The top 50 new social media tools of 2011 - 'Nominations' Edition

In January 2011, I launched a weekly post called Platform Five over on the Paratus Communications blog.

The aim was to keep an eye out for new social media tools and platforms and highlight a handful each week.

The concept has proven to be really popular and is syndicated on TheNextWeb.com and PRDaily.com.

Going into the last month of 2011, I thought'd I'd feature 50 of the more useful tools, before narrowing them down to the top 20.

So, here is the 'nominations' edition and then keep your eyes peeled for the top 20 which will be revealed over the next few weeks over at ParatusCommunications.com.

The top 50 social media tools of the year

Content curation / management tools

1. Bo.lt - content sharing on steroids.
2. Trap.it - personalised content discovery engine.
3. Hearsay.it - helps you share the most relevant stuff in your stream(s).
4. Pistash.io - save and organise your online life.
5. knowaboutit.com - another tool to help you identify relevant content from your stream(s).
6. BufferApp.com - allows you to find and share content without crossing the 'over-share' line.

Social media analytics / measurement

7. Sociagility.com - the industry's most robust social media performance system / process.
8. PeopleBrowsr / Kred - 1000 days of Twitter data for you to enjoy.
9. PageLever.com - the best Facebook page performance tool going around.
10. CircleCount.com - find out how many Google+ circles you're in.
11. TwentyFeet.com - aggregates all of your social media performance data.
12. SimplyMeasured.com - as the name suggests, a simple way to measure your social media performance.
13. Conversocial.com - a great option for social CRM.
14. SocialBakers.com - social media statistic heaven.

Content exchange tools / platforms

15. Branfeed.eu - a place where brands and journalists meet.
16. ThisMoment.com - content distribution and engagement software.
17. MyNewsDesk.com - content exchange portal and online newsroom solution.
18. Jux.com - helps create new ways to feature your online content.
19. PRfilter.com - an opt-in news gathering service for journalists.
20. AnswerBase.com - your own Q&A community.
21. Zooshia.com - create your own social widgets for your site / blog.

Bookmarking and organisational tools

22. GetSpool.com - online and offline bookmarking system.
23. geeje.com - content discovery dashboard.
24. Wunderlist - task management with a social twist.
25. EverytimeHQ.com - in-domain note taking and sharing.
26. Pokki.com - helps you create your own apps for your desktop.
27. beta.strawberryj.am - scans links from the ones shared by your friends on Twitter and highlights the most popular ones.

Twitter-specific tools

28. bonfire.im - bringing instant messaging to Twittering.
29. twtrland.com - at-a-glance Twitter profile insights.
30.Twylah.com - fan pages for your tweets.

Facebook-specific tools

31. FBsearch.us - one of the best ways to search for Facebook groups, events and photos.

Search / SEO / domain tools

32. SkyGlue.com - Google analytics on steroids.
33. Wajam.com - personalised search engine results from your friends.
34. NameNinja.com - domain name brainstorming tool.
35. Panabee.com - domain name checker and inspiration provider.
36. SocialSearching.info - twitter and Facebook searching at your fingertips.

User experience / website analysis tools

37. bagelHint.com - enables users to feedback on your site design / functionality.
38. UnderTheSite.com - discover who owns any site on the web.
39. SiteTrail.com - an easy way to track the performance of competitor websites.
40. Lubith.com - create your own WordPress themes / templates.

Online video tools

41. Bambuser.com - mobile video streaming.
42. Videofy.me - bringing video content and bloggers together.
43. Tout.com - 15 second video status updates.

Online photo tools

44. Merchii.com - linking bloggers, consumers and online merchants together by tagging photos.

Contact management tools / dashboards

45. SproutSocial.com - powerful social media engagement dashboard.
46. Contax.io - manage your Twitter and Facebook communities with ease.

Influencer identification tools

47. Appinions.com - influencer exchange insights.
48. BlogDash.com - a dashboard for blogger outreach.
49. PeerIndex.net - ranks individual users by social media performance/
50. GroupHigh.com - blogger outreach intelligence.

Remember, keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of the top 20 of the year during December!

