New Linky Followers Tool Can Replace GFC!

Visit Linky Followers 

I was introduced to a new tool that you can use to replace the Google Friend Connect Widget!  Thank you Lisa Cash Hanson aka Mompreneur Mogul for pointing this out to all of us! Please visit her blog to join in on the Linky Followers Party Hop!


You know the handsome face behind all of the Linky Tools and Blog Hops, right? Well Mr. Brent has done it again, he has created a new Linky Followers Tool to replace Google Friend Connect!


On his Blog Brent states, "As you've probably heard, the popular Google Friend Connect ("GFC") is going away March 1st for non-Google blog platforms like WordPress, and the scuttlebutt is that it will be eventually phased out completely to be replaced by Google+.  GFC was never really so much an "I follow this blog" tool as it was an attempt at the whole Facebook "friend, like" concept."

This is an example of what it will look like once posted on your blog.

When you get your widget code you will see the number 64 in the code. That is the default number of followers that will show up once loaded on your blog. You can change the number to less or more depending on how many you would like to show.

Join Me on Facebook for Our Facebook Page Like Hop!

Join in on the Facebook Page Like Hop! Please Visit and Like Everyone's Page Here on Facebook! Add Your Facebook Page URL and Add Your Linky, Which Will Then Connect to Your Facebook Page!

FYI Tip of the Day! Like pages as yourself , NOT as your Fan Page, as only then will the Like count! As a precaution you should also have more than one Admin on your pages too.

Let's Link Up and Have Some Fun!  I am hosting a Facebook Page Like Hop. Please add your Facebook Page (not your blog) Linky to the Hop and follow everyone on there!

Top Ten Triberr Tuesday

I have had such a blast since I joined Triberr.  If you don't know what Triberr is, scroll down to the bottom and there will be related articles that you can check out at your convenience!

Not only have I gained more followers, but most importantly I have gained new friends and wonderful blogs to read and follow.

Based on Triberr's Optimize tab, I will be featuring my top 10 Traffic Driving Tribemates each month.  Please take a moment and visit their Blogs, Twitter and Facebook Pages.

To all my Tribemates, thank you for your constant participation on Triberr, your RT's and shares to all the social media sites.

Sue Ingebretson- @SueInge on Twitter, Facebook and Sue's Blog Rebuilding Wellness with Sue Ingebretson

Marieke Hensel- @Hensel on Twitter, Facebook and Marieke's Blog Branding Personality

Amit Verma- @amitv_tweets on Twitter, Facebook and Amit's Blog Modern Life Blogs- Expand Your Horizon

Erin Patrick- @ErinPatrick on Twitter, Facebook and Erin's Blog My Nuggets of Truth

Gerry Wendel- @modlandUSA on Twitter, Facebook and Gerry's Blog ModlandUSA

Shaan Haider- @shaanhaider on Twitter, Facebook and Shaan's Blog Geeky Stuffs

Courtney G- @LaDyLaDuke on Twitter, Facebook and Courtney's Blog LaDy LaDuke

Shannon Grissom- @ShannonGrissom on Twitter, Facebook and Shannon's Blog Shannon Grissom

Barbara Duke- @BarbaraDuke on Twitter, Facebook and Barbara's Blog Thoughts of Pink

Danielle Tucker- @TheGolfClub on Twitter, Facebook and Danielle's Blog Danielle Tucker's Golf Club Radio Show


See you in 30 days!


Related articles

• 46 Brilliant Bloggers Talk About Triberr (blogworld.com)
• Did Triberr Give Me Klout? (mombloggerbuzz.com)
• How I Use Stumbleupon On Triberr (mombloggerbuzz.com)
• Why I Nominated Triberr on Mashable (Even Though I Don't Use Triberr) (converstations.com)
• Blog Traffic, Think Tribe ..Go #Triberr (anisesmithmarketing.com)
• 5 Social Media Favorites from 2011 (socialmediatoday.com)
• Four reasons why I finally like Triberr (businessesgrow.com)
• Triberr - How to extend your Twitter reach (paulspoerry.com)

How I Use StumbleUpon on Triberr

Explore StumbleUpon

Many bloggers are noticing that StumbleUpon is bringing additional exposure to their blogs and websites. Those of us on Triberr have the benefit of sharing each other's content via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, StumbleUpon and LinkedIn. Today I am ONLY going to speak about using StumbleUpon on Triberr because I have been noticing that some of my fellow Tribemates are potentially missing the StumbleUpon boat so to speak!

Let's face it, we are all busy, aren't we? Since we are living in this fast food society, any additional work is an added load for some. I must confess that when I am sharing my Tribemate's posts, if the StumbleUpon  icon has not been submitted, I rarely have time to do it for them. The author of the post is the best person to decide which topic and tags their post falls under. So, in my meager opinion we should all be submitting our own posts as soon as we blog them!

