Rachel Levy: Social Media & Marketing

Now that Tweetdeck is integrating more social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Buzz, Foursquare, MySpace), I’m guessing there will be a name change soon. Ideas? Take this poll!

Click here for the results so far.

Facebook fan pages (also known as public profiles) have gone through some significant changes in the past few months, so I thought it would be a good time to review the Good, Bad and the Ugly of the pages. Overall, I think that fan pages have gone through significant changes for the better, but have some significant limitations.  Here are my thoughts:

The Good

• Status update – A newly added feature is the ability to update your fan page’s status.  This is a great way to stay in contact with fans by using a less direct method than sending an email.  The status update can be used to post new news, articles, happenings, events, etc.
• Page recommendations - Facebook now recommends fan pages to people based on their other interests, and based on other people they know and what pages they join.  This allows your fan page to reach new people who might not have otherwise known about your business or page.
• Targeted ads – Facebook pages can be advertised using very targeted ads on a pay per click or pay per impression basis. The ads can be targeted based on demographics, keywords, company name, job title, etc.
• Inline fanning – Newly added, this feature allows you to add an option to your Facebook ads, that allow people to join your fan page directly from the ad, without even clicking through to your page. (bad because they don’t see your content, but good because they can join more easily)
• Various landing pages - Based on where and how you are promoting your fan page, you can direct people to various landing pages.  For example, if you are targeting marketers with your ad, you can direct them to a page speaking to marketers.  And you can direct everyone else to a different landing page.
• Applications - There are a lot of applications that Facebook developers have created to make your fan page more dynamic and interesting.
• FBML (Facebook Markup Language) – Facebook’s version of HTML, allows you to create boxes on your page that are more tailored to your needs.  For example, you can create an RSVP form or an email registration form.
• Insights – Facebook Insights show you how much your fans are interacting with your page, what the demographics of the fans are, and your overall “post quality.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Note: The original post with comments is now ineditable, so has been recreated here. Please see the old post if you’re interested in the comments!

There are so many Twitter applications, I can’t keep track! So, I decided to start this list as a comprehensive place to list all the Twitter programs. I plan to keep this updated as I find out about new applications. If you have any to add, please leave a comment below, and I’ll add them. Or, if you feel I have described the applications incorrectly, please let me know as well! (ones in bold italics in the chart have been added since the last update)

Read the rest of this entry »

There are so many Twitter applications, I can’t keep track! So, I decided to start this list as a comprehensive place to list all the Twitter programs. I plan to keep this updated as I find out about new programs. If you have any to add, please leave a comment below, and I’ll add them. Or, if you feel I have described the applications incorrectly, please let me know as well! (ones in bold italics in the chart have been added since the last update)

Read the rest of this entry »

Wow, it’s been a long lapse between How and Why I use Twitter (Part 1) and Part 2! I got excited about writing about video thank you notes, then was out of town, and then was sick with bronchitis. I’m finally back, well, almost 100%!

My twitter profile

Read the rest of this entry »