And, if you liked this post, share it with your pals via Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

40 useful things to share on Facebook (part two)

Today I'm handing my blog over to my work colleague Antonia Harler who is going to serve up part two of a series looking at the different types of content you can share on Facebook. Anyway, enough from me...

A guest post by Antonia Harler.

Last week, Adam pulled together a really usefullist of things to share on Facebook and I’m here today to give you another 20 things that will make your Facebook page more fun, informative and engaging.

1. Caption contests – Find a funny/odd/weird picture that represents your industry and look for the next caption queen/king. People love to show off their creativity and by crowning a weekly caption queen or king you’ll get your community’s creative juices flowing.
2. Let your audience peek behind the curtain – Facebook pages are all about showing your company’s personality. Share staff pictures or a funny update. Don’t worry, there’s no harm in making your community laugh.
3. Music – It doesn’t represent your business or product but everyone loves music. Facebook recently partnered up with Spotify, so why not create a playlist for your audience and share it on your wall? Additionally, you could ask your audience to submit their suggestions.
4. Encourage opinions and/or questions – Are you trying to find new content for your social channels? A great way to do exactly that is to encourage your audience to ask questions or leave their opinion. In return, you can pick one and create a short video clip or blog post to share on Facebook.
5. Quotes – This is a bit random but there’s a quote for everything and everyone. Find and post them. Whether they are motivational or representative of a certain situation, you are guaranteed some likes as it’s something people can relate to.
6. Did you figure out a simple solution to a problem? Share it with your community. People are always interested in things that make their lives easier. It’s a winner, trust me.
7. Found an interesting presentation on the web? Link to it and discuss it with your audience. Ask for their input and opinions.
8. Industry related news and blog posts – This is one of the most obvious things you can do and yet, it’s often missed. There’s no harm in flagging someone else’s content. Your audience will thank you as they may discover new information, a new website or blog.
9. Remember, congratulate, acknowledge – The world is an ever-changing place. Positive and negative events happen every day. If an event has a particular impact on you and your business or even if it doesn’t but you are simply touched, post an update. It will show your human side.
10. Interesting facts – Updates along the lines of ‘Did you know…?’ are a great way to encourage discussion.
11. Fill in the gap posts – e.g. In 2012 I’d like to __________. Let your community share their plans, thoughts, comments and ideas with you.
12. Fan of the week posts – Do you have an especially engaged fan on your page? Why not acknowledge them by dedicating a post to them at the end of the week?
13. Riddles & Brainteasers – Who said riddles are for kids only? Us adults love to have a good guess. Brighten up your community’s day by posting a fun riddle once in a while. Engagement guaranteed.
14. Want to grow your Facebook community? Ask your audience for help! It’s easy to share a page with the people you know. Encourage them to do so every now and again.
15. Welcome new staff members or say goodbye to people leaving – By posting updates about new staff members or people that are leaving your company, you let your audience peek behind the curtain. It also shows your appreciation for new and old team members.
16. Dedicate a day, week or month – Are you passionate about a cause, another company, a product or a person? Dedicate a day, week or month to help them. Post updates that promote their product, their ideas or their cause.
17. Notes – Notes are a great way of sharing information that’s too long for a Facebook update. It may be a mini blog post or something as simple as background information on a product, service or event.
18. Link to a Twitter hashtag – Are you having an interesting discussion on Twitter and would like your Facebook community to join in? Link to it from your Facebook wall. Make your community aware that you are also on Twitter.
19. Do you sell a product? Encourage your community to post pictures with the product, them using the product, creative ways of using the product.. Find one you like and feature it on the page or combine them all in a photo album.
20. Over to you… 

Here you have it, another 20 things to share on your Facebook page. (Yeah, I know, 19 if we are being precise and all..) What would you add?

Antonia Harler is a social media consultant in London where she helps create and deliver social media programmes for a wide variety of brands. She's also a blogger, lover of all things different and hater of bananas. Connect with antonia on her blog www.socialglitz.com, Twitter http://twitter.com/antoniaharleror LinkedIN http://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniaharler. 

