There are plenty of ways to keep track of the conversations taking place on the Internet regarding your small business or your personal brand.
I wanted to create a list to help the beginners of social media marketing keep track of what is being said on the Internet.
1. Sign up for a business Twitter account. Start following and joining in the conversations!
2. Sign up for an account on HowSociable. Awesome tool.
3. Create a Facebook Fan Page. Invite your friends and clients to the page. It will help you keep track of your contacts as well as the conversations surrounding your brand.
4. Are you already on Twitter? Use Twitter Search to follow keywords across the millions using this awesome tool!
5. You want another Twitter Tool. Twilert allows you to sign up for email notification when something is mentioned regarding your brand.
6. Want to follow the conversation on Facebook? Try out the Facebook Lexicon.
7. Creat a folder (or a separate email address) to keep track of all the search happening online regarding your brand. This will help with organization.
8. Yahoo Pipes is an amazing tool that helps you organize content and alerts. Check it.
9. Did somebody say something about your brand? Make sure you respond. Respond as quickly as possible.
10. Search for any word on Twitter using Tweetscan.
11. Watch any personal branding video you can find by Gary Vaynerchuk.
12. Did you come across a negative comment? Respond in kindness but strategically. More often than not.. you will kill the negative comment just because you were listening.
13. Do you know how your industry is trending in the online environment? Check out Trendpedia.
14. Create a LinkedIN group for your business. This could be a great way to keep employees communicating. There is no reason you should be doing all the work!
15. Read the Quick N’ Dirty Social Media Monitoring Guide.
16. Do whatever Comcast is doing in the social media environment. Most of the time… they are doing it the right way.
17. Get over the fact that social media is not a black-magic… my college kid only uses it… tool. It is here to stay.
18. Would you rather pay for a complex monitoring service? Try Radian6. I know.. I have a small man crush on Radian6.
19. If you don’t have a blog… start one. It is important to be creating the content with the other content creators… why? Wouldn’t you rather someone be forwarded to your personal opinion rather than a landing page and brochure site?
20. Andy Beal thinks you should check out Backtype to monitor blog comments. I would agree.
21. Try 123People. That is far as I am going to go with that one. You just need to try it out.
22. Keep a watchful eye. Set aside a couple of minutes a day (once of twice) to check our online brand management. It is important to create the habit and stay on top of the conversation.
23. According to Roger at ContentandMotion… you should be trying MonitorThis... “brand search on acid.”
24. For the more technically advanced… try Filtrbox.
25. Constantly read. read. read. We will never be ahead of the curve if we do not invest in ourselves. Subscribe to Wired. Whatever you do… make sure you stay on top of your game.
It is extremely important to at least implement one or two of the tools listed above. There are 1.5 Billion people with Internet on the planet. 81% of the entire global population is near a connection.
4.5 Billion mobile/internet devices will be on the market in 2010. The world is changing… are you going to change with it?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8b392792-2352-467d-9d88-636ec9bd8a40)
Kyle,
Not only does this post rock, but it made me laugh out loud re: the man crush. Classic stuff. Thanks for the shoutout, and for always providing such great info on your blog. It’s one I always enjoy reading.
Cheers,
Amber Naslund
Director of Community | Radian6
@AmberCadabra
Great to meet you Tuesday at the HHC.
All great ideas. I take it Twilert is better than TweetBeep? I’ll give it a try.
Best, Paula
Holiday World PR
http://holidayworld.com
http://twitter.com/HolidayWorld
Outstanding work, Kyle. You’re passion for marketing and social media awareness and education is contagious.
Thanks,
Mike
Hey Kyle,
I only just now stumbled onto your blog and can tell already I’ll be an avid reader!
Excellent set of resources, some of which I was unaware of. Looks like I will be trying some new things, which is always positive!
Thanks!
Dude, this is an awesome awesome list. Thanks a lot!
Great list. I’d like to suggest adding a Google Alert to your Gmail account for blogs and articles regarding your brand. Another good way to read what others are saying about you/your business.
Quite a comprehensive list, Kyle!
However, I would disagree that a couple of points – such as a start a Facebook Fanpage, create a LinkedIn group, start blogging, etc – are for “social media beginners”. I think those are vital but should only be implemented as part of a social media strategy. I know, from experience, that diving headfirst in to all of these mediums just for the sake of being there is not a good move.
Many of your other points about monitoring your brand in existing social media spaces are spot on.
@Rah thanks man! It is always a pleasure to run into you.
@Geoff I have been debating your comment and I can say.. I can agree with that. I was thinking on terms of monitoring your “clients” in terms of conversation.. using your Facebook fan page. I do agree that you should not jump into the social media “wagon” unless you are fully committed with a strategy. Good thoughts. I appreciate it.
@Jack Another good point. I use Google Alerts for many of our clients. I can’t believe I left it off the list. Thanks for the points!
Cool list. I find subscribing to twitter searches in google reader and google alerts are good ways too.
Awesome list Kyle
I would also add pipl.com to the people search.
[...] 25 Tools and Tips to Following Your Brand Online | Kyle Lacy, Social Media – Indianapolis Keep tabs on your brands online image! [...]
Great list Kyle – nicely done. One question – I’d love to know why you think Filtrbox is for the technically advanced. We aim to make it easy to use, so any feedback or ideas you have would be welcome! ari [at] filtrbox.com.
[...] Monitor the Conversation around Your Brand both Personal and Professional. For more on this read: 25 Tools and Tips to Following Your Brand Online. Why is it important to follow your brand online? You need to be involved in all the conversations [...]
Great food for thought! Thanks so much for sharing this information with us, I am very much appreciated. I will follow some of the lists you mentioned now.
Thanks and I am looking forward to your next article.
Best regards,
Susie Cheng
http://www.twitter.com/susiecheng
Great tips on how to take the business online! Facebook and twitter are changing the landscape of marketing and it's important to understand how to leverage that
[...] Monitor the Conversation around Your Brand both Personal and Professional. For more on this read: 25 Tools and Tips to Following Your Brand Online. Why is it important to follow your brand online? You need to be involved in all the conversations [...]
[...] Monitor the Conversation around Your Brand both Personal and Professional. For more on this read: 25 Tools and Tips to Following Your Brand Online. Why is it important to follow your brand online? You need to be involved in all the conversations [...]
Twilert seems interesting. PS: Since I run a Project Management website I can tell you one thing: Project Managers and twitter go along very well, since Project Manager is all about communication, and twitter is about that as well.
[...] Monitor the Conversation around Your Brand both Personal and Professional. For more on this read:25 Tools and Tips to Following Your Brand Online. Why is it important to follow your brand online? You need to be involved in all the conversations [...]