Social Media Marketing Tools

    

Its a Social Media Marketing era, everyone is looking to enhance the Social Media Tools. You may be observed many Social Media Tools pop up daily. Here are some of the important and very useful social medial tools you can use.

1. Hootsute 

Hootsuite is a social media dashboard you can use to monitor your streams or lists  and post to multiple social networks, like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  It allows you to schedule the time you want to publish your messages and gives you full control or the messages that go out.

• Manage multiple social profiles
• Schedule messages and tweets
• Track brand mentions
• Analyze social media traffic
• 5 million+ satisfied users

2. Wildfire

Wildfire, a division of Google, is one of the world’s largest social media marketing software providers, with over 21,000 paying customers worldwide, including 30 of the world's 50 most valuable brands. Wildfire's Social Marketing Suite combines best-of-breed social promotion and advertising software, robust mobile and desktop page management, messaging and sophisticated real-time analytics in one complete platform.

The combination of Wildfire’s technology with Google’s advertising solutions will help provide a more holistic way for brands to manage and optimize their marketing efforts and spend across all digital channels, including search, display, video, mobile, and social.

3. TweetDeck 

TweetDeck is a social media dashboard application for management of Twitter and Facebook accounts. Like other Twitter applications it interfaces with the Twitter API to allow users to send and receive tweets and view profiles. It is the most popular Twitter application with a 23% market share as of June 2009, following only the official Twitter website with 45.7% share for posting new status updates. It is compatible with several operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Chrome OS, Linux, and FreeBSD. An iPhone version was released on June 19, 2009 and an iPad version was released in May 2010 as well. An Android version was made available in October 2010 after a public beta period.

4. SproutSocial

Sprout Social, a startup building social media management tools for small and local businesses, has raised $10 million in a Series B round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Money will be allocated toward growth and product development.

Businesses can use Sprout Social to manage, monitor and track their presence on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn and Yelp.

5. Spreadfast

Spredfast is an Enterprise Social Media Software with a social CRM dashboard. Spredfast was featured by Meghan Peters post Mashable’s top five social media management tools. This is an awesome tool for enterprise level companies and for social media marketing agencies.

For more social media tools : http://www.socialnomics.net/2012/05/22/social-media-tools-list-100-social-media-tools/

Read More

Time Management Matrix

Time Management Matrix:

Symptoms of Poor Time Management

·         Constant rushing (e.g. between meetings or tasks)

·         Frequent delays (e.g. in attending meetings, meeting deadlines)

·         Low productivity, energy and motivation (e.g. ‘I can’t seem to get worked up

·         about anything’)

·         Frustration (e.g. ‘Oh, things just don’t move ahead)

·         Impatience (e.g. ‘where the hell is that information I’ve asked him for?’)

·         Chronic vacillation between alternatives (e.g. ‘whichever option I choose it is

·         going to put me at a big disadvantage. I don’t know which way to jump’)

·         Difficulty setting and achieving goals (e.g. ‘I’m not sure what is expected of me’)

Elements of Effective Time Management

·         Evaluating How Time is Used

·         Goal-Setting

o   Make sure the goal you are working for is something you really want, not

·         just something that sounds good:

o   A goal cannot contradict any of your other goals:

o   Develop goals in the 6 areas of life:

§  Family and Home             

§  Physical and Health

§  Mental and Educational

§  Financial and Career

§  Spiritual and Ethical         

§  Social and Cultural     

o   Write down your goals:

o   Write your goal in the positive instead of the negative:

o   Write your goal out in complete detail

o   By all means, make sure your goal is high enough:

·         Defining Priorities

·         Scheduling Activities

·         Elements of Effective Time Management

·         Evaluating How Time is Used

·         Goal-Setting

o   Make sure the goal you are working for is something you really want, not

·         just something that sounds good:

o   A goal cannot contradict any of your other goals:

o   Develop goals in the 6 areas of life:

§  Family and Home             

§  Physical and Health

§  Mental and Educational

§  Financial and Career

§  Spiritual and Ethical         

§  Social and Cultural     

o   Write down your goals:

o   Write your goal in the positive instead of the negative:

o   Write your goal out in complete detail

o   By all means, make sure your goal is high enough:

·         Defining Priorities

·         Scheduling Activities

Read More

8 Health Reasons You Should Never Skip Breakfast

Break-the-fast, after going hours without food you, finally get up in the morning and need lots of energy to kick start the day. Only breakfast can provide you with this energy.

