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Facebook’s Facelift has Ignition!

AnnieInfinite — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:24:14 +0000

Well I guess it’s not a total surprise we have been reading about it for a while…

The emphasis is now on search and it is a great search engine, however I know there will be folks like myself asking where are the status updates? Where are my friend lists? etc..

The new Facebook redesign will take some people by surprise and others will be just plain ticked off – we know that’s true, but just like in times past when FB made changes you will all have to get used to it.

This is the page that greeted most users this morning

and this is the guide to what’s changed and what’s new:

As you can see Facebook is changing into a new type of social site, really it’s becoming what I would call a social search site, which is an interesting tack to take – are they going to compete with Google for searches? It’s not out of the realm of possibility as over Christmas Facebook searches out weighed Google searches and that is a huge coup for FB.

Now is the time to get used to the changes and to change the way you use FB to compensate for those changes – how will you compensate for the loss of your easy to find friend lists which is one of the changes most users are upset about. The secret is they are still there, just click on ‘Friends’ and you will see ‘Status Updates’ right there under ‘Friends’ click on it to see all your usual folders or then click more and you will see them there and this is going to be the easiest way for you to find your favourite people and coversations in the future.

We have to ask the question “What’s next?” as Facebook as made major changes almost every 6 months over it’s history there is almost no time between redesigns to get used to them.

The Zen Bull

Is Facebook becoming a portal? Now 4th largest source of traffic to news sites (digital.venturebeat.com)
More Users Seeing New Facebook Home Page – a Birthday Launch Coming? (insidefacebook.com)
Live-blog: A rundown on Facebook’s new redesign (digital.venturebeat.com)

© AnnieInfinite for The Bulls Roar, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Add new tag, Facebook, Google, Social network, Web search engine

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Using Posterous: Upping the Ante

AnnieInfinite — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:57:19 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

First of all what is Posterous? you might well ask.

Posterous is a blogging platform with a difference! At it’s simplest it is a blogging platform that allows you to post via email. Yes! that’s right via email. Just create your blog post in your email or in word, add your images and post it directly to Posterous. When you do this the first time, it creates your account and once this is done you can login and change the look and feel and add in your auto-posting options (even to your wordpress.com blog) and from then on all you need to do is send more posts. Easy? simple? you bet!

Posterous even allows you to embed MP3′s, videos, audio’s and can turn images into image galleries and slide shows. What more? your PDF’s and word files are displayed as a Scribd embedded widget, so if you wish to avoid this you can send it straight in the email. However this does afford some good qualities, it means you don’t have to re-write all those articles and this means you can post those older reports as blog posts with changing a thing.

Posterous is the blogging platform for those who wish to blog the easy way and is great for beginners. It is also a way for those of us with multiple blogs and social media to aggregate our posting into one place. Yes I know I am going to here screams of “Duplicate Content” however you do have to ask yourself does one aggregator qualify as a downside to “duplicate content’ or does the added benefit of having your content on a site with such a high growth rate outdo the downside?

This is how easy it is:

Post to your social media service. Posterous can automatically spread your post to more than ten sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Tumblr. Click here to learn how. Here’s a list of Posterous email addresses and what they do:

post@posterous.com creates a public post and automatically shares to the social medias services you’ve set up.
private@posterous.com creates a non-public
post.posterous@posterous.com makes a public post that is not automaticallytweeted.
twitter@posterous.com spreads your post only via Twitter.
twitter+facebook@posterous.com spreads your post via Twitter and Facebook.

Post to different Posterous blogs. For example, twitter@jonesfamily.posterous.com will update http://jonesfamily.posterous.com and your Twitter account. The right side of the @ tells Posterous which Posterous site to post to, and the left side of the @ tells Posterous which external sites to update.

Customize the look-and-feel of your site. Posterous now supports customization. Select one of the built-in themes, and customize the colors. Or create your own custom theme. You can even port Tumblr themes to Posterous.

Use a custom domain. By default, Posterous assigns you a domain based on “posterous.com” However, you can change this to a custom domain like Holykaw.com. Click here to learn how.

Post pictures inline. Posterous automatically converts set of photos into a gallery view (where readers click from picture to picture), but if you don’t want a gallery, just put “((nogallery))” in the subject of the email. Posterous will post all the photos individually one after another.

Post from any site. The Posterous bookmarklet lets you quickly grab content out of the page you’re on. You can click and drag to select text and then click “Share on Posterous” in your bookmark bar. Or just click the bookmark without selecting anything and it will auto-detect all large photos, video and media on the page. Click here to learn how.

Create a group site. You can add contributors to your site, and they don’t need to create an account. They simply email post@sitename.posterous.com. All contributors will be notified of new posts and comments by email.

Post using links not embed code. If you want to post a video from Youtube, photo from Flickr, or TV show from Hulu, just send Posterous the URL. There’s no need to copy and paste the embed code. Posterous will take the url you send and convert it into an embedded video automatically.

Add tags. You can add tags to posts by putting them in the title of the email. For example, “((tags: food, New York))” will add those two tags to the post. This also works in the Bookmarklet and iPhone application.

