Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook are presumably aware of the seemingly endless stream of quality resource links I provide (an average of around 150 per day). I have developed a few methods to incorporate my own online reading, research and education into my social media management routine to make it one that invites and enables others to discover valuable links on a variety of topics. I share my interests in social media, technology, web and graphic design, web development, freelancing, and art. Without even really trying I have created my own “niche” with widespread reach, thanks to my own personal needs and interests being simultaneously broad yet specific. I have learned to intermingle the spewing of links with real interaction and engagement amongst those that I follow and those that are following me in a way that really fits my lifestyle and provides reciprocal value that is priceless for me. This combination has literally changed my life both professionally and personally in ways that I consider significant improvements. I have explained in previous posts the impact this has had on my site visitor traffic, increase in clients, and my own personal education, so I won’t go into that here. But I do want to share with those that are interested some of the key transferable principles and tools that I have learned to use so far in my foray into social media.

I realize not everyone wants or needs to become a link-spewing maniac, nor do we need a plethora of people who are flooding social networks with many of the same resource links over and over. But I believe there are some simple steps anyone can take, regardless of your “niche” or interests, to find some ways to provide unique and valuable resources to your followers with little or no adjustment to your own daily routine. Let’s face it, Twitter and Facebook (and others) are very seldom used to answer their questions, “What Are You Doing?” or “What’s On Your Mind?” They have become vital information networks. So why not give your followers and friends more than what you’re having for dinner, or trying desperately to drive them to your latest blog post, or hanging out and talking about whatever is going on? There is nothing wrong with these things, but I have learned that my personal interaction is enriched by the sharing of my own online discoveries, which then connects me with others who also have some similar interests.

Whether you share 5 or 500 links a day, here are some basic tools I use and approaches I take that you may find helpful. These methods can work with any type of topic or interest, so don’t worry if you’re not into design, social media or whatever. Just apply them to whatever you are about and they will work just fine! I realize that there are numerous other ways to accomplish these things, so please feel free to share your own tips and routines or any questions in the comments so we all can learn from each other.

THE APPROACH I USE

Of course I have to bring my idealistic mindset into the social media fray. I don’t start much of anything without unleashing my analytical thinking and asking some basic questions. Why am I doing this? What do I hope to accomplish? What am I willing and unwilling to sacrifice to achieve success? What are my time restraints? How can this best contribute to the pursuit of my life goals?

I would strongly suggest that you ask yourself these questions (and any others you may have) before you dive in. It is very easy to open the floodgates and let social media swallow you whole, taking over your life, your schedule, your thoughts – everything. So before you let that happen, take stock and determine the best possible way to make minor adjustments to your existing schedule and/or routines. For instance, I was already using a RSS Feed Reader to keep up with my favorite websites, blogs, news and more, checking it primarily in the morning but at times throughout the day during breaks so I could stay on top of the latest happenings. In order to incorporate this into my social media usage I just spend a little more time reading a bunch more feeds and always keep an eye out for those articles and posts that I think will be of the most interest to my followers. I’ll share more about this process in a minute, but you get the idea. Make adjustments as often as possible, only making complete changes when you establish that it’s absolutely necessary.

Here are some other philosophical approaches I have for sharing links in social media:

»  When sharing links, think of their appeal, uniqueness, value and how others might find them useful even if they aren’t that meaningful for you. Your experience or knowledge may deem that tutorial unnecessary, but for the beginner it could be a gold mine!

»  Do your best not to flood everyone else with your links. Spread them out so people have time to discover them and are not annoyed by only seeing your avatar in their stream. (I push this a bit, often spewing a link every 5-7 minutes. But for my situation that’s what works. Find what works for you and your followers.)

»  Determine beforehand the type of ‘crowd’ you will attract with the links you share, then do your best to remain consistent. If you become a primary resource for a specific “niche” your consistency will become a part of your value.

»  Manage your time. Yes, it will take extra time to be a link-spewer, but it really shouldn’t become your primary focus in life. Set a schedule if you need to, or even use time-tracking software to keep yourself in check.

»  Do your best to share only the most recent resources, posts, etc and try to avoid duplicating what others have already shared, at least without crediting them somehow. Don’t share blog posts from last week that have already had 2,000 views and clicks.

»  Remember that social media is supposed to be social. Don’t spew links and then walk away. Don’t use scheduling software to book your day of updates and then walk away. It is not a platform for your agenda. It is an amazing way to connect with people from all over the world who have the potential to enrich your life in countless ways. Let your links be a way for others to connect and engage with you based on common interests. They can’t converse with you if you’re only spewing and not listening. Ever tried to have a conversation where only one person does all the talking?

