you measure social media ROI on campaign specific conversions on your web properties.
Integrations – Exclusive Integrations and Apps Specifically for the Enterprise: LinkedIn Company Pages, Google+ Pages, SocialFlow, Adobe Genesis, Bit.ly…
Features – Branded Shorteners, Geo & Language Targeting on Facebook, Archiving and more!

 

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3 Comments
July 19, 2012

Google Plus Public Profiles


Public profiles

 The purpose of Google Profiles is to enable you to manage your online identity. Today, nearly all Google Profiles are public. We believe that using Google Profiles to help people find and connect with you online is how the product is best used. Private profiles don’t allow this, so we have decided to require all profiles to be public.

If you have a private profile, you will see the following message at the top of your profile with options to make it public or delete it:

Your full name is not being displayed on your profile page. This option is no longer supported in Google profiles.

Display my full name publicly | Delete my profile

If you currently have a private profile but you do not wish to make your profile public, you can delete your profile. Or, you can simply do nothing. All private profiles will be deleted sometime after July 31, 2011.

Keep in mind that you can have a public profile without making it findable by search engines such as Google. Learn more about search visibility. While your profile is public, your full name is the only required information that will be displayed on your profile; you’ll be able to edit or remove any other information that you don’t want to share. Learn how to edit your profile.

Note: Deleting your profile doesn’t delete your Google Account or services such as Gmail. Learn more about Google Accounts and Google Profiles. If you delete your profile and later decide to have a public profile, you can create a new profile.
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2 Comments
July 19, 2012

About Public and Protected Tweets


What is the difference between public and protected Tweets?

  • When you sign up for Twitter, you have the option to keep your Tweets public (the default account setting) or to protect your Tweets.
  • Accounts with protected Tweets require manual approval of each and every person who may view that account’s Tweets.

Who can see my Tweets?

  • Public Tweets (the default setting) are visible to anyone, whether or not they have a Twitter account.
  • Protected Tweets may only be visible to previously approved Twitter followers. Below is what an account with protected Tweets looks like to someone who is not an approved follower:

Note: If you at one time had public Tweets, those Tweets will always be public and searchable, even after you change your settings to protected. Only Tweets made after updating your settings will be protected.

Why would I protect my Tweets?

If you want to control who sees your messages, you may choose to protecting your Tweets. You can always change your mind and make them public later.

When you protect your Tweets, the following restrictions are put in place:

  • People will have to request to follow you; each follow request will need approval. Learn more.
  • Your Tweets will only be visible to users you’ve approved.
  • Other users will not be able to retweet your Tweets. Learn more.
  • Protected Tweets will not appear in Twitter search or Google search.
  • @replies you send to people who aren’t following you will not be seen by those users (because you have not given them permission to see your Tweets).
  • You cannot share permanent links to your Tweets with anyone other than your approved followers.
Social Media Consultant

Social Media Consultant

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