If you’re of those who’re still not having your breakfast, now is the time to change that habit. Here are some extremely important reasons why!

Why you should never avoid breakfast

1. Breakfast improves your metabolism:

Your blood sugar level drops down in the morning. You need food that can provide you energy to get through the morning. Body needs fuel to keep it running and the night is the longest gap in the refuelling process. To make sure your metabolism keeps on going you need to have something within 2 hours of waking up.

2. Keeps you on track if you’re looking to lose weight:

Researchers have found that those who eat breakfast tend to maintain and lose weight. Though people skip breakfast in the hope of losing weight they tend to eat more during lunch or even choose unhealthier options later on which results into weight gain.

3. Helps to maintain insulin response:

Skipping meals leads to a hyper insulin response when calories are consumed later on. That means the level of insulin in blood is more than the glucose level which can lead to metabolic disorder. This in turn results in to fat accumulation.

Quick & Healthy Breakfast Ideas

"A healthy breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” says Dr Jyothi Prasad, chief dietitian, Manipal Hospital, Bangalore.“There’s a nearly ten-hour long gap between dinner and breakfast, during which the body is on fast mode. As the name suggests, breakfast is the meal you eat to break that fast,” explains Dr Prasad, “It refuels your body with essential nutrients to kick-start your day. So don’t skip it.”

Photo by Thinkstock Thu 14 Jun, 2012 9:30 AM IST

Curd and fruits: There’s no denying the goodness of curd. For a smart and filling breakfast option, chop up a bunch of fruits, like bananas and apples and add them to a bowl of curd, top it up with some muesli and chopped walnuts and you’ve got yourself a quick and delicious breakfast that’s also highly nutritious.

Photo bThu 14 Jun, 2012 9:30 AM IST

Egg sandwich: Boil an egg and slice eat it on a wheat toast with a slice of tomato, some low fat cheese and lettuce and you’ve got yourself a delicious breakfast that’ll keep you going for hours.

Photo by Thinkstock Thu 14 Jun, 2012 9:30 AM IST

Muesli: Ditch your regular cereals and try some muesli instead. Fortified with fruits and nuts, muesli is a healthy and convenient breakfast option. Have it with milk or curd and stay full and energised for hours.

Photo by Thinkstock Thu 14 Jun, 2012 9:30 AM IST

Fruit smoothie: Improve on your basic milk shake by going in for a smoothie instead. Toss your favourite fruits like bananas, apples or pears into the mixie with a bowl of curd and a spoon of honey. Run the moxie and voila, your smoothie is ready. Delicious and filling, it’s the perfect breakfast option for the summer.

Photo by Thinkstock Thu 14 Jun, 2012 9:30 AM IST

Baked beans with toast: For a break from the usual egg and toast or cheese and toast combination, try baked beans with toasted wheat bread. Super simple and filling, this breakfast gives you the right combination of protein and carbohydrates to keep you going for a long day ahead.

Photo by Thinkstock Thu 14 Jun, 2012 9:30 AM IST

Peanut butter and wheat bread: Peanuts are rich in antioxidants and give you the instant boost of energy you need. Try some home made peanut butter and have it with whole wheat bread for a nutritious and energising breakfast.

Photo by Thinkstock Fri 16 Mar, 2012 10:30 AM IST

Whole-wheat bread sandwich: If you’re a vegetarian, Dr Prasad suggests a simple paneer, onion, tomato and cucumber sandwich. “Spread a layer of low-fat paneer instead of cheese, as it’s a healthier option,” she stresses. A layer of grated paneer, sliced onions, cucumber and tomato, salt and pepper – and you’re ready to go. For non-vegetarians, keep some boiled, boneless chicken pieces handy. Mustard sauce or mayonnaise with boiled chicken and onions tastes fantastic, try it out today.