Enable public postings. Turn on “Post by moderation” in your account settings, and anyone can email post@sitename.posterous.com to add something to your site. You just need to approve each post before it goes public. This is a great way to accept user-generated content.

Add a your location. Posterous can automatically add a Google map to your post to show where you took the photo. All you have to do is geotagg your photos..

Don’t include your email signature. Do you have an email signature that you don’t want posted? Either cut it or end your post with “#end” and Posterous won’t publish anything after it.

Posterous: A Cool New Tool for Developing Your Personal Brand (slideshare.net)
Posterous releases directory of themes (pheedcontent.com)

© AnnieInfinite for The Bulls Roar, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Add new tag, Facebook, Flickr, Google, Posterous, Tumblr, Twitter, wordpress.com, YouTube

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How to: Grow your Facebook Fans

AnnieInfinite — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:14:14 +0000

: Image via CrunchBase

I hear a lot of people asking about growing their fan base on their Facebook Fan Page, and the answer is to create engagement through various means. The most important thing I can recommend is this:

If you are present and a presence on your fan page your fan base will grow just as quickly as your friends.

Make sure to Add Value to your fans by posting great content and information in the form of blogs posts – your own and other experts in your field – that’s right, do not be afraid to prove that you are secure in your role by promoting others. Answer questions your fans may have and try to always to so promptly. Join in conversations, comment on other fan pages and use the @ feature to credit other fan pages for their information if you are reposting.
Other great ways to Add Value in the form of information is to bring your own blog feed into your Pages – Notes Tab, or you could choose to feed in selected Twitter updates via the RSS feed from your favorites to keep it updating. Then all you do is favorite your own blog updates, quotes and selceted retweets for them to instantly appear on your page.
Add a Static FBML or HTML App on it’s own tab on your Fan Page and configure it a little like a “Landing or Squeeze page” this is almost like having a Mini Website on your FB Fan Page and you can add in an Optin box and so much more.
Converse with your fans: ask them quesitons about their own businesses, their own challenges in your niche’s arena, give credit to others, give praise when it is due, quote others including other Facebookers. Find ways to create great conversation on your Page. Clue: conversation = engagement.
Post photo’s of you with friends, at seminars and your own place of business or workshops, at meetups and tweetups etc.. and tag the people you are seen with in those photo’s with a personal comment.
Promote your FB Fan Page on Twitter, your email signature, your online signature, your business card, and even on the bottom of your comments – when appropriate
Link your page to your Twitter account so that all your FB Fan Page comments automagically appear on your Twitter stream http://facebook.com/twitter Do this with your Friendfeed and any other social profiles you have.
Favourite other Pages on FB, this is easily done by clicking on this link and choosing which page to link it to.
Try out the Social Ads on FB: you can easily choose to target certain areas, age groups, sex, keywords and more and they’re easy to set up.

© AnnieInfinite for The Bulls Roar, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Add new tag, Blog, Facebook, RSS, Social network, Twitter

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Twitillate Your World

AnnieInfinite — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:15:47 +0000

: Image by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten via Flickr

There are loads of different ways to use Twitter to enhance your social media marketing, I must admit I like the ones that make my life easier either by simplifying it in some way or by providing a time effective solution to my busy day.

This list of Twitter apps and sites and some of my hints on how I use them, will provide you with some ideas on how to do the same for your busy social media calendars:

Twitter Widgets and Downloads Page: A list right on Twitter itself of Twitter apps and widgets you can use to streamline your Twittering, and use to update other profiles like Facebook and Friendfeed.

Tweetbubble: This app allows you to record a short message via video and place it right on your Twitter profile where it will play anytime a user check out your profile.

TwitWall: Blogging app for Twitter, allows you to create articles and blog post including images and video and is auto linked to your Twitter profile.

Taweet: An event lister linked to your Twitter profile to publicise your events.

Twiturly: Find out what links are tops on Twitter in real time.

Tweetiator: this site notifies you when your links are shared on Twitter and by whom – very useful!

JustTweetIt: a directory of Twitter users – great to find users in your niche etc..

Twellow: the Twitter Business Directory – get listed!

Tweetmeme: Search and retweet the hottest stories on Twitter. Get the plugin for your blog and allow your posts to rate on Tweetmeme.

TwtPoll: easy to use poll app for Twitter, ask question, take surveys.

Seesmic: my Fav Twitter desktop app for tweeting multiple accounts, seeing my twitter lists, and more

Tweetdeck: another Twitter desktop app which is also a fav of many Tweeters

Tweetmic: an iPhone client that allows you to record a HD audio and tweetcast it directly to Twitter

FreeTwitterDesigner: Create a professional looking Twitter background for free, certainly not the only one, but very easy to use and pastes your new design straight to Twitter for you.

Selective Twitter to Facebook: Now this one is not a link, but it is one of the handiest things I can tell you about linking your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Many people use the Twitter widget for this however this results in what I term as an unsightly mess as all your Tweet end up willy nilly on your Facebook profile which can be quite annoying on other peoples walls and if you are a prolific Tweeter can also result in your overstepping the boundaries of Facebook protocol and getting yourself blocked, or banned.

