Connie Bensen

Everyone wants to maximize the return on their efforts in social media. In my day job with Alterian SM2 (previously Techrigy). I have spent a lot of time working with agencies and brands in identifying how to maximize the most return on their monitoring efforts.

I shared that information last week in a webinar that covers best practices for social media monitoring & reporting.  I included:

• Common Applications of Social Media Monitoring
• Search Design
• Dealing with Noise and Spam
• Reports and Analysis
• Actions Based on Insights that Result in ROI

Here’s the slide deck and the recorded version of the webinar is available.

And you may also be interested in the webinar that Surresh Vital of Forrester presented on how social media monitoring is impacting marketing.

I have a growing library on SlideShare on the topics that I speak about (building community, monitoring, measurement, etc). Check out the widget on the right side of my blog.

Please ask if you have questions.

It’s been over a year since I posted my list of must have tools. Each time I get a new computer I have to install these immediately or I can’t breathe.

Here they are:

Evernote – This is my ultimate favorite, most needed application.

• It’s a place to keep notes, passwords, etc. Items can be tagged & searched for.
• Drag in URLS and images – perfect for noting sites/blog posts for future reference
• It’s installed on each of my computer but synchs with my account in the cloud
• SO all of my info is available on every computer I have it installed on!
• It has BlackBerry functionality, so now there’s the option to record voice notes (I may need a larger memory card)

LiveWriter (only for PC’s – sorry) – My most favorite tool for blogging!

• I write all of my blog posts in it. (note to Joe Cheng & team at MS – I would like this in the cloud & synching with my other PC’s too please?).
• I blog to all of my blogs from it – here, Alterian’s Engaging Times blog
• What I love about it is that it’s so userfriendly.
• The best thing is that it plays nicely with Joomla (which is what the rest of my site is built on and I can update it without going into the backside!).

Snag It – The TechSmith folks have such a great product here.

• I use it all the time to grab screenshots & toss them into LiveWriter or email.
• So easy to use & add mark ups – LOVE it & couldn’t live without it
• Betsy Weber is the most amazing community person at TechSmith!!

Digsby – A chat aggregator that puts everyone in one spot no matter their choice of IM.

• aggregates Facebook chat. I wish that it did so with Skype too.

Skype – A great way to stay connected with everyone around the world.

• This has become a must have ever since the geographical boundaries no longer mattered.

All of them are free except SnagIt.

What tools make your life easier in this digital world?