Tag Archives: twitter
Social Media Infographic
A few days ago I came across the ultimate social media infographic posted on Management Today and decided to share it with you. The infographic illustrates how social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have changed the way we interact.
5 great twitter application you must know…
Twitter is a very good Social, Networking and Marketing tools. I am going to share great application that can make it your Twitter experience more interesting and hope if you are not on Twitter you will join in so that you can enjoy the use of great apps.
I don’t like spammers. If you want to get rid of all your spammers and find quality, Tweepi is the answer for you.
To gain more followers on Twitter you have to share valuable information or follow people. However they are some people who don’t return the favour by following after you have followed them. JustUnfollow help you see people who are following you and unfollow them at them if you want to.
Manage works almost the same with JustUnFollow. Below are the things you can do on this app.
• Clean 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.
• Link Google+ to your Twitter account.
You want to know how influential are you on Twitter, your stats? Look no further. Twentyfeet is kind of like Google Analytics for Twitter. It keeps track of all the important stats and lets you know when something important is happening. The app displays easy to read graphs and insights so users can keep track of their follower numbers and how they are changing over time. Not only can users keep track of Twitter stats, but they track also sites like Facebook and YouTube.
The most important things when you are on the Social Networks are to get the message across, market your business in order to boast your sales and to network yourself or your business. This tool can help you be effective in achieving your goals by simply letting you know the most effective times of day to Tweet.
It looks over all the people a user follows and the users time line and analyses the best times to Tweet so they will have the most impact. How is that for a piece of software? So if you haven’t been getting any response on Twitter. Try this tool and see the difference.
Bring your event to life with live social media
Have you been to an event recently and noticed the live Twitter and Facebook streams up on a big screen somewhere in the venue? Or have you ever gone to a conference and tweeted from there while the speakers were presenting? Well I have and it’s so exciting to engage with difference audiences live using various social media platforms at an event.
Social media has become an important part of events, especially conferencing. Live streaming feeds from Twitter and Facebook as well as blog posts allow audiences participate in conferences and other events.
I had the privilege of working at two conferences recently (one being international) where I tweeted live and posted Facebook updates from the event. I found it quite overwhelming and exciting. I realised that even though it may look easy to compile Twitter and Facebook updates, it’s even easier to make mistakes and attract bad behaviour.
Here are a few key points to remember when Tweeting live from an event or conference:
1. Encourage delegates to tweet during the event and provide a special hashtag (#) which should only be used for that particular event. A live and active Twitter stream engages delegates in real time and allows people who could not attend the event to get a feel for the topics being discussed.
2. A live stream can backfire at times when people go off topic or tweet negative things about the event or the speaker. Don’t allow this to happen. Get rid of spam immediately.
3. You must be prepared to respond to negative and positive feedback immediately. Remember, offensive and negative content can be live for just minutes at your event but it can be around the world within seconds.
4. Ask your delegates to post photos of the event on their personal profiles. Retweet their tweets and reply to their @mentions. This will add value to your streams and event.
5. Have a plan in place in case of an emergency. For example, if the venue offers Wi-Fi make sure that you have a 3G card available as a back up. If you are in venue filled with 2000 delegates, the Internet tends to be slow and your updates may not go out as fast as you would like them to.
If I’ve missed anything please feel free to comment and add on.
The how to of Blogging
I’m sure many of you know what blogging is, but for the few of you who do not know what a blog is, allow me to enlighten you. A blog is a web page that serves as a journal for an individual which is freely accessible to internet users all over the globe. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?
Blogging is not as easy as many think. With millions of blogs out there, it’s hard to achieve true success. You can spend 15 hours a day working on your blog but, if you’re not doing the right things you’re just wasting your time. So what goes into having a successful blog you ask? There are many ways you can ensure your blog will be successful. There are a few important factors you need to determine before starting a blog, which include:
–> Goals
–> Target Audience
Below are a few other important elements you should take into consideration when creating and maintaining your own blog:
1. Name and URL Link
The name of your blog is very important. It should be unique and memorable so that visitors will remember it and return after the first visit.
When choosing a domain for your blog, select one that will represent your brand – which is you. Pick something that’s short and unforgettable. Anything too long will be hard to remember and easily forgotten. This may result in visitors not returning to your blog.
2. Design
The design is the first thing a visitor will notice when arriving on your blog. If you want to ‘wow’ your visitors then choose a design that stands out from the rest in order for your blog to be unforgettable. Remember, first impressions last.
Another important factor to take into consideration is navigation. Make sure that everything on your blog is easy to find and access. There’s nothing more annoying than spending hours trying to find recent posts, tags, a search box, etc.
3. Content
I’m sure you’ve heard the cliché, “Content is king.” Well, if you want a successful blog then you should live by it.
Content helps increase your traffic and improve your rankings. If you want readers to share your posts then you should put a lot of time and effort into your content.
