Your Blog, Facebook, Twitter, and You – It’s Easier Than it Seems
Why aren’t your blog, Facebook page, and Twitter account talking to each other? It’s probably because you haven’t introduced them to each other yet. There are a couple of ways you can do this, and most of them are easier than you think.
- WordPress – If your blog is on the WordPress platform, there are a number of wordpress plugins that will automatically post your new blog posts to your Twitter and Facebook. If you go “Add Plugins” and do a search, you are sure to find a bevy that will get the job done.
- Feedburner – If you use Google Feedburner, there is a way to publish to your Twitter account through them. If you go to “Publicize” and click on “Socialize”, there are a few things you can fill out and it will get the job done.
- The New Twitter button – You may have read about Twitter working with TweetMeme and creating the official Twitter button. You could install this button on your site, and then use it manually to Tweet each of your blog posts. Read more about the new Twitter button HERE.
- Networked Blogs – I don’t know too much about how Networked Blogs works with Facebook, but I know that a lot of bloggers use it as a method for posting their new blog posts on Facebook.
- Ping.fm – Ping.fm is a really easy way to connect your blog to multiple social networking sites. Create an account, adjust some of the settings, install the Ping button, and you can ping any of your new blog posts to the social networks you have added. This is great if you want to be selective with which blog posts you want to push through to Twitter and Facebook.
Each of these methods are an easy way to get your blog posts out there. Are you already pushing your new blog posts through to Twitter and Facebook? Are you using a method other than the ones here? Let us know in the comments below.
Twitter Tips: The Secret to Creating Twitter Lists
One really effective tool all Twitter users should know about is lists. Lists are a way to group the people you follow on Twitter and so much more. Once you get hang of working with lists, they will clean up and speed up your Twitter experience.
What are Lists and Why Should I Create Them?
Lists are just that – lists of people on Twitter. You can look at lists as a separate stream in Twitter, so by grouping the people you are following you can look at just their tweets. For example, I have a list of Social Media and Branding people I follow as well as a list of Digi Tips and Tricks people I follow. When I look at one of those lists, I see only tweets from the people I have put on that list. That makes it a lot easier to keep up with what my Tips and Tricks people and see what they are tweeting about.
You can also follow other people’s lists. What’s totally excellent about following other people’s lists is that you follow just the list…the people on the list don’t show up in your home stream. You are following them, without following them. This can really help to clean up your home stream.
Ok, So I Should be Using Lists…How Do I Make Them?
So, if you go to your Twitter homepage and look at the right hand side of the page, you’ll find “Lists” in the column.
Right below it, you’ll see “New List.” Click on that. When you click on that, a dialog box will pop up.
You’ll be asked to name the list, as well as provide a description for the list. After that, you’ll see a place where you have to decide whether you want to make the list “public” or “private.” Basically, if you list is public, other people can look at it and follow it. If you list is marked as private, only you will be able to see the list. The people on the list won’t even know that they’re there. It’s really private, LOL. When you decide, you will click create and you will be ready to add people to your list.
There are two ways to add people to your list. First, you can search for people to add to your list. This is what you are prompted to do when you first click create. You can also add people from the list of people you are following. What you would do is find the person you want to add to the list. Once you find them, on the right hand side of their box is a button that looks like a list.
If you click it, a drop down will show up with the lists you have created. You would check off the lists that you want the person to appear in, and then click outside the box. They are added to your list!
Ok, So I Made a List. How Do I Find Other People’s Lists to Follow?
Well, first off, if you look at someone’s Twitter profile, on the right hand side in the Lists section, you’ll see all the lists they have created and made public. Click on one of those lists, and you’ll be able to follow the list. Easy Peasey, right?
Another way to find lists to follow is Listorious.com. Listorious is basically a directory of lists created in Twitter. You can search the lists, and even check out the Top 140 lists. Get it, 140 lists…140 characters…gah, I love a good pun!
Are You Inspired Now?
I hope that with this you’ll be inspired to create and follow some lists. Lists really reach their full power when you are using a Twitter client such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, where you have an option of creating a column for the list. Hey…that’s another post though.
What lists have you created? What lists are you following? Let us know in the comments below!
Twitter Tips: The Secrets of Using Hashtags
A few days ago, I asked on my Facebook Page and Twitter if people used hashtags when they were Tweeting. I was surprised to see people respond either that they didn’t know how to use hashtags, or even that they didn’t know what they were. After reading this article, even the most inexperienced hashtag user will be using them with ease.
