Tag Archives: phone

Social Media Time Saving Tip

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What I am going to share with you is not new, but I am surprised at how many people do not use this time saving source. Ping.fm is a resource that I want everyone to know about. If you aren’t using it then you need to rethink the reason why. If you are using this wonderful tool then maybe I can share with you some more helpful tips to help in your successes. In there own words: “Ping.fm is a simple and FREE service that makes updating your social networks a snap!” To me the best part is that the service is free and you can post from anywhere with their mobile, instant messenger and email apps. They also work along with hundreds of other 3rd party apps to make updating your status simple and fast. Ping.fm was recently acquired by Seesmic making the service much more powerful. You can send an update and it can be submitted instantly to 50+ social networks including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Ning, WordPress, TypePad, Yammer, Status.net and many more. My favorite part about using this valuable resource is that I can post from my iPhone from anywhere sharing with my friends and family something cool. For example, I recently sent an update to all my friends to over 20 of my social networks right from my phone. The update was sent from the beautiful mountains of Utah stating that I had just finished a Half Marathon. Here is a very short video I created showing how easy it is to sign up and start using Ping.fm today: There is also a trick to update your Google Buzz account via Ping.fm and here are the steps: 1. Of course you must have a Ping.fm account, sign up here – http://ping.fm/ 2. Add Gtalk by clicking “Add Network” at the http://ping.fm/networks/ page 3. Next enter your email address and password associated with your Google buzz account then click submit: 4. And for the last step, you need to add Gtalk as a connected service by logging into your Google Buzz account. See images below for steps: That is it, your Ping.fm posts will now automatically post to your Google Buzz account. Most other social networks are much easier to add as you can see in the video I shared above. There are some things you need to know with using Ping.fm as a social media tool. You need to remember that it is simply a tool that will help save you time. It is not an automated tool that will make you millions or get you more followers necessarily. I see many people abuse the tool to the point that they are not being social anymore with their friends and followers. As we know, Social Media is all about the conversation and being social. If all you are doing is submitting updates and not a part of the discussion then you will loose out on what social media really is. Here are some helpful tips and reminders to save time but still be social: Only use Ping.fm as a status update service and not your only means of connecting to your social networks Post your status updates and make sure you still login to your social network profiles to be a part of the dialogue Don’t overdue it with your submissions, you will loose a lot of friends and followers this way Use other tools to help you in the conversation (e.g. Seesmic , Hootsuite , or Tweetdeck ) In conclusion, Ping.fm is simply a tool for us as marketers and individuals to use to help us save time when conversing and sharing stuff with our friends and followers. This free resource has the ability to help us be more productive if we use it correctly and wisely. Bear in mind that any tool can be abused, so just be careful. Also always remember to have fun. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Social Media Time Saving

Top Local Business Listing Questions Answered – Interview with Will Scott

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I have had many opportunities to chat all things local with my good friend Will Scott, and just the other day we were at it again.  We were talking about some of the most common questions we are always asked by small business owners in regards to local marketing online.  I wanted to take the time and put them down on paper for everyone.  I felt this would be a good venue to get the answers out there.  Here goes my interview with Will Scott of Search Influence . 1. What are the best ways that new to Internet businesses can go about increasing the number (or gaining any at all) citations when it comes to local listings? My number 1 recommendation would be that they make their way over to http://getlisted.org . Get Listed is a really simple tool that checks the major local search engines and tells you if you’re there. If you’re not there you can go submit yourself right from the dashboard. Once you’ve done that, go submit yourself to the major data providers. There’s a shortcut here you can get into those providers data with just 3 sources: UniversalBusinessListing.org (submits to multiple data providers) Localeze.com (submits to multiple data providers and powers many online directories. InfoUSA.com/Landing/UpdateListing.aspx (the only major not represented by the 2 above) One caveat: it’s not immediate. You must submit early in the month and then it may take 45 90 days to see full distribution. In the meantime there’s nothing wrong with hand submitting to some of the biggies like MerchantCircle, Yellowpages.com, Superpages and InsiderPages. Just be advised, your phone will ring with follow-up telemarketing. Politely decline and stick with the free listing. 2. What would you say to those who worry about receiving negative reviews? Negative reviews are bound to happen. Lots of businesses think they can play Ostrich and solve all their problems. The issue is that even if the business owner isn’t active online their customers are. As with many things the best defense is a good offense. If a business owner is proactively working to get positive reviews it’s a great defense when they find themselves with the inevitable negative. And, I think everyone understands that we can’t please all customers. No matter how hard a business owner tries there will always be that one. Just like in real life, you can’t sweat them all and the most valuable tactic is to offer good customer service so you don’t have to worry about reputation management . 3. What would you say to those who are worried their competitiors are giving them bad reviews? Forget about it see above. Seriously though, you can’t defend against it. Just monitor your reviews and other online mentions and if one crops up which looks suspect, address it head on and report it to whichever service is hosting it. It does no good to share your agitation with the site where a review is posted. Keep it factual and professional and they’ll be much more likely to take it down. We have seen Yelp reviews pulled, but it’s not very common. In the case of Yelp, reviews which don’t pass the sniff-test often face the Yelp Review Filter . 4. What are some of the best places/resources someone who has ran a business for years offline, but never online use to get started? Wow, the list is endless but just for a few: GetListed.org already mentioned above. In addition to the service, there’s a blog and links to lots of great resources. OutspokenMedia.com/blog/ Lisa and her cohorts blog almost daily. They take a very user-friendly approach to online marketing. It’s entertaining for pros and approachable for those just getting started. SmallBusinessSEM.com Matt McGee’s blog. Occasionally insidebaseball but filled with great stuff written with the business owner in mind. DuctTapeMarketing.com John Jantsch’s site. Very nitty gritty marketing ideas and execution. SmallBizTrends.com Anita Campbell and a stable of writers tracking, reporting and advising on news and info of interest. SmallBusinessBrief.com Forum from the folks at SearchEngineGuide.com. Search Engine Guide is a little technical for newbies, but there are a lot of helpful people in the forum. In all seriousness I recommend our blog: http://www.searchinfluence.com/blog/ . It’s written by my team for and from the perspective of the small business clients with whom we work. And, though it’s often a little insidebaseball for newbies too, I think your blog  http://dreamsystemsmedia.com/blog/ has a lot to offer as well. Mat, thanks for asking for my opinions. This is an area where I’m pretty passionate. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Top Local Business Listing Questions Answered – Interview with Will

