Here are 3 tools that are free and will help you grow your business through social media. There are many other applications out there and they appear and disappear as social media changes and evolves. I like these 3 listed below for their ease of use and little set-up time. Please feel free to leave a comments about the tools you use or if you use these. RSS Graffiti for Facebook Simplify your social media marketing with this free application available on Facebook. RSS Graffiti will automatically publish your RSS feeds to any of your Facebook Fan Pages. Setup is easy and and takes less than 10 minutes to establish. You can schedule how often RSS Graffiti updates your wall, set publishing limits and can even publish to Twitter. I use it to publish articles from my WordPress blog to my Facebook Fan Page. Then Facebook automatically send out a Tweet to my Twitter followers that alerts them of a new post on my blogs. Payvment E-Commerce Storefront If you are looking to sell product online with little upfront cost Payvment is the answer. Payvment is a free shopping cart application for Facebook Fan Pages and uses PayPal to process payments. Set-up is easy and most can have a storefront up and running in 1-hour or less. Visit the Facebook Fan Page of Pioneer Soap Works to see what an actual storefront is like. All In One SEO Pack WordPress Plugin This is a must have tool for any business with a hosted WordPress blog. All In One SEO is a free plugin that optimizes your blog for better search engine results. This application gives you better control over the optimization of your post, pages and site home page. Therefore your chances of moving up in search engine results increase. Easy enough for beginners yet fully customizable for those with a little more SEO background. Content by Dennis J. Smith ““ Social Media Author
Social Media Search Engine Taps Into Facebook
Here’s a search tool that you can use to see what people are talking about on social media sites. WhosTalkin is a great way to find out what others are saying about your business or your field. Just type in your search term and WhosTalkin will search all the social media site for matching conversations and return results in a few minutes. Social Media Search Engine, WhosTalkin, Recently Integrated Facebook’s New API, Giving The Search Tool Unrepresented Reach. Pawleys Island, SC (Content by PRWEB) October 5, 2010 Social media search engine, WhosTalkin, recently integrated Facebook’s new API, giving the search tool unrepresented reach. WhosTalkin is a social media search engine that searches real time conversations from around 60 different social media gateways. Adding Facebook, marks a significant step for the almost 2 year old search company. Along with the Facebook addition, WhosTalkin, is also launching a new aggregation engine, a new real time metric, and the ability to export results directly from the search tool. Joe Hall, founder and CEO says, "We knew that in order to integrate Facebook, we would need to change the way we aggregate data to facilitate large scale searching." As a result, WhosTalkin has launched a new aggregation engine that now powers their service. Hall says, "We are very happy with initial test." The new engine will allow WhosTalkin’s developers to easily add new social media gate ways over time. "The social web is constantly changing, so we wanted our new system to be able to change and grow with it." says Hall. The new aggregation engine has opened doors for Hall to launch other features as well. "We are also launching a new metric that we think gives a very accurate picture of the level of conversations in social media." states Hall. TalkRank is a new unique metric that gauges the level of conversation in social media. TalkRank is different than other social media metrics because its based on live data. Users can continually check TalkRank to monitor trends. Along with the new aggregation engine, the search tool now also allows for instant exporting of results. The search results can be directly exported into Microsoft Excel. In the future the search company plans to provide other formats. ### For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebsearch/facebook/prweb4592424.htm
5 Must Have Social Media Plugins for WordPress Blogs
