Our Social Media Productivity Toolbox

Photo credit: Connected World Media

Investing even just a little bit of time per day in social media marketing can make a BIG difference. But if you’re not careful, it can be all to easy to spend more time than you may have originally intended! To avoid this problem, we’ve put together a few of our favorite tools for a productive social media marketing experience.

1. HootBar – If you use HootSuite as your preferred social media dashboard, you’ll have to install the HootBart to your Firefox browser. The HootBar makes it easy to collect articles and websites as you come across them in your regular internet browsing. You have the option to post immediately or schedule for a later time. If you find a lot of great content on a single site, use the HootBar to spread out the posts over the next couple weeks.

2. Google Alerts – Ever wish you could wonder what everyone is saying about your business? While that may not be possible, Google Alerts makes it easy to track what is being posted about your business on the internet. Set alerts for your name, the name of your business and variations of the name of your business, and you will receive an email alert whenever it is mentioned. Similarly, on Twitter you can search for your business and then save that search so it is easy to check on a regular business.

3. “Pin It” button – Since you’re already installing the HootBar, you might as well install the “Pin It” button too! The “Pin It” button lets you instantly share any content you find online with your Pinterest followers. Whenever you something pin-worthy, all you will have to do is click on the button on your browser to add it to your boards.

4. PicMark – Want an easy way to brand the content you share on your social media networks? With PicMark, you can add a border to any picture with your company’s name and/or website. When content is shared on Pinterest and Twitter, the original source can get lost over time. When you post content with PicMark, everything you share will always have your company information on it.

These are just a few of our favorite social media marketing tools that help us every day. What are some tools that you use to make your daily posting easier? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Business Minds: Ann marie Houghtailing of The Houghtailing Group “Activity Breeds Results”

We recently sat down with Ann marie Houghtailing, principal of The Houghtailing Group to discuss the successes and struggles business owners face in marketing. The Houghtailing Group is a boutique sales and business consulting firm transforming sales training forces across the globe.

What do you enjoy about being a business owner?

I own my time and I get to decide the kind of work I want to do. Freedom is incredibly important to me, and with it, I can change direction and choose to do work that matters to me, so I’m not making decisions in a silo. My business decisions are informed by how I want to live, not just how much I want to earn.

What role has social media played in your strategy? Is there a specific network that worked better than another?  

Facebook is where I’m most comfortable in terms of social media. My life and work are fairly integrated, and people really get to know me and follow what I’m doing and it’s served my business well. Our webinars have been very successful as well and really help our reach.

You mentioned that you like having the ability to manage your own time as a business owner. How does time factor into your overall marketing strategy?

Time is one of the biggest obstacles I face as a business owner. To be consistent, marketing efforts take time, and I think the process of trial and error can be tedious. There’s no silver bullet. It takes time to figure out what’s working and where to place your resources. I’m impatient by nature, so I find the process frustrating at times. I would love to find a way to build a following in a shorter period of time without breaking the bank.

Do you have a personal mantra?

I don’t think I would say that I have a mantra, but my students say that I frequently say “Activity breeds results.” Being constantly in action, I must have internalized this concept!

Business Minds is a series of The San Diego Marketing Blog in which we interview people in San Diego and in other areas of the United States and overseas about their responsibility to ensure the business they each represent is reaching the right people and ultimately driving sales.  To make better business and marketing decisions for your business, read their stories and learn which marketing tactics worked and which did not.

Too busy for social media, or don’t know where to start?  GELA can provide affordable, results-driven support.  Email info{at}gelasocial{dot}com.

Easy Now! Facebook 101

The number one Facebook improvement tip: add more pictures! A recent study by our trusty source Mashable.com revealed how to accumulate more likes, shares and interaction on Facebook.

Social media expert Dan Zarella tracked and analyzed more than 1.3 million posts from the top 10,000 most liked Facebook pages and released specific details about how to improve your Facebook brand.

His studies found that photos bring in the highest number of engagement, followed by text and video. Society flocks to visual content, so regardless of the topic, find a picture that will grab your viewers attention. Picture variety will also boost engagement, so let go of that picture insecurity and get camera happy! Research also suggests that posts with a high number of self referential words such as “I” and “Me” generate higher interaction. (Note: this method does not work for Twitter!)

Our next tip: be passionate! Boring people don’t make history, and neither do people who lack expression. Whether positive or negative, have an opinion! Social media is all about stating new thoughts, emotions and ideas. The name of the game is freedom of expression, so take advantage of the Country that you live in and say what you think!

Warning: Employers, don’t read this next tip. Post during work hours! Studies show that shares trickle off around the end of the work day. Be active during the crucial lunchtime hour when people have time to scroll through the social media sea! If you are wanting to acquire more ‘likes’, post directly after work (4-7p.m.) and avoid posting on Thursday, as that is the least active day for ‘Likes’. It is also useful to be active when others aren’t! For example, Facebook posts that go up on Saturdays and Sundays tend to get more likes than those during the week.

By considering a few of these tips, you are well on your way to becoming a Facebook Guru! You have the knowledge, you have the tools, and now you have the tips; all you have to do is be proactive! Post frequently, post passionately and post pictures!

“Marketers need to build digital relationships and reputation before closing a sale” – Chris Brogan