4. Social Media Platforms
Social interactivity is fundamental for any blog. When creating your blog, add plugins or widgets in order to make it easy for your readers to share your content. Be sure to add a Facebook like button, a Twitter button for retweeting, and the new Google +1 button. If you create great content, people will share it on their social media platforms.
Blogging Heroes
Among more than 102 000 000 blogs, a few stand out as influential — they are called Blogging Heroes. Wired magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson is one of them with one of the most successful blogs in the world – “The Long Tail”.
Below are a few points by Chris Anderson that might help you when creating your own blog or increasing the quality of your blog:
A blog is a thinking tool, a means of collecting, composing, and amplifying your thoughts—while getting useful feedback. Ideas are enriched by the experiences of blog readers.
A personal blog presents a better platform for communicating honestly and transparently than a company blog, where a writer is constrained by commercial considerations. However, remember that self-promotion is more effective when it includes a value-added element.
A blog, especially one with a large community, can function as a distributed research project and become an efficient marketing platform.
When blogging, focus on specific interests. You don’t have to appeal to an overly diverse audience. Focused blogs are self-selecting, in that they draw readers who have a legitimate interest in the blogs’ subjects.
Such readers are more likely to forgive errors and omissions, and will contribute more than someone just passing through.
Every blog, and every blogger, can be improved. To maximize your blog’s audience, focus with laser precision on your subject.
If you want to hear Chris live, catch him at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit on 21 September 2011.
5 simple tip to become a better networker!
I believe that none of us can live alone without someone’s assistance. As a result we need to cultivate our relationships every time or create networks. The big question is, “how would I do that?” I am going to share five simple tips you can do to be to become a better networker.
Attend events
I do not blame Social Media for making us lose focus on face to face interaction. In fact, this is a very powerful tool to improve networking. It’s the best idea to attend seminars and events of the industry that you work in or that you would like to be in. Be active in the events that you attend by approaching people (do not wait for them to approach you) and interact with them.
Exchange contact
If possible, exchange your contact details with new faces at the events or seminars that you attended and make sure that you are always reachable after the event.
Follow up
You don’t have to wait for the people you have connected with to get back to you. It’s always about being initiative and being a step ahead. Emails alone are not enough; make phone calls as well because if you wait for the email you sent to so and so last week, you are not going to get anywhere.
Use Social Media
Be active in Social Media. Signing up on Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media network is not enough. Keep all your social networks up to date and be proactive in talking to people and establish connections.
Be reachable at all the times
No one wants to be connected with people who need to be fed all the time. There are a lot of Social Media sites that can help you become up to date with what’s going on in businesses, technology, Social Media (your industry), etc. By doing so, you can even get partners to start something worthwhile.
Do you have any tips?
5 Powerful Social Media Tools
For the past few days I have been researching suitable Social Media applications that will assist me managing clients’ Social Media platforms. I once recommended two Social Media tools a while back. Since change is good, we have also decided to do so and try new web tools. I came across incredible web applications and decided to share some of them with you. You can choose one (or more) that best suits your needs.
This application allows you to publish your content to the popular social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, Facebook Photos, and YouTube. It also allows you to schedule your updates to the above mentioned Social Networks.
The exciting part about Postling is that the dashboard makes it easy to keep track of all your responses, it’s very convenient to setup and it’s affordable. They also have a free account; however, it only supports a single account, one brand and one user.
This platform supports Facebook and Twitter only. It’s a very good web application for those who manage campaigns on a regular basis. The campaign involves scheduling content over a period of time using links, status updates, quotes, questions and photos.
What makes this application unique is that they have a feature called “Circle”. Once you have created your circle and invited your friends. Rooster will alert your Circle members to share your post every time you update your profile, Facebook or Twitter pages. This application is free but only supports three publishing destinations at the moment.
This application allows you to publish your content to any of the popular social media platforms, including WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn and Flickr. The good thing about this web application is that it also supports text messaging; email marketing, analytics and multiple users and multiple accounts. See the image below some of its features that Sendible support.
This web application helps small and large businesses to track and analyze conversations across Twitter and Facebook in one place. It also includes a search function for any conversation about your brand on Twitter and Facebook. How is that for a piece of software? This means you are not going to be left out when people say something about you or your brand.
Just like TweetDeck, Yoono is also a free web application which is available as a browser extension, desktop app and mobile app. The dashboard gives you the power to have all your Social Networks such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube and more in one place.
Related article
How to make your website work for you…
You have a website right? Are you achieving the goals you want to meet? Is your website up to standard? Captivating? Exciting? Website competition is tough; it’s just one click away. Let’s look at some of the important things to consider when you are building your website.
The home page
This is the face of your business. A poor home page can destroy the chances of achieving your website’s objectives. On the other hand a good home page will make your website work for you. Keep in mind that internet users scan not read. Exclude irrelevant information from the home page. Make it easy and straight to the point.