With the explosion of Social Media many bloggers are discovering the power of sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz and LinkedIn to name a few. With WordPress plugins you or your readers can share your blog postings with others just with a click of the mouse. Here are 5 plugins for Social Media that I think are the must haves if you are serious about promoting your business or cause. Update: Some of these plugins have been discontinued or have not been updated by their developers. WP FB Like With the exploding popularity of Facebook this is a must have plugin because it post to the king of social media. WP FB Like is easy to setup and will add the Facebook “Like” Button at the top and bottom of all your post or pages. When your reader clicks on the button a link to your blog post is added to their Facebook wall. If their friends click on the link they are sent to your blog and directly to the post. Update: This plugin hasn’t been updated in over 2 years. It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when used with more recent versions of WordPress. Sexy Bookmarks Here is a WordPress plugin that does it all when it comes to sharing out your blog post. Sexy Bookmarks lets you pick and choice the social media networks you’d like your readers to share to. Plus you can drag and drop them into the position you’d like them to display on your page. You can display the social media networks at the top or bottom of your post. There over 80 social networks to choose from but I would suggest that you keep it under 20 so as not to overwhelm your readers. WP Google-Buzz With all the buzz about Google Buzz and Google’s jump into the social media arena you’ll want this plugin for sure. If you prefer to keep a minimalist look to your blog you might want to consider going with just a few buttons. Facebook, Twitter, Digg and maybe even MySpace depending on the demographics of your readers. WP Google-Buzz is easy to configure and has several customization choices to fit any bloggers needs. Update: This plugin has been discontinued Disqus Comment System This plugin replaces the default WordPress commenting system by adding elements that will drive more traffic to your blog. Both new and repeat traffic can be generated from the use of this popular plugin. Most major newspapers and news organizations use Disqus on their websites. Readers can check a like button just like the FB like button and can post their comments to Facebook and Twitter. Readers can also subscribe by email or RSS and get notified when someone replies to their comment. What’s not to like about this plugin? PostRank PostRank shows off the top post on your blog and is updated automatically as the rankings change. The look and feel of the widget can be set to match the color of your WordPress theme. Monitor your PostRank scores and social media analytic metrics right from the WordPress dashboard. The PostRank plugin is easy to install and setup is a breeze. Keep in mind that it might take a few hours for the top post to start displaying. Wibya The ultimate social media plugin for your WordPress blog is the Wibya Toolbar. Integrate both your Twitter and Facebook Fan Page feeds into your blog along with a host of other choices. Show off your YouTube videos or pick what videos you’d like displayed. Customize the look and feel of the toolbar to match your WordPress theme. Do you use any of the above plugins with your WordPress blog? Have something else that’s a favorite? Please feel free to leave a comment below and add to this list by letting others know your recommendations. Interested in other WordPress Plugins? Check out this post from the blog ““ How To Make My Blog Best WordPress plugins ““ 18 most downloaded WordPress plugins ever If you know someone who could benefit from the information above please feel free to share with others. I appreciate it and hope you’ll return again. Thanks!
Expose your WordPress blog postings with a little Facebook “Like”
Now you can get some “Like” on Facebook for your WordPress blog post with a simple plugin. You don’t have to know anything about programming code like HTML. While in your WordPress Dashboard go to Plugins on the left-hand menu. Click the “Add New” button and type in “Facebook Like Button Plugin for WordPress” (current version is 0.4a). There’s also WP FB Like which is easy to setup with a few clicks of the options. Pick whatever one you feel comfortable with but don’t delay on adding this must have plugin. The screenshot above shows you some of the options for one of the FB Like Button plugins. I recommend displaying the button before and after an article for maximum benefit. When a reader “Recommends” or “Likes” your posting a link is posted to their Facebook profile. This is an excellent way to drive traffic from your friends Facebook page to your blog. Do you have a favorite plugin you’d like to recommend to other readers? What do you “Like”? Feel free to comment below and click “Recommend” to recommend this article to your Facebook friends.