Photo by Thinkstock Fri 16 Mar, 2012 10:30 AM IST

Cereal: Dr Prasad warns against those sugar-coated cereals in the market. “Choose sugar-free wheat flakes or corn flakes. They pack in carbohydrates, fibre and protein,” she says, “add some fresh fruit or dried fruits and nuts to make it more wholesome.” Museli that combines a variety of grains and driedfruits too makes for a good option.

Photo by Thinkstock Fri 16 Mar, 2012 10:30 AM IST

Daliya: “Popular up north, daliya (broken wheat) makes for an excellent breakfast option,” says Dr Prasad. Daliya is unrefined wheat, loaded with fibre and complex carbohydrates, it’s healthy and can be made in a jiffy. Dr Prasad recommends adding a handful of nuts to make daliya a perfect, complete breakfast.

Photo by Thinkstock Fri 16 Mar, 2012 10:30 AM IST

Dosa: “Choose a multi-grain dosa — what we call adai down south — over the regular kind,” suggests Dr Prasad. It packs in multiple nutrients – just what you need to jumpstart your day. However, make sure you use a non-stick pan, and less oil though.

Photo by Thinkstock Fri 16 Mar, 2012 10:30 AM IST

Eggs: While eggs make for an excellent breakfast option for kids, adults must tread cautiously. “Get your lipid profile checked,” recommends Dr Prasad, before you go on an egg eating spree. If your cholesterol is high, make sure you stay away from egg yolk. A good source of protein, selenium and riboflavin, egg whites are low in saturated fat and cholesterol. So beat in one or two egg whites, add some chopped veggies (cut and store in refrigerator), a pinch of turmeric, salt and red-chilli powder to taste — mix and scramble or make an omelette. “You can add a slice of brown bread, if you choose,” says Dr Prasad.

Steamed idlies: Your neighbourhood supermarket is most likely to have a stock of idli batter. Cook idlies the night before, if you’re too rushed in the morning. Eat idlies with honey, it’s yummy and won’t require additional time for making chutney or such. In the morning, microwave idlies, pour some honey and you’re ready to go.

4. Helps perform better at work/school:

Hungry employees and students don’t do any good at work/school. When you are hungry you are irritable and disinterested which reflects on your work too. Breakfast helps you to wake up and makes you attentive.

5. Burns those calories early:

If you have breakfast you can burn those calories early! How is that? Well, instead of going hungry till lunch and then hogging on something loaded with calories with fewer hours left in the day to burn it consider refuelling yourself early and getting enough time to burn those calories.

6. Aids in setting a good example:

If you have kids, you always want to set a good example for them. By having breakfast on time you will show the quality of leadership by example.

7. Gets you your essential nutrients first thing in the morning:

There are food which we have only as a part of our breakfast like cereals, fruits and milk. If you bypass your breakfast you might never get those nutrients.

8. Skipping breakfast can make you grumpy:

Oh yes! If you have been skipping breakfast and are in bad mood, you probably should know why. Not having breakfast makes you grouchy. You might not even realise it and keep wondering why you’re so irritable!
Apart from all these reasons to have your breakfast there are few things you should always keep in mind:

• Never have dessert for breakfast, it will cause blood sugar loss later on and you will be tempted to eat even more.
• Read the labels carefully, even if it says ‘nutritious’ look into the details and understand if your body needs that kind of food to start the day.

Stay full, stay happy!

Read More

SEO URL Optimization

The URL is the name of your webpage as it is displayed in the browser’s address bar. There are several best practices related to URL construction that can really help your website rank higher in the organic search results.

Here are a couple of examples of bad URLs.
Let’s take a closer look and figure out how to do some URL optimization.
www.mysite.com/products/012456789   
www.mysite.com/articles/this_is_my_articles 

A URL with a bunch of numbers is not helpful to anybody. Make sure the URLs have meaning to humans AND search engines.