How to make only selected Tweets appear in your Facebook wall: in Facebook either on your Profile or preferably your Fan Page go to Notes (if you are on your FB Fan Page first go into Edit page and look for the Notes app in your list) once there you will hopefully find a link that says “Import Blog” now open your Twitter profile page and look for “Favorites” click on it and this will take you to your favorites page (hopefully you have favorites some items along the way).

Now hover your mouse over the RSS link on the lower right hand area of your Twitter Favorites page a link should appear on the bottom toolbar, copy this link (I had to use pen and paper , now go back to Facebook and paste that link into the URL of your Import Blog page. If you have done this correctly another page will appear which asks you if this is the feed you wish to import. Click on “Import Blog”

Now when you want a selected Tweet to appear automagically on your FB Wall all you need to do is Favorite it and it stops the cluttering of your wall and those of your friends with loads of useless information!

Now that is handy!

The Zen Bull

101 Twitter Tools For the Ultimate Twitter Expert (sociableblog.com)
Web Based Twitter Clients – Which Is Right For You? (thenextweb.com)
How Twitter Conquered the World in 2009 (mashable.com)

© AnnieInfinite for The Bulls Roar, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Add new tag, Facebook, iPhone, Seesmic, Social Media, Social network, TweetDeck, Twitter

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Brand Your Tweets with New Tool

AnnieInfinite — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:19:50 +0000

Now this is interesting, I am testing out a new Twitter tool today and I am liking it more and more. TweetBrand is a Twitter App installed via Adobe Air that allows you to brand your Tweets with your own URL – any URL!

You know at the bottom of each Tweet where it says via ? e.g. from Seesmic, from the web, or from Hootsuite now it can say “from your url” and click through to your specified url of choice and it couldn’t be easier to set up with full video and image support and best of all it is free.

Who could ask for any thing more? Try it out today here TweetBrand by Market Me Tweet

How TweetBrand rebrands your Tweets

This takes Twitter branding to a whole new level!

Watch this video for more:

Get this cute little app today – it’s free! TweetBrand by Market Me Tweet

Hint I have it up on my desktop screen all day and use it to Tweet whenever I have an idea – too easy!

The Zen Bull

© AnnieInfinite for The Bulls Roar, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Add new tag, Adobe Air, Online Communities, Social network, Twitter

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Tracking Your Social Media Analytics

AnnieInfinite — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:08:51 +0000

: Image by See-ming Lee 李思明 SML via Flickr

One question I get asked quite a lot about is whether there is any way to track your Social Media Marketing success. The short answer is Yes! although in the next breath I have to explain that it is done in a different way to your ‘other’ marketing. Would you like to know how?

* Google Analytics: First of all, let’s not forget Google Analytics, this wonderful free tool by Google still has it’s place. by setting up some pages to be tracked and then only using those for your Social Media you can see what is working and what is not – yes you really can split test your social media. Try this and see: set up two pages with similar, but not the same content or even (of you have the ability two smaller sites), now set those pages or sites up in Google Analytics and use different types of social media – for instance only Twitter for one and Facebook for the other, or try different types of marketing content and posts to market those sites. Easy!

* Twitter Stats: Other than site stats try these Twitter trackers Twitalyzer, TweetStats, Twinfluence, Twitter Analyzer, Tweet Effect, and BackTweets. All of these work a little differently and give you different types of results, but the effect is an all round picture of your social marketing on Twitter. there is a new site called Klout.com which is also very useful for figuring out your reach and influence on Twitter, it is in open Beta right now, so give this one a go.
* Facebook Stats: If you market on Facebook and haven’t got a Facebook Fan Page you are missing out on your Facebook Insights which comes with every business profile/page. These have several views and some very noteworthy information for Admins, including how many people are interacting with your page, whether there are more male or females, how many people clicked your links and more..

* URL Shorteners: many of the better URL shorteners are now incorporating tracking your link stats for free when you sign up for an account. Most noteable are: bit.ly, budurl,and ow.ly from HootSuite. Not only will these shorten your links to a more managable size they will provide link tracking stats which are invaluable to check what kind of posts people are clicking on most. You can then change your comment and post strategy to take advantage of your insights. Personally I use bit.ly and ow.ly more often than not, as I like using HootSuite and bit.ly is available on Seesmic my Twitter App of choice. I have a new one I am testing out from Stumbleupon called su.pr and it seems to be working out as well and best of all there is a Worpress Plugin for it too.

Whatever you use, and I suggest for a complete picture you take a look at most of these, one way to track your social media influence and success is the conversations people are having with you. How much interaction there is, how many people comment on your links, or ask questions of your as the expert in your niche. Don’t forget that social media is social and understanding that this is a key component of your social media tracking and insights.

Have fun!

The Zen Bull

© AnnieInfinite for The Bulls Roar, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Add new tag, bit.ly, Google, Google Analytics, HootSuite, Social Media, Social network, Twitter

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The Bulls Roar » Add new tag

Facebook’s Facelift has Ignition!

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Using Posterous: Upping the Ante

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