Once a company has selected and implemented social media into their marketing strategy, and created profiles in each of the desired networks, it becomes tedious to keep information current and content fresh across multiple applications. Utilizing a social media management tool will ensure consistency across platforms.
Tools to Help Manage Social Media Applications and Networks
Chi.mp offers users the ability to centralize content and contacts. With a personalized domain and website, users can feed in all of the information usually stored externally at within various social media applications and networks, and publish it out to various audiences.
This type of application is great for companies that are looking to stay on top of the content coming in and going out to the web from one big-picture dashboard. AtomKeep, currently in limited beta usage, has similar capabilities, helping users keep online personalities and profiles in sync.
HelloTxt and Ping.fm are tools that provide users a simplified way to update their status across all social applications, including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and 50+ other networks. Posts can be made online, through SMS, instant message or email.
By posting to all of your networks with one application, it becomes easier to keep followers and fans up to date with valuable information. In addition, many dedicated microblogging applications such as TweetDeck offer the option to post status updates to other networks when posting to Twitter.
8hands is the perfect consolidation application for marketers who want to receive a stream of activity from fans, followers and customers online without visiting multiple sites and apps each day. 8hands streams notifications to a single interface in real time, including comments, direct messages, fan or friend requests, feeds, events and media that customers, fans and members post online. With 8hands you can also request summaries and statistics on your social networking activities.
Marketers who are wondering which social networks and applications they are missing out on can research new and popular applications through sites like Knowem.com, which shows a routinely updated list of social networks that are popular, and the ability to check if the brand name or “handle” is available on each of the social media sites.
Don't Cut Corners on Content and Authenticity
Marketers should keep in mind that using a tool that makes social media updating and administration more efficient and easy to manage does not lessen the need to develop and post authentic and worthwhile content. Social media users are NOT interested in robots or spammers, they are interested in real conversations, real relationships and sincere people. Brands or companies that communicate mechanically or impersonally will quickly lose followers and fans.
The reason why social media has grown so quickly is in part because of how accessible online communication has become. Customers and prospects are in control of the communication channel when using social media – they can communicate and receive communications with companies when, how, where and as often as they prefer. Therefore, the management tools suggested in this article should be used to minimize administrative time, not to cut corners on content or authenticity.
Jessica Bennett - Jessica Bennett is a PR and marketing professional in Canton, Ohio. She has written hundreds of releases and articles, along with ...
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