The dash is the only character that is universally recognized as as space. Use a dash to separate words rather than underscores or plus signs.

The URL is a great place to highlight your keyword phrase. This helps the search engine (and your visitor) understand what the page is all about.

Here are some additional things to keep in mind when constructing URLs:

• Don’t use query strings. Rather, use session variables, which don’t show up in the URL.
• Static (vs. dynamic) URLs are best.
• Make sure each page has only one unique URL. Be careful with content management systems that try to create all sorts of archives, which creates duplicate content.
• Short URLs are preferable.
• Please note that if you are going to change existing URLs, you need to 301 redirect your old URL to your new URL so you don’t lose traffic.

Read More

World Environment Day 2012

World Environment Day: Commemorated every year on 5 June, World Environment Day is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.  The aim of the day is to:

Give a human face to environmental issues;
Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development;
Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues;
Advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

The host for World Environment Day 2012 is the Federative Republic of Brazil. The theme is Green Economy: Does it include you?

UNEP defines a Green Economy as 'one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.'

Practically speaking, a Green Economy is one whose growth in income and employment is driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. These investments need to be catalyzed and supported by targeted public expenditure, policy reforms and regulation changes.

But what does all this mean for you? Well, if the Green Economy is about social equity and inclusiveness then technically it is all about you! The question therefore asks you to find out more about the Green Economy and assess whether, in your country, you are being included in it.

World Environment Day 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the event which was first established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.
So Whats your plan of action on this day? Reduce use of plastic bags?? or any other idea?

Read More

Things you should know before start of E-mail Marketing

According to research every dollar spent on email marketing, you can expect a return on your invest of $57. But it’s not as simple as sending an email to a list to get this sort of result. There are a few pointers you should consider before you hit that send button.
Email lists: buy, rent or build your own?

Buying a listIf your whole email marketing strategy relies on the acquisition of a purchased list, then you are doomed to fail. Why? Because successful email marketing is based on permission and trust. 
When you purchase a list, the recipients of the list have never heard of you or your company. Think about your own email habits. When was the last time you opened an email from a person or company you did not recognize?
In addition, good quality lists are a company’s lifeline and most valuable asset. Why would they want to share it with anyone?

The consequences of sending emails to a purchased list can include:

•  Poor response. If the recipient doesn’t recognize you, your product or your company, they will more often than not delete your email without reading it.
• Blacklisting. Results in having your emails blocked from entire domains. Your emails won’t reach your intended recipient. 
• Hefty fines. In some cases tens of thousands of dollars for violating CAN-SPAM laws 
• Irreparable damage to your reputation. Negatively skews results for future campaigns. The difference between an ok and a good reputation can impact your campaign’s success by as much as 20%!  

Renting a listList rental is the middle ground between buying a list and building your own list. This usually consists of having a company that has a list of recipients within your target audience sending an offer on your behalf. A well planned list sponsorship can definitely help you build your own contact list. If you do decide to go this route, make sure your offer includes registration to your own opt-in list. And make sure this list is not being too frequently marketed to.

Building your own listThe best way to build your own list is to create a sign up form for you website. Customers can then visit your site and sign up. Another great way is to include your form on your Facebook page.
Although it may take some time, growing your own contact list is easy when you weave it into all of your business collateral. Business cards, email signatures, web sites, brochures, and even phone calls should talk about your emails.

Make sure when you promote your email communications you offer something unique, that can’t be found anywhere else. To start, you can offer something free, or a discount in exchange for information. After that, keep your promise of delivering something exclusive in every email.

Gaining loyalty from your subscribers can be achieved with advance previews before general release to the public. Include subscriber only specials, discounts, webinars, eBooks, etc. By doing this, you build a sense of exclusivity, even a VIP status for your readership.