These are my own thoughts and guidelines. They may also work for you or you may disagree. I don’t ever profess to be an expert, so please feel free to make your own guidelines. Determine your own philosophies. But whatever you do, make sure you have a plan.

3 TOOLS I USE

Google Reader – My Morning (Afternoon and Evening) Newspaper

Every morning I get up before anyone else in my house, feed the cat, start the water boiling for coffee, and then sit down at the computer. I check and answer my email, then I check my RSS feeds. For many of you using RSS feeds may seem foreign, and this is neither the time or place to go into the countless feed readers that are available. I simply use Google Reader. I use a lot of Google’s tools, and it’s simplified because I already have an account so the setup is quick and intuitive.

I subscribe to over 300 feeds. Most have been acquired by visiting different design blogs and subscribing to them. A few are Google news search feeds I have set up. Every morning there are anywhere from 50-200 new items in my reader.

This is my modern day morning newspaper.

It has been a part of my routine for awhile. But now, in order to share valuable resources throughout the day:

»  I don’t hesitate to add a blog or website’s feed to my reader while visiting, knowing that they may provide quality links in the future.

»  I leave the Reader window open always. It refreshes itself and I am constantly aware of any new items.

»  I keep an eye out for anything and everything that my followers might find useful, even when it may not be for me.

»  I skim most articles, determining if they are worth sharing. If I think I will want to look at them more in depth, I save them to my Delicious bookmarks and read them later.

»  I check in more often. Usually every 3 hours or so.

Bit.ly – My URL Shortener of Choice

I have a bit.ly account primarily to see how many clicks I get on my blog post links. But the tools are remarkable. Real-time analytics on every link as well as related aggregate links. I won’t go in-depth into using bit.ly, but it’s pretty simple to sign up and set up your account. Once you have an account, you can use your API key to connect it to your Twitter app of choice. I use Tweetdeck and occasionally Seesmic desktop, both of which I have connected to my bit.ly account. This means I get analytics on every single link I share!

bit.ly Browser Sidebar Bookmarklet

The other bit.ly tool that has become irreplaceable for me is the bit.ly Browser Sidebar Bookmarklet. You simply drag and drop this little button to your browser toolbar and now whenever you’re on a website you just click the bookmarklet button and it opens a little sidebar that gives you not only a bit.ly link you can copy and paste, but you can also post to Twitter and Facebook directly! The sidebar also shows you how many times other bit.ly links to the same website have been clicked. This is helpful to see how much traffic it has already received and lets me know if I am one of the first to share it.

bit.ly sidebar up close

In other words, you can click on a link in your feed reader, read the article, click on the bookmarklet, and then post a link to the page on Twitter and Facebook without ever leaving the site or the browser!

Last.fm + FoxyTunes – My Online Radio Station That Shares Easily

I am a musician and a HUGE music fan. I listen to almost anything (that takes at least a little bit of talent and has at least a dose of passion.) And I love to have music playing nonstop while I work.

So why not share some of my favorite songs, as I listen to them, with those that are following me on Twitter?

I have used Blip.fm and Pandora, but Last.fm works best for me. First, they seem to have the broadest mix of related artists. I love to hear artists and songs that I’ve never heard before, and Last.fm is really good at selecting artists and songs related to my choices. Second, Last.fm seems to be about finding and listening to good music more than anything else, which is a priority for me. Yes, you can make it a social network within itself, but if all you want is good tunes, it works great for just that. Third, Last.fm works with FoxyTunes, a Firefox extension that enables me to see the song and artist in the taskbar of my browser along with the ability to one-click post to Twitter what I’m listening to at the moment. FoxyTunes works with just about any music player, including iTunes, so you can listen to and share whatever you want!

FoxyTunes in the taskbar

Keep in mind that most people don’t want to see what you’re listening to every 3.5 minutes. I avoid using the autopost feature and just try to only share my most favorite songs when they come on. Unfortunately, I have been guilty of posting a multitude of songs in a row while tweeting nothing else. I would advise against this, as I have received complaints in the past. Do your best to show some restraint and keep from flooding Twitter with your own personal DJ. At the same time, I have had people follow and/or interact with me often based on the song I was listening to and shared at the time. So there are definite benefits to inviting your friends and followers into your listening experience. It gives them another way to connect with you and to know a little bit more about you.

CONCLUSION

So now you have some insight into how this maniac goes about “spewing” links throughout the day. If you take nothing else away from this I hope you would at the very least remember to keep from radically changing your life to become a link-spewing maniac. Instead, I challenge you to find ways to make minor adjustments that enable you to become a valuable resource and information provider in social media. The more we share knowledge and resources with each other, the more we all will grow.

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