Content is the most key factor of your website. Make sure you keep it current and original. Use tools like Google Adwords to optimise your webpage and prioritise your content. Do not make your website complicated. Make it simple for people find information. Include all the important information on your site so that people won’t have to look for something you are offering on a other site. Read more about the importance of the content
Usability
One of the most frustrating things is to wait for a website to load. Flash is fancy refrain from using it on your entire Home page. The quickest thing that your website visitor will do when your site is taking long to load is to hit the back button or close and go to other sites.
Mobile friendly
Tablets PCs and smartphones are the future for internet users. Make sure that your website is mobile friendly and easy to navigate using smartphones and tablet PCs.
Don’t stop innovating
The good thing about the Internet is that people share what works for them and what does not. Be proactive, read more about what new and apply it to your site as well. Use Social Media plug-ins as well. Install twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn sharing buttons.
What can you add here?
Do’s of Social Media Marketing
Most of the brands have become very powerful because of Social Media. Surely, they didn’t achieve this over night or by luck. Everything worthwhile comes with hard-work and dedication. There are important Strategies for Online Media success. I am going to share Do’s of Social Media that can help you get most out of your social media presence.
Do’s
1) Planning ahead
If you do not have Social Media Plan in place it’s rare that your business will make something out of it. Why waste your time investing it on something you didn’t even plan.
No Plan = Fail… Period
2) Genuinely engaging with your audience.
This is the most important part of Social media; regular contribution relevant information to you audience make them come back to your site again.
3) Listening
Listen to what they are saying, what interest them the most, what boring them and give information that they want to read about.
4) Make sure all the Brand Networks Platforms are consistent.
If your audience are confused; you will lose them. Make sure that there is same torn and vibe in all your Social Media platforms.
5) Access your Social Media success.
You entered into Social media because you have goal to achieve right? It’s advisable to check whether you are achieving your goals by accessing you success. Check out some of the ways to access it.
6) Check your errors.
People understand that human beings make mistakes. Always be eager to admit if you make one and correct it as soon as possible.
7) Call for action.
Once you have shared your pictures or content; ask your follower to like or share and thank them when they do.
Do you have any Online Social Media Strategies? Why don’t you share…?
Social Media Tools
Anyone who follows lots of people or who has lots of followers on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook knows how difficult and frustrating it is to keep track and manage all their Social Networks at once. I was very happy when I realised that these two powerful Social Media tools cater to this problem.
The first one is TweetDeck; my reasons for recommending this are:
1) TweetDeck allows you users to browse and stay in touch with what’s happening in the now; connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and many more, all in one application.
2) You can post your status updates, post photos or videos, comments, liking at once through TweetDeck.
3) You can also group your friends into columns to make it easier to follow only updates you would like to follow.
4) TweetDeck also lets you to create a column for anyone who “mentions” you; this helps you to keep track of everyone who mentions you in their tweets; how cool is that?
HootSuite is the second Social Media tool that can help you manage several streams of information in an efficient way.
A few of my reasons for recommending this are
1) HootSuite allows you to manage multiple networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook etc.
2) HootSuite allows you to manage multiple users over various social networks.
3) HootSuite also includes analytics to help you understand where traffics are coming from.
4) Multi-stream view- you will not miss any updates in your Social Networks.
5) Managing your blog followers.
6) HootSuite also allows you to schedule your tweets so that you can avoid time-zone or important tweets when you aren’t at your computer.
For more cool stuff you can check it out yourself. Click here.
Online Strategies that can help you STAND OUT.
It is important to be that Social Media campaigns are visible to the users of the social networking sites you use. When people say positive things about your brand or services you offer, it’s great PR. On the other hand when no one takes any notice of a campaign or if people talk in a negative way about a brand, it’s very difficult for the business to eradicate online embarrassment.
When a brand is received badly in a Social Media context, the worst thing a business can do is nothing. Here are some online strategies that can be implemented to get your brand out of a sticky online mess.
1. Use Social Media searches to track what is being said about you
Twitter Search: This search tool helps you filter all the real-time information coursing through Twitter. This will also help you to be informed about what happening around you. Simply enter your business name or product and see who is saying what about you.
Social Mention: This powerful searching tool can help you track and measure what people are saying about you or your brand through the social networking sites you use, for example, Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google Buzz, etc.
You are one step ahead if you know what people saying about you or your brand.
2. Create a plan
Planning ahead is very important because it reduces time wastage and unnecessary stress. Use your plan to identify goals and always be clear about what you want to achieve.
3. Know your target audience
Get this part right and save a lot of time and energy by targeting the people that want and need your product, not people that have no interest or need.
4. Focus on quality not quantity
Which option would you prefer here…To have 100 active followers in your social site or to have 500 followers who don’t acknowledge your work? Most of you would prefer the first option to the second one.
You also have to let your followers take control of the online conversation. Do this by giving them the information that they need the most and do not forget to keep on learning.
There is no problem without a solution.
Have you got any additional online strategies? If so, we would love to hear yours. If you like the post, don’t forget to share it.
