From the category archives:

Social Media Tools

social media professional

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Whether you plan to use social media for better PR outreach, marketing, or just listening to what customers have to say, the social media tools you use can play an important role in your business. What’s equally important is who uses those tools in your company’s name. Should you handle social media profiles yourself, or should you turn to a professional who can help you develop a solid social media strategy? [click to continue…]

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social network tag cloud

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In the past I ran a small music PR firm where I assisted musicians with online PR and social media. Now I follow an even stronger passion, working full-time as a writer. Years of experience working with creative professionals and in my writing and publishing business have shown me the power social media can have in creative industries. [click to continue…]

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Google Plus Brand Pages

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When Google Plus initially launched, both personal and business users flocked to the site. But before long those business users were told that their accounts weren’t welcome on the social network yet and that they would be deleted. Instead Google wanted to roll out a separate feature or profile type for businesses and brands — Pages.

After what felt like a painfully long wait, Google Plus Pages were finally recently unveiled. But were they worth the wait? Let’s look at both sides. [click to continue…]

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Photo Credit: horiavarlan on Flickr

Photo Credit: horiavarlan on Flickr

In kindergarten, we were taught to raise our hands if we have a question. We had to wait our turn to be called on to ask our question. As adults, we turn to the search engines such as ask.com and Google for answers to our questions. They provide us with answers through algorithms that determine what websites provide the best information related to the questions we ask. [click to continue…]

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data mining

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When it comes to social networks these days, I sometimes feel like the big players are in the middle of a war. And I don’t just mean they’re competing for our attention. It’s starting to feel like a race to the bottom on the issue of user privacy. I have to wonder if pure social networks are dead or at least dying in favor of what Eric Schmidt calls an “identity service.” [click to continue…]

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Alienate social media followers

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You know that it’s important to build your network or community when you use social media tools. But it’s equally important that you maintain that community if you really want to benefit from social media use. Whether you use these tools for personal or business networking, there is little point in engaging via social media if your friends and followers no longer care about what you have to say. [click to continue…]

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Google Plus has created a big splash in the social media scene. What is less obvious is that it may be impacting your blog traffic in ways you’re not even aware of. The trends I’m about to describe might be something to factor into your strategic social media and blogging plans.

G+ Blogging

From Tweets to Articles: the G+ Hybrid

One unique thing about G+ is that it allows us to send messages just as tersely as on Twitter – and at the same time, allows long, info-rich writing precisely like a dense blog post or even a magazine article. There is no text limit like on Facebook. [click to continue…]

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social shopping

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I’m almost finished with my holiday shopping. But many people are still in full swing. Or maybe you haven’t even started yet. No matter where you are in the process do you think social media played (or will play) a role?

In this day and age I’d be very surprised if social media didn’t affect our holiday shopping in at least a small way. How? Here are a few examples of how social media might play a role in retail sales and your holiday shopping decisions. [click to continue…]

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You wonder if starting a corporate blog would just add more noise to the blogosphere. Perhaps you thought if you just started talking, people would eventually listen. With all the new ways to communicate (social media, email marketing, text marketing) is a blog still worth the effort? If you have a corporate blog and are wondering if it’s time to let it wither, hold on.

Even if you can’t seem to build a community of active followers/readers, you should have a blog. Blogs have been considered an essential marketing tool for some time. And there is good reason for that, at least there should be. Every corporate marketing activity must be tied to a shareholder benefit. [click to continue…]

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Are you using Google+ yet? I’m not usually one to jump into new social media tools until they have reasonable saturation within my target markets. But I was excited to give Google+ a try (largely because of the selectivity users have using the circles feature). Now that I’ve spent some time playing with the new network, overall I’m impressed. That said, a few hiccups are expected with any new tool. And I have three requests or suggestions for Google+.

Google Plus Post

Example of a Google+ Post in my stream

Here are those requests: [click to continue…]

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Social media integration usually happens in stages and it often hinges on corporate culture. The idea of immersing a company into the social media world is intimidating. And of course you’re concerned about the time commitment and investment involved.

The good news is – most of these avenues of communication cost little or nothing. Yes, it will take time to find your rhythm in the social community. Don’t try to do everything, but do pick one outlet to use and utilize it well. When you’re comfortable, branch out a little further. Use the tips below to help you expand your social media presence. It is now easier than ever to communicate with your customers and fans. [click to continue…]

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