Promote Your Digital Product and Fatten Your Wallet With ClickBank
Looking for a way to promote your product or promote the product of others? Want to make money while you’re at it? With ClickBank you can promote your own products or promote the products of others and make money. ClickBank is based in Boise, Idaho and started back in 1998. There are thousands of digital product vendors on ClickBank and over 110,000 active affiliate marketers. You only need to create an account to get started and can either sell your own product or promote someone else’s product and get paid. Sell Digital Products Online “I earned about $250,000 during my senior year in college and within a year of graduation had crossed the million dollar mark.” Russell Brunson, Idaho, USA Do you have an e-Book you’ve written? How about computer software or a how-to guide? With ClickBank you can promote your product without a lot of overhead. The company will process orders for you via a secured and fraud proof system. You choose the price you want to sell your product for and pay them a one-time activation fee. All you have to do is create a landing page(web page) promoting your product and create some banner ads for affiliates. Affiliates are other people who are willing to promote your product for you by placing a hop link or banner ad on their website. Affiliates get a cut of your profits in the form of a commission when you make a sell. You can find lots of helpful information on selling basics here: ClickBank Selling Basics Promote Products in the ClickBank Marketplace “For anyone wanting to get started in affiliate marketing, ClickBank is the place to go. There are thousands of products to choose from and commission can be as high as 75%; you just won’t find that anywhere else.” Byron Walker, Colorado, USA If you don’t have product to sell but have a blog or a website you can still make money with ClickBank. Affiliate Marketing has been around for years and a great way to supplement your income. Once you have a ClickBank account you can promote any product in the ClickBank Marketplace. There’s thousands of products to choose from and something for everyone. Just find the product you like and generate a hop link to add to your blog or website. The hop link is coded so ClickBank knows who to pay commission if product is sold. Now you can share product with your Facebook friends using SocialPromote. Just click the “Like” button and ClickBank will create a hop and add it to your Facebook Stream. Make sure you are always signed in to your account when generating links or sharing out to Facebook. You can search the marketplace for products that will complement your blog or website. If you have a WordPress blog there are ClickBank plug-ins available that let you add ClickBank product to your blog with ease. Ready to get your feet wet with affiliate marketing or selling your own digital product? Head over to the ClickBank website and get your account ad get started today. Already using ClickBank? Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts with others. Sign Up for ClickBank CJM Marketing Specialties Content By Dennis J. Smith
Payvment Expands Toolset For Power Facebook Sellers
Payvment, a leading e-commerce solution for Facebook Page administrators, has just introduced a number of new features including the ability for Etsy users to import their entire Etsy product catalog. Additionally, the company is releasing a suite of enterprise APIs for Facebook Stores. That means developers can now take advantage of the new IPN service, an Order Management API, a Shopping Cart API, and more, to automate the entire Facebook shopping experience. For those who are less aware of what Payvment is, they provide Facebook Page administrators with a full-fledged e-commerce solution which supports shopping and payments on the site. Right now the service is free to set up. The company’s business model has enabled them to reach tens of thousands of Facebook Pages with very little promotion aside from a small footer on each shopping tab which says “Launch your free store on Facebook” and links back to Payvment. While the volume of e-commerce transactions on Facebook is not known, many companies have been taking new steps to offer on-Facebook transaction support. Delta, for example, just announced that they would begin accepting purchases directly within their Facebook Page. Whether or not these tests have proven to be successful is unknown, however there’s no harm in enabling buyers to make purchases anywhere they happen to be online, even if that location is Facebook. While we’re still waiting to hear more about the transaction volume of sales on Facebook, Payvment is currently the leading company in bringing e-commerce to Facebook. If you are interested in learning more about the company you can do so by visiting their website. Article by Neil O’Neill of AllFacebook.com Read more about Payvment for Facebook in my August 2010 article.