40 useful things to share on Facebook besides product updates

Last year, I wrote a post called '40 useful things to share in Twitter besides blog posts' to remind myself that there is so much more you can do on Twitter that adds value.

I've been thinking about doing a Facebook version for a while now and thought now was as good a time as any.

These suggestions are made with a brand / organisation hat on but can easily be adapted to personal accounts too.

This is also a nice checklist to refer to if you are struggling with achieving the self-promotion versus value-adding presence balance your communities crave from you.

So, here are my first 20 suggestions (the other 20 will follow later in the week):

Ideas for useful Facebook status updates (part one)

1. Share a 'how to' video from YouTube about your niche (YouTube even has dedicated section on 'how to and style') 
2. Suggest other niche media of interest to your community e.g. A golf-related page would benefit from being told when the local telecast time of the next major tournament in that timezone
3. Highlight special offers and competition of interest to your community - often times, another Facebook page will be staging a competition with some great prizes on offer relevant to your niche...no harm in re-sharing that link
4. Stage a live Q&A on your wall with a industry expert - giving people access to knowledge is always received well
5. Create and stage polls that add value to the page - polls are being used more and more by brands on Facebook pages but the incentive for participation is often overlooked. Before you post a poll ask why your community would a) take part and b) share it to encourage increased participation
6. Aggregate fan posts - if you keep your wall 'open' you might want to republish comments / content shared by your community - this will not only make the publisher feel special but encourage more engagement too
7. Tell your community about other Facebook pages they might want to follow from their niche - this is a classic example of non-narcissistic sharing that adds value
8. Recommend ways for your community to get more out of their day e.g. a tech brand might suggest you give a tool like DropBox a try to manage your online files
9. Another tech-related post could involve sharing tips and insights on a new piece of software that has just been released e.g Android updates or IOS updates
10. Highlight relevant research - sometime, a research report will be released which may contain a couple of great nuggets of information for your community - identify them and share them - this is a great example of adding value by making the facilitation of content easier
11. Signpost important business information - sometimes you can promote your business with directly promoting a product e.g. Updating your community on store opening times over the Christmas period
12. Partner collaboration - this is an often overlooked way of curating valuable content. Businesses partner with other businesses or groups so regularly share content plans with each other and identify opportunities to cross-post  
13. App Mapping - as Facebook continue to encourage app development, locate some handy / relevant ones and share them with your community (they'll love you for it)
14. Facebook news - one thing every brand has in common with its Facebook community is Facebook. So, if Facebook updates its pages or changes the way the user experiences the platform, share this development with your community.
15. Seasonal / calender driven updates - another piece of common ground every brand and organisation shares with its community is time-sensitive events. If the weather is changing, there's probably an opportunity to give advice / add value in there somewhere 
16. Event reminders - you may have your own events or other events relevant to your nice on the horizon so reminding people that something is coming up always goes down well.
17. Suggest things to do - you'll often seen Facebook page admins ask people what they have planned for the weekend. Take this a step further by suggestion some things that are on that might be of interest.
18. Game reviews - you might argue about the 'usefulness' of games, but if you are passionate about your niche, being told about a new mobile game you can play on the way to work won't be sneezed at by your community.
19. Photos are a big part of Facebook so consider sharing links to relevant albums from your community or link through to a relevant Flickr or PicasaWeb account.
20. Ask and answer questions that fulfill a need - asking questions for the sake of asking questions is pointless, so really analyse what your community is curious about and tailor questions based on that insight.

What else would you add to this list?

Adam

The kid in the corner is getting changed...

Hello!

Just a quick note from me about the soon-to-be re-launched COMMScorner.com / AdamVincenzini.com.

After three years of specifically focusing on PR and social media via COMMScorner.com, this blog will take a slightly different direction from December 2012 under the banner of AdamVincenzini.com.

The main focus will still be media (all forms), but both technology and culture will take up a more prominent position.

So, excuse me while I get changed in front of you, but I want to make this blog as useful as possible for the next three years too.

In the meantime, catch my posts at TheNextWeb.com, PRDaily.com and ParatusCommunications.com.

Thanks
Adam Vincenzini

Note: All the old content from COMMScorner.com will still be accessible under the new format.