Here are some essential tools for getting active on social media. Some basics for beginners just like me.

Everyone is currently talking about visual and video and how much traction they attract when you add them to a post.

Clearly that is a no brainer.  Add a visual!

I love live streaming apps like Periscope and Blab and can see they are a great way to communicate with people.

Nothing better than actually seeing people live, faults and all and being able to connect directly (or not) with them.

This is some up to date info on how Blab.im is changing as it grows, dictated mainly by its users requests and suggestions.

It was the brainchild of Michael Birch who had outstanding success with Bebo before selling the platform in 2008.  He re-bought it in 2013 with a view to re-vamping and the birth of Blab…

Brian Fanzo is pretty much an ideal when it comes to promoting this sort of material.

Very authentic, and passionate about his values.  I love his positive values about making the internet a place for good, and his great enthusiasm.

Essential kit. for Blabbing etc.

I also watched a great Blab today with Rebekah Radice about powerful visual marketing.

Lots of great tips in there and she comes across, as did the other co-presenters as really genuine people, who have great messages to share.

One thing that also makes complete sense to me though as well are PODCASTS.

You can listen as you drive to an appointment, walk or run on a treadmill or just when you have that odd spare moment, or perhaps laying awake at night plotting world domination on social media, and simply cannot sleep!

This is a really good and easy explanation about how to get started using a Podcast from Hubspot.

It explains what equipment you need to use and a step by step guide that even the most technophobic person (like me!) can understand and use.

I’m going to buy a Blue Yeti microphone but check out their post and see what suits you.

Apart from that, you perhaps only need a stand for your smartphone, or simply use your laptop.

It doubles up for use with the live streaming apps so makes sense as an investment.

I think we need the armoury of video (live streaming or not) to amplify our messages or those of our clients. Let’s face it You Tube has being doing this well for decades.

Some people are obviously more suited to this than others.   But now it is entirely acceptable to publish content that isn’t fine tuned to a second of it’s life, this opens up a world of opportunities for marketers.

Especially if you have a client who might take to this sort of approach.

I have a particular Chef in mind, who I am going to suggest should use Blab or Periscope as he will be brilliant in front of the camera and I have no doubt will be a really positive marketing tool for him.  He has a big personality and clear presence in front of a camera.

Not THAT long ago, there used to be some pretty terrible television advertising in Australia on occasion.  The idea was you took a car sales man (often plus son or other family member) and basically shouted on screen at your audience.

Clearly it was ‘vanity’ advertising.  Some poor soul was parted from his money who had deep pockets and not much sense.

I guess they probably sold some cars, as any publicity is better than no publicity right?  But happily, those days are over.

Advertising has transformed beyond recognition here in the last 10 years and a I can see a similar change in on line marketing.

As little as five years ago, landing pages were all about HUGE calls to action and aggressive in-your-face lead generation.

We now are in another stage, where customer relations and building relationships are the keys.  In-bound marketing is where we are at currently.

Mad Men would have raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow.

It is great that now if something goes wrong with a product or customer service is lousy, we can address this verbally and very openly online. In a customer centric world, how we respond to complaints and how quickly is becoming increasingly important.

So this is another essential piece of reading Social Media Resources for Beginners

This is also from Hubspot and contains a vast amount of really useful ‘stuff’.

Highly recommend you take a look.  If this out of date by the time you read it, then I have a feeling there will always be brilliant updates.  These guys have their finger/s on the pulse.

My first encounter with social media was with Social Media Examiner If you haven’t subscribed to their newsletter/podcast/Blab, then go do it.

They come across as nice people, their conferences are affordable and have proven a really good ROI.

I’m enjoying Mike Stelzner’s Blabs on a Friday.  Although unfortunately they are live at 3am Saturday for me here so have only caught one as it happened, but there are always the repeats.

I highly recommend you have a look & listen to these.  I’ve picked up information in an enjoyable way, and it is really ‘of the moment’ and covers a lot of topics in short that can save you a heap of time.

When Pinterest decided to add a ‘search’ option to the site, so that if we see something we like we can find out where we can purchase it, or something similar – these guys were onto it straight away.

There is SO MUCH to read and keep on top of.  This is a bit of light relief, finding things out without having to plough through acres of script.

I was followed by these guys today.  They call themselves ‘Unscrambled’ and are actually very funny.  Check out their podcasts.

They cover hot topics, like ghost apps, for example, but in a really easy to listen to way.  Mainly they talk about social media, but sometimes get diverted (but in a good way).  There is a lot of laughter, so not for the too serious minded.

I don’t know about you, but I am happy to get my knowledge through a bit of light hearted banter now and then.

They remind me a lot of a couple of Australian radio dj’s called Hamish and Andy

These guys are hysterical.  Nothing to do with social media at all, but if you want a bit of a giggle on a gloomy day – they’re your men!

Another podcast, you may not have come across that is very informative is created by a company called Newsmodo .

These are journalists, headed up by Rakhal Ebeli who make podcasts that cover specific topics in social media.

I will put my hands up and say, I have a vested interest in promoting this as I occasionally write for the company.

They interview top global social media influencers and definitely worth checking out.

So my last tip of today, is that apparently when you add eight (not seven or nine) photos to your blog, you get more attention.

This will be a little experiment, in whether this is so 🙂

Fairly, hard to tell with my band of stalwart followers that I can actually count on two hands…

But, another little nugget from the multitude of posts, podcasts and whitepapers etc. that I am covering, is to consider social media, in this way.

You have a hot tub and everyday you are adding a glass of water.  At first it seems as if nothing is happening, but after a couple of years (yes sigh! a couple of years) then it is full and overflowing. That is when the magic happens.

Or perhaps it is just sink or swim?

Let’s hope we all SWIM!