Check out this nifty screen capture tool for Chrome. Even though there are plenty of screen capture tools out there, this one is easy to use, versatile and the price is right, free.
If you’re not using Chrome, you can always find something for Firefox (there are some awesome plugins for Firefox) or you can get a free trial of Snagit from Techsmith at http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/. Works for PC or Mac.
Leave your comments or requests for additional tutorials below.
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Making your blog posts more effective is really pretty easy. Follow these simple rules and get more new and return readers.
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Use a compelling headline. The first thing your reader sees is the headline. If it’s boring, they’ll click away, if it catches their attention, you’re in.
5.5 Bonus Tip. Add some links to other relevant posts on your own blog, or other resources that add value to the reader’s experience.
Take a look at what you’ve written in the past and see where you can go back and make some changes. Try these methods on your new posts and see if your results improve.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section and I’ll get back to you soon.
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I asked the question “What is your biggest challenge when it comes to using Social Media for marketing your business?”
The answer to that question? “TIME!!! Too many spots to hit. Can I consolidate them and hit them all at once?”
The answer to the questions asked in the answer to the question is YES! (Huh?)
There are a plethora of ways to create content once and post it on multiple social media sites. In fact, there are so many ways that I can’t possibly list them all here in a single blog post. But what I will share with you is my favorite tool for simplifying the management of those sites, it’s called TweetDeck.
The application is available for your desktop/laptop computer (either Apple or PC), iPhone, iPad or android phone. And the price is right, it’s free.
Like all new bits of software, it takes some time to learn and set up, but once it’s done it’s a huge time saver.
Click on the photo to view full size.
As you can see in the image above, I have multiple accounts set up, including my Facebook profile, various Facebook pages, several Twitter accounts, plus LinkedIn and Foursquare. I can write an update and post to what ever sites/pages I choose.
TweetDeck also allows you to schedule updates to post later, so you can pre-schedule all your posts once a day to go out throughout the day to any account you wish. Talk about a time saver!
Click on the photo to view full size.
I have my TweetDeck set up to show my main Twitter account (all friends), Twitter Direct Messages and Mentions and also my Facebook feed. I can monitor my social media stream from one place, reply, retweet and DM to Twitter; I can also Like and comment on any Facebook post. Cool, eh?
There are tons of other features to this free app, but I suggest you download your copy and check it out. If you don’t love it, you can ask me for some other suggestions.
Get cracking!
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While doing some work for a client today, I noticed this new Facebook feature while logged in to her account.
I wanted to check it out for myself, so I logged in to my own account, and it wasn’t there!
So, being the type of guy who needs answers to the questions, I went about searching for them. Here’s what I found out.
Why can’t I see Facebook Questions?
Facebook Questions is still in beta and only available to a small percentage of users. However, we will be rolling it out to all users in the coming weeks. You can fill out an application to become a beta tester here.
I know my client isn’t a beta tester, so I guess she is one of the lucky ones.
If it’s on your page, check it out and let us know what you think.
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Has it ever seemed that some of your friends or Fan Pages aren’t showing up on your Facebook feed?
They haven’t just disappeared from cyberspace, you might just be too popular.
There’s a simple setting that may correct that, and allow you to show all your friends and page (or not show one’s you don’t want to see).
Here’s what to do:
1. On your Home Page (News Feed page), click Most Recent.
2. Scroll down to the very bottom of the page and click Edit Options.
3. Increase the number of friends shown in Live Feed (at the bottom of the box). I chose 500, but you may want more or less to show.
Or, you can elect to Show More posts from some of your friends, or Hide the annoying ones.
This is a good tip to pass along to your friends and fans, to make sure your posts get seen.
If you don’t see the News Feed Settings box when you click on Edit Options, you’re probably in your Top News feed.
And remember, Sharing is Sexy!
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You don’t have to spend hours going to every social media site on the web to find out if your name or your brand’s name is available, there’s one stop shopping at namechk.
Click on the image to see full size.
Just go to www.namechk.com, enter your desired username or vanity url, click the chk button and your results are displayed in just a few seconds.
I chose "demo-name" for my search.
The default results are sorted by the name of the social media site, but you can also sort by the rank of the site. You can see that the search for “demo-name” has been taken on 6 of the sites listed. If you have a common name, you can try different versions of your name until you find a unique username that you can reserve for all the relevant sites you want to brand yourself on.
Social Media site search listed by rank
Don’t freak out, you don’t have to register your desired username at every site listed, but the more you have, the better control you have over your brand.
The service is free, so head on over to namechk and get branded!
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Your website is all about you!
I know that sounds like a contradiction, because of course your website is about you. You’re trying to sell products or services, but….
Your prospect or customer doesn’t care about you (yet).
What they do care about is getting their problem solved.
So, give them some information that helps them. Tell them what to do, give them a free report or video that gets them on the road to their solution. (Note: please don’t title your home page “Welcome to my Website” or “Welcome to my Home Page”. Make it about THEM, your prospect.)
You only have a few seconds to catch their attention, so don’t waste the opportunity by talking about yourself.
Example: You’re at a cocktail party and you see an attractive person across the room. You want to meet them. You head directly toward them, stick out your hand and say “I’m Steve, I’m super cool, do you want to go back to my place?”
That’s the approach most websites take. Think you’ll get shot down? You bet. You just lost your opportunity because they clicked back to their Google search and went to another site to get their question answered, or problem solved. Or, in the cocktail party example, they slapped your face and went to meet the guy who’s been subtly flirting with them for the past 15 minutes.
You can also apply this formula to your social media marketing. Develop a relationship with your ‘friends’ before you offer them what you sell. Get to know them, offer some help and build trust.
So now you need to take a fresh look at your website and view it from the perspective of the consumer. Would you click away, or would you hang around for a few minutes because you found what you were looking for?
I can hear you now, “Oh, my website sucks!”
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Anyone can add a little link luv to their business with just a few minutes of effort. It’s not really effort either because it’s all about you, and who know you better than you?
First thing you have to know is: Don’t over think it!
Just follow along, don’t worry if it isn’t perfect, some action is always better than no action. You can go back later and tweak things to your heart’s desire.
Oh, and did I mention this is all free? So, no “I can’t afford it” excuses.
First, go to http://www.google.com/local/add
If you already have a Google Account, sign in. If not, sign up with your regular email address or get a Gmail account if you prefer.
Click on “Add new business” and fill out your information.
(Hint: Be sure to follow the instructions for verification of your business.)
Bam! Instant Google Link Luv.
Create a Google Profile at http://www.google.com/profiles
Click on “Create my profile” and enter your information. Don’t worry if you can’t think of what to put in every box, you can come back later when you’ve had some time to think about it.
Here’s the secret sauce for this recipe, be sure to check the box that says “Display my full name…” or you won’t show up in a search, which of course it the whole point.
Bam, Bam! More Luv for you.
I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t throw a bone to Yahoo! Go get yourself a free Local Business listing at http://listings.local.yahoo.com/. Click on the “Sign up” button. Like Google, you’ll need to have a Yahoo account, so if you have one already, great. If not, sign up either with your email address or get a Yahoo! email address.
Once you’re signed in, fill out the form just like you did before, maybe mix it up a little bit just for fun.
Well, maybe it took more that 10 minutes, but don’t you agree it’s pretty easy? Plus, there are plenty of other places you can list your business for free. I suggest you periodically go back to your profiles and update them and add more info. Search engines favor fresh content, so add that to your marketing mix.
Now, if you don’t mind, help me out with a little Link Luv and share this article with your friends, or add your comments below.
Thanks in advance!
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