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Sprouting awareness of your social presence

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Have you ever wondered where you stand with regards to your – or perhaps your business’ – social media presence? Let’s just pretend you answered yes.

If you ever do find yourself longing to find an answer to such a question, I have found a solution: Sprout Social.

sprout-social-main-imageSprout Social is a great new web-based application that links to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc. It offers a slew of services, including management and organization of social contacts, search capabilities, analytics and reporting.  I like that it’s a one-stop shop for an exhaustive list of all social platforms one might be involved with. Making if even more attractive, the user interface is intuitive and super easy to use. From the first time I signed up and logged in to the “dashboard,” I felt like I already knew what to click on first.

One of my favorite features is the application’s monitoring capabilities. Anything that’s being said about your business anywhere on the web is logged and sent to an “inbox.” Anything from tweets to news and blog mentions are recorded and organized. It’s an invaluable tool in that it takes the hard work out of staying current on your company’s web presence.

Have I convinced you yet to check this thing out? I recommend at least signing up for the 30-day free trial. There is no better way to get to know something and decide if it’s right for you or your business than just getting in there and clicking around. Ready, set, go!

Know Before You Go (A Closer Look at the Supportland Card)

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Supportland-CardThe AM:PM PR team recently held one of its weekly PR 3.0 meetings at a spot close to our offices called Madison’s Grill. We likely would have picked this location anyway, due to its proximity and ability to accommodate large groups. But throw a free plate of delicious nachos into the mix for just checking in, and we couldn’t get there fast enough.

Clearly, I’m always up for a good deal, and if I had a retail/service business I would certainly be on board to create deals for patrons to reward them for showing up regularly. The problem with apps such as Foursquare is that you never really know, until you’re there or nearby, whether the business offers a deal. Since I’m burned out on the gaming aspect, and really couldn’t care less if I become the Mayor, I’m much less likely to use this app on a regular basis.

In a previous post, I wrote about a Smartphone application called CardStar. It’s a way of condensing all of your rewards cards info into electronic form. My only issue with this is that I often shop for essentials at places other than the major box stores.

The Supportland card has filled this gap. Visit the site and learn all you need to know about it. For me, this one is a no-brainer. It’s the best of location-based applications married with the ease of an app like CardStar – or for those who prefer a tangible card, it’s just one card for a whole slew of businesses.

It couldn’t be much easier; you simply swipe your card at participating establishments and earn points to score sweet deals. What’s more, if you see a Supportland sticker in an establishment’s front window, you always know you’re able to use your card and earn points. You can even visit their website and check out a list of participating businesses broken down by neighborhood.

For those of us who get burned out easily with game-centered apps, there’s an alternative. That is, at least, if you live in lovely Portland, OR. **

** Supportland has plans of rolling out their technology to other locations. If you’re lucky, maybe it will be your city next.