Social media: Manage and update all your social media outlets from one source

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If you are a business owner hoping to tap into social media to market your business  there are some shortcuts to help you reach out to your audience on the various social networking platforms (Blogger, WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) without taking too much time from your already busy schedule.  Sites like Postling, Posterous, Ping.fm, Hellotxt and desktop applications like TweetDeck offer you a one-stop way of posting to all your social media accounts at once or just a select few at a time.  Many of these sites can also be accessed directly via your mobile phone or by using a downloadable mobile appication.  An added benefit from these services is that you can create and preschedule your blog posts and status updates to post at a desired time so you don't have to worry about being at your computer at the desired posting time.

Social Media: How to Podcast

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According to Wikipedia, a podcast “is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication.  The word usurped webcast in common vernacular, due to rising popularity of the iPod and the innovation of web feeds.  The mode of delivery differentiates podcasting from other means of accessing media files over the Internet, such as direct download, or streamed webcasting. A list of all the audio or video files currently associated with a given series is maintained centrally on the distributor's server as a web feed, and the listener or viewer employs special client application software known as a podcatcher that can access this web feed, check it for updates, and download any new files in the series.  This process can be automated so that new files are downloaded automatically.  Files are stored locally on the user's computer or other device ready for offline use, giving simple and convenient access to episodic content. Commonly used audio file formats are Ogg Vorbis and MP3.”

The definition above seems a bit complicated but podcasts are fairly easy to produce for personal or business purposes.  Here’s what you will need to create audio podcasts from your home or office.

1. You will need a computer with active internet connection, a microphone, and audio recoding software such as Audacity which is available for free download and is compatible with both Macs and PC’s.  Be sure to download the associated mp3 encoder from the Audacity website.
2. Record, edit and save your audio file using Audacity.  You may consider creating an “intro” for your podcast series – this can be a script that you recite at the beginning of each podcast or music (look for royalty free music) that plays before your podcast starts.
3. Upload your podcast file to an online hosting service – OurMedia.org offers a free hosting service for podcasts but you can find other free podcast hosting sites with a simple search on Google. If you have an existing website hosting service where you can store your mp3 podcast files, you may still want to consider using a free service like OurMedia.org to store your files if you do not have an unlimited hosting plan.
4. Next you will need to create an RSS feed for your blog, you can use Google's FeedBurner for free if you have a blog that links to your mp3 podcasts but there are software programs available to help you create the XML files needed to create an RSS feed.
5. Submit your podcast’s RSS feed to iTunes and online directories to reach potential listeners.  Be sure to add a button or widget on your website or blog to allow people to subscribe to your RSS feed.
6. Publish your podcast:
• Check with your web hosting provider or web designer to find out how to add podcasts to your website
• Podcasting with Blogger
• Podcasting with WordPress
• Podcasting with TypePad

If you want to have the opportunity to interact live with an audience in real-time, you may want to host a live-call in webcast using a service such as BlogTalkRadio requiring you to have only a computer and a telephone (with good reception, of course!).  The benefit - shows are streamed live but are also archived as downloadable podcasts that you can publish via RSS feed!

For info on creating a video podcast (also know as vodcast) check out:

• MacWorld's How to create a vodcast for Macs
• Georgia State Univeristy's instructions on creating a video podcast, using a Windows PC

Here are some great tips from Apple on sharing podcasts via iTunes:

•  How to publish to iTunes
• Tips on Podcasts from iTunes

Social Media: Importing a blog into Facebook's Notes

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Facebook users can share their blogs by importing their blogs into Facebook as 'Notes."  Importing your blog to Facebook pulls in the full content of each blog which means that readers no longer need to visit your blog.  So if your goal is to increase trafffic to your blog - especially if you use your blog to make money - then we suggest using the Networked Blogs app in Facebook which just gives a thumbnail view of each blog post and requires readers to visit your blog in order to view full content.

WordPress users, watch this tutorial to learn how to import your blog into Facebook:

Social Media: Blogging for your business

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Blogging is yet another way you can tap into social media to market your business and engage with current and potential new customers.  You can incorporate a blog into your company's existing website or have a stand alone blog (some companies just opt for a blog instead of a website).  many opt for a free blog hosted by Google's Blogspot (Blogger), TypePad or WordPress.   The key thing to remember if you start a blog for your business is this - content is king - so be sure to keep it interesting, keep it informative and keep it relevant!

Below are some short tutorials that we found to help you get setup with a new blog using Blogger, TypePad or WordPress.


Blogger



Word Press



Type Pad