What Are Hashtags? I Thought That Was the Number Symbol!
Well, technically it is. You may have seen tweets with the number symbol, # , inserted into them, usually followed by a word or phrase. In Twitterspeak, this symbol is called a hashtag. Hashtags are used to group tweets together, so that when someone is looking for the tweets on one subject, they can easily find them. When using a hashtag, a phrase or word is attached directly to the symbol as a means to categorize the tweet. Probably the hashtag that most users are familiar with is the #FF hashtag, which indicates a Follow Friday tweet. By adding #FF to your Follow Friday tweet, that tweet is automatically included in the larger stream of Follow Friday tweets. Hashtags are also often used for searching. For example, you could search #ipad and you would find all the tweets which have included the #ipad hashtag.
How Do I Use #Hashtags?
Using hashtags is easy. If you want to categorize your tweet into a certain category, simply add the hashtag (#) with the keyword attached to it. So for example, if I am going to tweet Sir Scrapalot Designs products, I can add #sirscrapalot to the tweet, and that tweet will be categorized with other tweets that use the hashtag. When choosing a keyword or phrase, it’s important to think about how easy it is to use, and the length of the keyword since it will count towards your 140 character count. Popular hashtags that digiscrappers use are #digiscrap or #digitalscrapbooking.
You can also use hashtags for searching. In the Twitter search box, you can enter a hashtag and a keyword, and all of the tweets that use that hashtag will come up. For example, if you want to find all of the Tweets about the first episode of the Paperclipping Digi Show, you would search #pds1. In the results you’ll find all the tweets people have done about the first episode of the Paperclipping Digi Show.
A Few Things to Watch Out For
There are a few things that you need to watch out for when you are using hashtags. First and foremost, is to make sure you aren’t using hashtags to promote spam. The easiest way to do this is to make sure that every time you use a hashtag in a tweet it is directly related to the tweet itself. Adding unrelated hashtags to your tweets may get more people to look at the tweet, but this is considered spamming. Also, hashtags should be used sparingly. A good rule of thumb is to only include one or two in a related tweet. As long as you are using hashtags appropriately, you will be fine.
Secondly, if you are using a hashtag for a certain event or specific product, check to see if the event or product already has a hashtag associated with it. By doing this, you are sure that your tweets will be categorized with other tweets about that subject. For example, to tweet about Paperclipping Digi Show, you should add the hashtag #pds followed by the episode number. So for episode 1, you would use the hashtag #pds1.
Some Hashtags You May Want to Use
- #digiscrap
- #digitalscrapbooking
- #pds(episode number)
- #FF
- #sirscrapalot (tweet about me or my blog!)
Once you get the hang of them, hashtags can be easy to use, and useful. The most important advice I have about them is to stay genuine, and only use hashtags when they make sense and are applicable to the tweet.
Want to try them out? Tweet about this blog post using the hashtag #sirscrapalot and let me know you are using them too!
Weekly Wrap Up with Sir Scrapalot Designs
June 13 – June 19
This week, on the blog, we’ve had some really interesting posts. Check them out:
- Scrap Along with Sir Scrapalot: Shrinking Digital Scrapbook Templates
- Nancy, She’s Oh So Fancy
- 5 Reasons You Should Visit My Facebook Fan Page
- Paperclipping Digi Show: Why You Need to Listen to This, Too
Over at the Facebook Fan Page:
- We’re talking about the effects of Social Media on digiscrapping
- People are posting layouts and links to their layouts
- I’m still hooking them up with coupon codes at random!
At Polka Dot Plum:
- There is some talk about something called “Collabracadabra” I’m not sure what it is, but I’m keeping my eye on it
- I released a Fancy Nancy inspired kit
That’s about it for this week!
What Do You Think?
Over the past three weeks, I have introduced a few new features here at the Sir Scrapalot Designs blog. New installments of these features will be coming within the next week or so. I am interested in hearing which of these features you have enjoyed so far. Please take a minute and vote in the poll below and let me know what your favorite new features have been.
What New Features Have You Most Enjoyed?
- Scrapping {You}niversity (64%, 9 Votes)
- Trend Watch (43%, 6 Votes)
- Scrap Along With Sir Scrapalot (29%, 4 Votes)
- Twitter Tips (14%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 14
Loading ...Have other ideas for new features here at the Sir Scrapalot Designs blog? Let me know in the comments, or follow me @SirScrapalot and let me know on Twitter!
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