Create a Payvment storefront on Facebook in under 15 minutes
Please note: Since this article was written Payvment was sold and the links below might no longer be valid. I have left the article up for reference. Are you the crafty type and thought about selling product on Facebook? What if I told you all you need is a Facebook and PayPal account to get started? There are over 500 million customers waiting for you to set-up shop on Facebook. We’ve all heard of EBay, Amazon.com and some maybe have even heard of ETSY as places to sell and purchase product online. But with the explosive growth of social media the new player in town for e-commerce is Facebook. Payvment is a Facebook application that is free and easy for anyone to set-up. It connects to your PayPal personal or business account to process payments using PayPal and any major credit card. Right now the application is free while in beta and Payvment says that any Payvment Facebook store will remain free even after the public beta ends. Okay, so it might take a little more than 15 minutes to roll out a store but most will be up in running in less than an hour. I would say the most time consuming isn’t setting up the store, but taking photos of your product to display in the store. But setting up the customizations and adding product is a pretty simple process. Here’s what a typical Payvment storefront on Facebook looks like. Notice the shopping cart above the product as the customers adds product to the cart. Payvment lets you add product from any store on Facebook that use the Payvment application. Payments are processed via PayPal accordingly with all shipping and tax calculated at checkout. When a customer clicks on an item they get a more detailed description of the item. Notice the Fan Discount for those who are a fan of the page. You can give fans of your page an instant discount on your products. You don’t have to offer a discount but this is a pretty effective way to get others to “Like” your business and hopefully purchase product. Payvment reports that a Forbes study shows that Facebook Fans are 41% more likely to recommend a brand and 28% more likely to continue using them. They also state that a Facebook Fan is worth $136.38 on average and spends $71.84 more each year compared to non fans. Could you imagine what that might translate into if you had 1000 fans? Those who are fans of your page can also “Share” a product they like which will post that item to their wall. That gives store owners even more potential for new fans and sells. Here’s an item I posted to my wall by sharing it from the ELytes Facebook store. Here’s what the Payvment product page looks like showing the price, price after fan discount, quantity, size, color and product description depending on the product you sell. Real-world Use of Payvment for Facebook Motivational speaker and author Johnna Johnson is using Facebook and Payvment to promote and sell her books, e-Book and workbooks. With Payvment you can designate specific product as Featured Items. If you know HTML you can also control the look of your storefront homepage. Check out the list of Payvment stores below and see what others are doing for ideas. Small business owner and single mom Rachel Dobbs uses the application on her fan page Pioneer Soap Works to sell her homemade natural candles, soaps, bath bombs and more from the comforts of her home. I first met Rachel through Facebook when I was doing research for my book. She started out selling her product to friends and family and then a local gift shop and a Saturday Market. Now a majority of her business comes right from her Facebook Fan page after adding the Payvment storefront. I asked Rachel her thoughts on using Payvment as a shopping cart solution. She told me that it was extremely easy to install and having a little html knowledge helped. It was about $100 a month for a shopping cart on her website and she only had 2 sales for the entire year. With Payvment it easy for her to add new product to her store. Rachel also likes that there aren’t any fees, monthly charges or percentage of your sales with Payvment. It’s 100 percent free! Within the first week of using the application her sales increased 40 percent. See sample Payvment stores on Facebook This is only a sampling of the over 30,000 and growing small/medium size businesses, major brands, and retailers using Payvment to build user engagement and revenue on Facebook. Yes to Carrots (Selling in U.S. Dollars) Elytes (Selling in U.S. Dollars) Johnna Johnson & Co. (Selling in U.S. Dollars) Grayce by Molly Sims (Selling in U.S. Dollars) Orglamix Cosmetics (Selling in U.S. Dollars) Vanity Shoes (Selling in Euros) Game Intern (Selling in U.S. Dollars) Claire’s Bowtique (Selling in U.S. Dollars) Athehof (Taiwan) (Selling in Taiwan New Dollars) Payvment Administration Payvment has lots of features including the ability to put your store in suspend mode. This is useful for those who take a vacation and need to suspend business while away. Managing your store is done though backend administration which is shown below. New products are added here, product images, product descriptions, store categories, shipping information and modification of current store product. Tax rates can be set-up for both domestic and international customers. Video tutorials to help you get started quickly How to Quickly Launch a Storefront on Facebook How to Add Products to Your Facebook Storefront How to Set Up Facebook “Fan” Discount Pricing How to Set Up Inventory Controls How to Set Up Dynamic Rate Shipping and Sales Tax Are you selling on Facebook or online? What do you use for a shopping cart? Feel free to leave a comment below along with a link to you Payvment store. Build Your Store – Launch a Payvment Store