There are any number of online, pre-made, free-to-use software options. From the big ones like Youtube and Twitter to the more obscure resources like Brightkite and Vocalo you can create content with ease and share it as is necessary.
The problem with all of these thousands of options is figuring out what will work best for your application, or even just narrowing down what exists that will fit your needs.
I don’t want to make it my life’s work to list every social media application or collaboration tool available online so I won’t; instead I’ll give you some tips on how I develop my strategy around these sorts of things. Then you’ll be ready to do some Googling to find your way to the perfect application.
Need: I am looking for a way to spread my message to as broad of an audience as possible.
Response: Use the most popular of the current social media sites with a website or blog as a “home base” for my central messaging.
Example: Twitter is extraordinarily popular right now so growing a large following on Twitter allows for an opportunity to really broadcast your message. I may combine that with Facebook and then tie everything back to a more in-depth static website. However, there are so many social networks that have more focused followings that you may find you receive better response by focusing on those niche sites than you will get from broadcasting. In that case Google around for more focused Ning sites.
Need: I am looking for a way to build and share multimedia content across my social networking platforms and on my “home base” site.
Response: Find an application that allows you easy sharing and mostly gets out of the way when you embed it in other sites.
Example: Vimeo for video is very easy to use, flexible and looks extremely nice when embedded while Youtube currently has advertising that can make content feel a little cluttered. I like the clean interface because it fits in with the image I like to portray – non commercial and minimalist. However, the trade off is that Youtube works on more devices so you have to determine who your audience is.
Need: I want to collaborate with friends using online project documents.
Response: If it is a small group and everyone is willing to (or already has) access to a Google account then Google Docs is pretty much a no-brainer.
Example: I’ve got to pull together an event for a product launch and I need my co-conspirators to make sure the check list of to-do’s is up to date and getting done. I might setup either a Google Document or Spreadsheet and give access to everyone. However, if I want to invite broader community involvement in the planning I might embed access to that document in a blog. For that though I’d probably be even better off just utilizing a wiki page to do the documentation as it is easier to review and access for a large audience.
What are your strategies for using online social media applications and collaboration tools? Are you having trouble synthesizing a strategy that works for you? If you are then contact Andrew Miller Consulting and let us customize a strategy for you!
