Category: Social Media Tools

In order to properly use social media, it is important to maintain a social media toolbox, complete with all of your social media tools readily available that you can refer to when creating social media strategies for businesses and individuals. Here is a list of social media tools that Christian Karasiewicz recommends.

Building a Twitter Facebook landing page tab using Shortstack

Last week we showed you how to add a Google Calendar to your Facebook Page. Now we’re going to show you how you can use Shortstack to add a Twitter feed to your Facebook Page.

Here is an example of a Facebook landing page tab we built using Shortstack to display our tweets.

Example of a Twitter feed embedded on a Facebook Page

Example of a Twitter feed on a Facebook Page
Example of a Twitter feed added to a Facebook landing page tab using Shortstack.

Let’s get started teaching you how to display your Twitter stream on your Facebook Page.

Display Twitter on your Facebook Page using Shortstack

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6 Tools to Help Bridge the Gap between Social Media and Blogger Outreach

Blogger outreach has often been synonymous with terms like guest posting and guest blogging in the past but it’s fast becoming a pivotal part of PR.

Successful blogger outreach relies on utilising as many channels of communication as possible and one of the most effective channels is social media.

By using social media you can reach bloggers much easier and when you do drop them an email later on to talk further (or pick up the phone) they will know who you are and be much more likely to take you seriously.

In this post I will show you a number of tools that help to bridge the gap between social media and blogger outreach.

Before we dive into the post, it’s important to note that when working on any blogger outreach you need to be targeting the right people and by that I mean you need to be targeting bloggers that are influencers within your target market. The tools that I have included below will help you target the right people.

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10 business tools to be thankful for in 2013

2013 has been an extremely successful year filled with lots of ups and downs and I am very thankful for everything that has happened.

Not only has it taught me a lot about my own strengths and weaknesses (and how to use them to grow my business), but I’ve also had an unexpected life-threatening health issue with family members that has challenged me in ways that I couldn’t have expected and has taught me how important life truly is and how we should cherish everything in it.

Despite these obstacles, I am extremely thankful because they have challenged me and helped to propel me further than I could have ever expected.

Here are some of the highlights from this past year:

While these are just some of the milestones that I am thankful for, a lot of this wouldn’t be possible without many important business tools that I use on a daily basis.

Here are 10 of my favorite business tools to be thankful for in 2013.

10 business tools to be thankful for in 2013

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Cleaning up Facebook status updates with Dirtymouth

Do you have a dirty mouth on Facebook? If you’re not sure if your content might be considered offensive, you should try Dirtymouth.

What is Dirtymouth?

Dirtymouth for Facebook

Dirtymouth is a free social media tool for Facebook users that can analyze status updates and comments on your Facebook Profile and tell you if it considers it to be offensive.

Does it clean-up our status updates? Here’s a review of Dirtymouth on our Facebook Profile. Let’s see if it worked.

Review of Dirtymouth for Facebook

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10 Reasons to use ShortStack for business

Are you looking for ways to make your Facebook Page more engaging for fans and to grow your presence on Facebook? One of the ways you can add value to your Facebook Page is by using Shortstack.

For those of you not familiar with Shortstack, it is a powerful third-party Facebook landing page tool that you can use to add all sorts of functionality to your Facebook Page.

Some of the ways that you can use Shortstack are for running contests, displaying your favorite Pinterest boards, and collecting email newsletter subscriptions.

There are just some of the reasons to use Shortstack.

I’ve put together a list of 10 reasons to use Shortstack to help grow your business.

10 reasons to use Shortstack

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5 free services to schedule tweets

5 ways to schedule tweets

Image via: Firebrandmedia

Twitter is a social media tool where things happen in real-time and it’s almost expected that you’re tweeting at a given moment. So what happens when you’re not going to be available and need to tweet? It’s time to schedule tweets!

By scheduling tweets, you can be in two places at once. For example, you could be sending out tweets, while you are meeting with business partners or attending an event.

Is scheduling tweets bad?

When you schedule tweets, it isn’t a bad thing, provided it’s not something you are doing all of the time. Successful Twitter users schedule tweets for those times when they are not going to be available. When they are available, they take the time to respond in real-time to tweets and engage with their followers.

If you plan to schedule tweets just so you can say that are on another network, I would reconsider why you are using Twitter to begin with.

Tools to schedule tweets

There are literally hundreds of tools you can use to schedule tweets. Today, we’re focusing on free services you can use to schedule tweets.

What we’re focusing on today are Twitter tools that are free and have a good track record, meaning they won’t close up shop next week.

Note: some of the tools we recommend to schedule tweets offer both a free and a paid version. Depending on how much you use Twitter and the features you want, such as analytics or being able to incorporate all of your social media channels into one tool.

Remember, while there are hundreds of tools, we have selected our favorites. If you have another Twitter tool you use to schedule out tweets, please leave in the comments below.

5 free services to schedule tweets

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5 Google Reader alternatives

Google Reader alternatives

Earlier this week, Google announced that they were shutting down Google Reader. While this means the end of Google Reader, there are a number of Google Reader alternatives available to help you continue to consume your favorite web content.

While I’m a little sad to see Google Reader shut down, I’ve been using a number of Google Reader alternatives for the past few months  and I have to say, there’s a lot to like with them.

What’s to like about these Google Reader alternatives?

While Google Reader was a very convenient product, allowing you the opportunity to consume content from your favorite websites in one place, there’s a lot to like about the many Google Reader alternatives available. Here are just a few of the highlights.