Universal Search Feature Added to Google Suggest for Mobile

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Google just announced a new simple, and yet very useful feature of its mobile search service. The new feature is actually a spinoff of the universal search features in Google Suggest that helps you fill up your search query with Google’s keyword suggestions. With universal search feature added to Google Suggest for mobile , you can now get answers to your queries faster while you are on the go, using of course your mobile phones. Here’s an example given by Google: For example, let’s say you’re flying to London and want to know: Is my flight on time? Or what is the exchange rate of the pound? As you type the flight “Ba 284″ or “Usd in pounds”, the answers are provided right below the search box, without having to wait for the results page. Other searches that show answers include weather (e.g., “weather london”), stock quotes (e.g., “intc”), current time (e.g., “time london”), calculator (e.g. “29*37″) and unit conversion (e.g., “220 miles in km”). To use this feature, simply point your phone’s browser to google.com and start typing your search query.  If you don’t see special results at first, refresh the page in your phone’s browser. Universal search features in Google Suggest for mobile supports iPhone/iPods, Android Phones and WebOS. Available for U.S. users only. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Universal Search Feature Added to Google Suggest for

Google Integrates Buzz to Gmail for Mobile

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As if the noise created by Google Buzz on Gmail for desktop is not enough, Google has just integrated Google Buzz to Gmail for Mobile. So, the next time you access your Gmail account on your iPhone or Android devices using your phone’s browser to access gmail.com, you’d noticed that when you check the “menu” , Buzz is now added as an option. According to Google : With the latest iteration of Gmail for mobile, we’ve worked to integrate buzz with your mobile inbox. Now, you’ll see buzz in your inbox on your phone just like you do in the desktop version of Gmail, complete with the little Google Buzz icon. When you open a buzz post from your inbox, you can perform all the standard functions, such as liking the post or commenting, just as you can from the desktop Gmail inbox. Interestingly, Google did not do the same integration with the Gmail app for Android. I’m pretty sure nobody if not very few Android and iPhone users check their Gmail using their phone’s browser. I use my the Gmail app on my Nexus One and the default email app for iPhone when checking my Gmail account. For the Android Gmail app, Google perhaps is just being cautious so as not to annoy users some more. Or perhaps they are just testing the feature first before integrating it to the Android Gmail app. Hopefully not. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Google Integrates Buzz to Gmail for

New Google Wave Extensions Debut!

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Okay, so my title is fairly misleading. Google Wave HAD extensions… just maybe one or two. When Wave came out I was so excited that I totally exhausted the “poll” option. I sent out ridiculous polls to all my friends such as, “Can you make me blueberry muffins? Yes, No or Maybe?”…. to which I would always get a maybe. I guess nobody wanted to make my day. Anyway, I’m getting completely off track here. Google Wave now has over 15 extensions present for our pleasure and enjoyment. Things such as “Wave Sudoko” (which I won’t play because Sudoko scares me) as  well as Phone Conference, to start up phone calls with friends or coworkers, and the “Likey Gadget”. If you’re familiar with Facebook then I’ m sure you’ve seen how you can “Like” stuff that people post up on their pages. The only issue with that is there isn’t a “Dislike” option. Trust me, Facebook users run rampant about this almost everyday- I guess Wave implementing the option to both agree and disagree is going to float many a person’s boat. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but waffles don’t have anything to do with setting dates for events. That’s why this one extension in particular strikes me as slightly odd. The new “Waffle” date-picker gadget adds a waffle to your wave and sends out an event notice for people to vote on. WHAT?! Maybe I’m missing the big picture here but I still don’t get what a waffle signifies other than a yummy breakfast food that you can douse with chocolate syrup. Since I’ve been deemed the resident Google Wave expert, I suggest you go and play with these fun extensions. I only have a few Google Wave buddies to test these things out, and seeing as I ran the polling extension into the ground, I might play Sudoko. If anybody is willing to take the scariness away from Sudoko and explain it to me, perhaps I will start a Wave and play a round with you. I guess it’s not that it actually SCARES me, I just haven’t really looked into how to play it and there’s a lot of numbers in your face! Complete chaos. You can find updated ones located in your extension wave.   Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . New Google Wave Extensions