Surprisingly, about half of small business executives in a recent survey said they aren’t using social media to help boost their respective businesses. Surprising, because it’s such an integral part of larger companies’ marketing efforts. Asked “why not,” the biggest answer was, “lack of time.”
Well, even the big companies and the huge marketing staffs are asked to do a lot with social media these days. So here are some cool tools that will help you get that social media out there, saving you some time, some money and a whole lot of effort.
Most businesses would like to know what people are saying about them in the social universe – as well as what they have to say about their competitors. Hook up with Monitter – a service that gives you a real-time look at Twitter mentions. You can add research terms, add and remove columns – and get a clear picture of what’s being said about your brand. Check it out at www.monitter.com
Everyone knows about YouTube, but are you using it to your best advantage? Instead of just showing commercials, offer your customers visual walkthroughs of new products; show the CEO giving speeches and public presentations; and produce some interesting content that can get people talking. That could be part of your viral video strategy that could give you a huge amount of exposure. www.youtube.com
Want to know what your customers really think? Want to learn what new features are in demand? Get yourself on UserVoice! You can start improving on your product by listening to what people have to say about it. Plus, you can use it to get feedback on a beta test product by sending invites to specific email addresses. Check it out at www.uservoice.com
This next one is something special, because in addition to being helpful to your customers, it’ll save you some big bucks, too. It’s Get Satisfaction – and it’s not a Rolling Stones song. It’s a forum where your customers can get answers to questions, find solutions and send product or feature requests. Those answers and solutions are stored and are searchable over time, cutting down on your customer support costs. All the details are on their website at www.getsatisfaction.com
Finally, here’s one that’ll show you a great way to track projects, deadlines and project costs. It’s Basecamp - a web-based project management tool that has a long list of features, plus extras and add-ons to use if you’d like. It’ll run a small biz about $24 a month, but it’s worth every penny in time and effort savings. www.basecamp.com
These are just a few of the remarkable tools available to integrate into your social media marketing efforts. With a little research and a few dollars, you can play in the social media sphere just like the big guns. Get going!
Well, even the big companies and the huge marketing staffs are asked to do a lot with social media these days. So here are some cool tools that will help you get that social media out there, saving you some time, some money and a whole lot of effort.
Most businesses would like to know what people are saying about them in the social universe – as well as what they have to say about their competitors. Hook up with Monitter – a service that gives you a real-time look at Twitter mentions. You can add research terms, add and remove columns – and get a clear picture of what’s being said about your brand. Check it out at www.monitter.com
Everyone knows about YouTube, but are you using it to your best advantage? Instead of just showing commercials, offer your customers visual walkthroughs of new products; show the CEO giving speeches and public presentations; and produce some interesting content that can get people talking. That could be part of your viral video strategy that could give you a huge amount of exposure. www.youtube.com
Want to know what your customers really think? Want to learn what new features are in demand? Get yourself on UserVoice! You can start improving on your product by listening to what people have to say about it. Plus, you can use it to get feedback on a beta test product by sending invites to specific email addresses. Check it out at www.uservoice.com
This next one is something special, because in addition to being helpful to your customers, it’ll save you some big bucks, too. It’s Get Satisfaction – and it’s not a Rolling Stones song. It’s a forum where your customers can get answers to questions, find solutions and send product or feature requests. Those answers and solutions are stored and are searchable over time, cutting down on your customer support costs. All the details are on their website at www.getsatisfaction.com
Finally, here’s one that’ll show you a great way to track projects, deadlines and project costs. It’s Basecamp - a web-based project management tool that has a long list of features, plus extras and add-ons to use if you’d like. It’ll run a small biz about $24 a month, but it’s worth every penny in time and effort savings. www.basecamp.com
These are just a few of the remarkable tools available to integrate into your social media marketing efforts. With a little research and a few dollars, you can play in the social media sphere just like the big guns. Get going!