  • Desktop, mobile and laptop friendly
  • Good integration with social media accounts
  • Free

5 Google Reader alternatives

Feedly

Google Reader Alternatives - Feedly

Feedly is by far the most popular one of these Google Reader alternatives. They offer a clean user interface, sync with Reeder and gReader, and will even recommend different content to you based on what you read.

Flipboard

Google Reader Alternatives - Flipboard

 

If you’re a visual person, then Flipboard is for you. The thing I love most about Flipboard is that they let you create your own magazines. Think of it like having different magazines based on different interests.

In addition, they integrate nicely with your social media channels. This way you can read your content and see it – before you click through and if you want to, you can engage right there with it! To me, this is a huge timesaver for consuming your favorite news content on the web and on your social media channels.

Don’t forget, Flipboard also offers a quality free app for your mobile device or tablet and a great web experience too! Definitely one of my favorite Google Reader alternatives.

Newsblur

Google Reader Alternatives - Newsblur

 

 

If you’re looking for an alternative to Google Reader that’s got a minimal look and feel to it, Newsblur is a good alternatives.

Just like other aggregators, Newsblur features a clean and simple interface along with apps designed for your mobile device and tablet.

If you’re deciding whether to go with Newsblur or any of these other Google Reader alternatives, I recommend trying it out. If you’re someone who prefers a more visual experience, there are other more suitable ones that I’ve listed (Feedly, Flipboard, Swaay).

Overall, Newsblur gets the job done though and you will be happy using the tool.

Pulse

Google Reader Alternatives - Pulse

One of the alternatives to Google Reader that I’ve been testing out for a good while is Pulse. What attracted me to this tool is one, LinkedIn owns it.

This means that hopefully they’ll integrate it with LinkedIn to make it easier to consume and share your favorite web content with you LinkedIn network.

Like Flipboard, Pulse is also extremely visual. In addition to allowing you to view headlines from your favorite sites, their mobile app is top-notch.

Overall, Pulse is near the top of my list of Google Reader alternatives, mainly because they’re backed by a large, successful company. But hey, look what happened to Google Reader.

Swayy

Google Reader Alternatives - Swayy

Swayy is a newcomer to Google Reader alternatives – and it’s still invitation only.

While that’s one small detractor, they make up for it. For instance, you can integrate with your favorite social networks and add your favorite web content.

Additionally, they give you analytics baed on what topics are trending. Also, they do a nice job breaking down the content that is recommended for you as seen in the above screenshot.

As I mentioned, it’s invite only, but I do have a few invitations so if you want to try this one out, send me a message.

Which of these Google Reader alternatives is right for me?

While there’s no guarantee that these Google Reader alternatives will be around forever, it’s great to know that there are lots of great options.

Once you decide on an alternative, don’t forget to add our blog to your favorite Google Reader alternative.

If I had to crown a king, I would rank them in the following order:

  1. Feedly – feature-packed, works with lots of other services.
  2. Flipboard – magazine-style news reader. Integrates nicely with social media accounts.
  3. Pulse – owned by LinkedIn, visual interface, what’s not to love?
  4. Swayy – invitation only, great trending tools to help identify content to share.
  5. Newsblur – nice interface, lacks visuals like other readers.

Question: Which of these Google Reader alternatives do you plan to use? Let me know by leaving a comment here.

10 Wildfire Alternatives for Facebook Page Apps

Wildfire Alternatives

Earlier this week, Wildfire, a social media marketing software for creating Facebook Page Apps and promotions made a huge announcement about the types of businesses they plan to support. They’re switching from small businesses to enterprise only ones.  While this makes sense because of the direction they’re taking, it also rubs a lot of people the wrong way. If you’re someone who was considering using Wildfire, we’ve compiled 10 Wildfire alternatives for creating Facebook Page promotions.

While this is great news for Wildfire because it will let them focus more on working with high-end businesses, it leaves a lot of businesses who don’t have $2,500 to spend per month on running Facebook Page app promotions left out.

Fortunately, there are a lot of Wildfire alternatives that won’t cost you too much to use for your business. Let’s review a few of the Wildfire alternatives you should consider.

10 Wildfire alternatives for Facebook Page Applications

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10 Must have Social Media Marketing Tools

10 must-have social media marketing tools

Social media is a huge field and everyone using social media should take into consideration the amount of time required to get desired results. With effective social media marketing tools, the time you need to get the results will reduce significantly. Here are ten of our favorite social media marketing tools you can use.

What can social media marketing tools do for my business?

Having the right social media marketing tools in your arsenal won’t just save you time, but it can help your business make good on your social media strategy. Think about it. If you want to build a house, would you use a garden hose to build the framework? Of course not! If you wanted to build it right, you would use different tools to help get the job done such as a hammer and nails.

When looking at your social media strategy, the same holds true. You need to be using the right social media marketing tools. To help you out, we’re compiled some of our favorite social media marketing tools to help you get the job done – right!

10 must have social media marketing tools

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Facebook 20 Percent Rule – Do You Measure Up?

Facebook 20 percent rule
In early January, Facebook rolled out updates to cover photos, ads and images.  No, they didn’t change the sizes of them again.  Instead, they have implemented a Facebook 20 percent rule.  What the Facebook 20 percent rule aims to do is control how much text you use on your Timeline cover photo, ads, and in images you want to promote. Before you start to panic though, remember, the Facebook 20 percent rule is there to help you…become a better marketer for your business on Facebook.

How can the Facebook 20 percent rule help you?

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