How to Become a “6 Million Dollar Man:” A B2B Social Media Tools Round-Up

When I was a kid, I loved watching a TV show called “The Six Million Dollar Man.”  Hero Steve Austin was part man, part robot, so he could run incredibly fast, see over vast distances and quickly capture bad guys. There was even a very cool sound to let the viewers know when he was becoming bionic.

Nearly every day I wish I could become bionic.  As PR and marketing professionals, we are required to be up to speed on second-by-second changes in emerging media, industry trends, client developments and reporting coverage.  This information deluge means that we are always behind, despite our best efforts.  That’s frustrating…and potentially risky.

But there are some useful tools on the scene that may help each of us manage better. Here’s a few we’ve been using:

• Create interactive animated e-books:  As human beings, we love to play and learn at the same time.  Smart marketers can tap into that desire.  In the fall, Decanter may be able to help you inexpensively create an exciting new digital content.
• Gather instant knowledge on any topic: In agency life, we are often asked to quickly get up to speed on a given topic or trend.  Prismatic allows you to create an instant personal newsfeed.
• Gauge the current “heat” of your topic:  when you enter your topic into Google Trends, you can instantly see the latest news and web coverage, as well as a visual depiction of search volume for the term.
• Time when you share content with your social communities:  Crowdbooster is a simple, easy to use tool that quickly lets you know how to improve performance on Twitter. It will give you the most promising times to connect with your followers, for example. Jay Baer has some other options you can consider here.
• Improve your Google+ presence: G+ may not be a universally beloved social network, but we believe it has potential for the right B2B companies.  In addition, it’s a Google property, so remember that there is potentially valuable SEO benefits for regular users.  You can use FindPeopleonPlus to identify potential influencers for your marketing program.

Warning – your results may vary.  It’s tough to find the right tools to be Steve…or Jaime.  Is there a new tool that’s helped you manage your social media activities better?  Share it with us.

Connect with Elizabeth:

Phone: 212.840.0017
Email: elizabeth@blisspr.com
Twitter: @elizabethsosnow
LinkedIn: Elizabeth Sosnow