Already have your own list?If you already have a contact list, then you need to know that even if it’s a few months old, it may not perform at its best. Make sure you start emailing to it, if you haven’t already. Remind your subscribers when and where they initially opted into your list. If you cannot remember, chances are, they won’t either.

If you’ve been growing this list for more than one year and have not been emailing to it regularly, it will perform poorly, generate complaints, and damage your reputation. You’ll have to ask for permission again when you send your first email.

Email campaigns: start now and keep at it

Not just a one-time thingSuccessful email marketing is not an occasional endeavor; it’s a commitment to speak to your subscribers in a relevant way on a regular basis.

As soon as you start crafting your email strategy and gathering email addresses, you need to engage in communication. Nothing is worse than to promise something – a newsletter or exclusive promotion – and not deliver.

Make a calendar of campaigns and stick to it. Committed to a monthly newsletter? Make sure you create it and schedule it to go out every month. Your competitors may be email marketing but they might let things slide – stay on top of the game and keep your promise.

10 best practices to help you get off to the right start

1. Never, ever buy an email list.
2. Grow your own list by offering great and unique content for your emails.
3. Ask only for the information you need.
4. Keep sending emails at the frequency you outlined when your subscriber joined.
5. Use both HTML and text formats. Avoid using one big image!
6. The more often you send emails, the shorter these emails should be.
7. Concise and clear subject lines get better open rates.
8. Use your own voice when writing your emails. A little personality goes a long way.
9. Disclose where and when your subscriber opted into your list.
10. Use strong calls to action for your subscribers. Read, click, buy, register, you get the picture.

 

Read More

Building Trust Behind a Company’s Social Media Account

We never really think about who is behind the social media accounts of our favorite companies. It’s not as if the real Old Spice guy is sending out tweets…

“Collegiate athletes do more than play basketball, they also learn math and kissing techniques that can’t be found in the private sector”

“Can I promise that this new wallpaper will not cause your computer to erupt into flames, helicopters and hotdogs? Nope.”

“A new pad device was just announced. Seems cool, but I doubt it can replace my space helicopter pad as my favorite pad-based belonging.”

…but someone has taken on the personality of the Old Spice famed spokesperson in order to promote their product in an entertaining fashion.

Very rarely do owners and CEOs of companies take on the responsibility of running their own social media accounts. This task is usually taken on by someone in the marketing department or a person whose sole position is dedicated to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and more.

These individuals are the social voice of the company geared to inform fans of their products, services, events, coupons, and other specials. Many are also asked to interact and try and stir up conversation.

The Horror Story

Last February, Pat Fitzgerald, the head football coach at Northwestern University, learned the hard way what happens when someone else expresses opinions for you. “He” tweeted:

“There’s finally a NBA player who plays hard and says the right things off the court.”

He was referring to the Asian-American professional basketball player, Jeremy Lin, who exploded onto the scene a couple months ago.

Fitzgerald took backlash for this as Chicago Bulls fans exclaimed he obviously hadn’t watched Derrick Rose, who plays in his own backyard (Northwestern is also in Chicago).

People went as far as to call him racist for something that was meant to be a compliment to Lin. Biggest problem…Fitzgerald didn’t even write the tweet. The director of football operations, Cody Cejda, was responsible for the remark.

Think Before You Send

This is where the trust comes into play. The person in charge of a company’s social media accounts must be able to use good judgment when it comes to who and what they are talking about.

Fitzgerald may not be as recognizable as Coca-Cola or Pepsi, but he is the brand of the football program and one of the leading faces of Northwestern University.

There a few seemingly common sense filters that should be considered before publishing.

Personal beliefs should be left at home or on personal accounts, not when speaking on behalf of the company. This is not to say they cannot post something they find interesting or enjoy.
However, always ask the question “Is this in the company’s best interest or would this offend anyone?” before posting.
Touchy subjects such as religion and politics should always be off limits when it comes to speaking on the company’s behalf. Those two topics are a lose-lose situation no matter how you look at it.
Stop and take a breath first. As Herm Edwards, a former NFL football coach and public speaker, has always said, “Think before you press send.

Read More