3 Nifty Social Media Tools

This post is mainly geared toward Twitter but includes tips for all social media.

Twitter Lists: As you follow more tweeps, organizing them into lists and groups is helpful. For example, I have a list of Atlanta-related tweeps I follow, E.g. local newspapers or venues. I use TweetDeck on my desktop and iPhone, so when I want to view a column about what’s going on this weekend in Atlanta, I can do so easily using by filtering my ATL list. I also have a tech list of tweeps who provide helpful content and news.

But, when I want to search any topic or keyword and see its popularity or stats on Twitter and/or other social media sites or blogs, I branch out:

1. Social Mention aggregates user-generated content from 80 social media sites. You can search a term, name, brand, etc. and filter which sites you wish to display. If someone has tweeted about Carol Bartz (CEO of Yahoo.com), or a blog was written about Steve Jobs, you will see the tweet or blog title and time of post. Tell SM to only show results from, say, Digg, Reddit, Google News, and WordPress= one stream of point-in-time customized social media search and analysis. (Thanks to @wisdeo.)

Dali- The Persistence of Memory. 1931. Oil on canvas.

Salvador Dali- The Persistence of Memory. 1931.

2. Tweet O’Clock is useful if you have an important tweet you hope will grab the attention of a specific user or certain types of users. In the same vein as Social Mention, Tweet O’Clock is focused solely on tracking Twitter users’ (A.K.A. tweeps’) habits. It allows you to pinpoint the best time to DM a tweep by calculating their average most active time on Twitter in a given week. Before tweeting @ someone important, remember this:

<—-Timing is everything: Don’t waste good content on a Wednesday at 3AM. Remember: Monday-Friday, 9A-5P is the most heavily trafficked time on Twitter. And Mondays are the most popular day of the week.

3. Podcasts are amazing. You can make better use of idle time (standing in line, stuck in traffic, riding public transportation, walking your dog) by listening to something educational (or fun). The following are all available for free on iTunes. Two good tech/Internet podcasts to which I subscribe:

MacBreak Weekly. MacBreak is chock full of the latest tech trends, with a focus on Apple. The podcast is a reliable source for iPad, iPhone, and corporate technology developments.
10 Golden Rules of Internet Marketing. Canadian marketing expert Jay Berkowitz aims to “explain and demystify internet marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, banners and landing pages.” He gives advice on social media etiquette, with great Twitter tips. His blog is here.

If you enjoyed reading Stephen J. Dubner and University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt’s Freakonomics, check out their podcast. Human behavior and psychology are highly related to social media. (I was a psych major.) The podcast is bite-size fun.