"This is Howie Do It" via Triberr! Sorry I have had that song in my head for the past week!  (Of course you can submit your own blog post directly from your blog! Just in case you didn't, and you are already on Triberr or live on there as I do, you can also do it via Triberr!) Here goes, so simple, go to your Tribal Stream and click "Load Social Buttons":

Click "Load Social Buttons"

If Michelle's post, "Almost Wordless..." were mine, I would click on "Submit" as soon as it pulls onto the stream!  See below:

Click Submit

Then this little page should pop up! As you can see not everyone is a Saint and would do this for every post! Usually you just want to Like, Stumble and roll to your next task!

Fill it out, please!

Once you fill it out and your Tribal Stream is refreshed, there should be a number 1 showing (where the 3 is here in this picture). In Jane's case below, most likely she submitted her post and then 2 other people have "Liked" and "Stumbled" it, that is why there is a 3! 

So now when we come along to share your post on StumbleUpon and it has already been submitted by YOU..., then this little pop up will show up, click on "I like it!" then click on "Stumble"! So easy, we are done sharing it on StumbleUpon!

Related articles

• StumbleUpon Stumbles on Hidden Shape (underconsideration.com)
• How StumbleUpon Solved the Biggest Problem on the Internet (triberr.com)
• Did Triberr Give Me Klout? (mombloggerbuzz.com)
• Link Building Tip #7 - Link Building with StumbleUpon (practicalseo.org)
• 5 Step Approach to Learning the StumbleUpon Targeted Traffic Tango (ducttapemarketing.com)
• Don't Forget StumbleUpon When Sharing Your Links (thetechscoop.net)
• Infographic: The StumbleUpon Lifecyle (marketingtechblog.com)
• Want your links to live longer? Share them on StumbleUpon (infographic) (venturebeat.com)
• The Power of StumbleUpon (markevanstech.com)
• How to Target Traffic Using StumbleUpon (chrishoeller.wordpress.com)

Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator - Edit Image

Social Media Etiquette

Social Media Etiquette-What Would Emily Post Say?

I have seen many mistakes when it comes to posting on the internet.  I have made some of these mistakes myself! Some of the posts that I have seen make me cringe! I often wonder what would Emily Post say?!!

Erik Qualman the founder of Socialnomics says, “We don’t have a choice whether we Do social media, the question is how well we Do it.” 

Image: farconville / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

     
   Desperation Breeds Contempt  

Maybe contempt is too harsh of a word, but we are trying to make a point!  These are a few synonyms found in the dictionary under contempt, “Unworthy of one's notice or disdain”.  Stop the self promotion!

If your wall streams are only of your glorious opportunity and how your readers need to join now, then you are going to turn away many a potential customer. 


Maybe your product or opportunity is the best thing since peanut butter! Let’s try to find other ways to promote it, not by posting continuously about it or about you.

One question for you to ponder, how do you feel when you walk into the car dealership, do you want to be the salesman or the relationship builder? 


Share information that others send out, give credit where credit is due. Give more than you receive back. Relax and enjoy the ride!

Image: ningmilo / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Say it Correctly

Sometimes I find that I may be over thinking when it comes to posting, but I try to be careful regarding grammar, punctuation and content.  


Keep it simple and to the point, thankfully with the arrival of Twitter you have to be to the point, in just 140 characters! 


Make sure your links are working too. Always test your links before you send them. Again we are all being judged whether we like it or not! 

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Friend Requests Without Messages

When you are requesting to be “friends” with people you personally do not know on Facebook, you should always send a message with your request. 


Using common courtesy should be common sense! I am more apt to accept a friend request from someone that has a message attached than from those that have not.  


Most of the other social networks allow you to add people to your "Circles" or "Followers" without a request, as is with Google+ and Twitter. It is then up to you if you want to return the "Follow"!

Image: mack2happy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sending Messages with Just Links

I receive many tweets with just links; I will not open those links.  


There is no guarantee that people will click on your link even with a message.  However, the odds are you will have more that will if you are including a message with it. 


Of course building trust is an important piece of this complicated puzzle.

Image: Damian Brandon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scarcity vs. Abundance Mentality

How to handle competition can be difficult for some.  According to the Internet World Stats’ website there are currently over 2 billion internet users worldwide.   

If you are selling face cream, then there are a lot of potential faces out there that you could be targeting, even if you are just trying to sell on the web!  In other words there is enough for all of us to share in this abundant market. Just embrace your competitors and think abundantly!

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Using Automated Messages 

This can be debated either way.  There are some that will automatically stop following those that use this method.  Then there are those like myself that just grin and bear it! There are several twitter automation tools. 

Welcoming your new followers with a generic message is something that is a time saver.  However, once the message is out you should follow up with a personally written message.  I do not recommend posting a link to your opportunity in these messages. 

If you use these tools, you should still manage your tweets and how often they are tweeted. You need to avoid that the same welcome message is sent repeatedly to the same followers.

Remember we are here to build relationships.  If you are just using automated messages, this does not necessarily send that message.

Related articles

• Social Media - keep it personal! (davidparrish.com)
• Not for the Socially Awkward - A Response to "Socialnomics" (shortbuskelly.wordpress.com)
• A Teachable Copyright Moment from Erik Qualman (speedofcreativity.org)
• When Personalization Gets Creepy (customerthink.com)
• Watch: Socialnomics' Social Media Revolution Gets Updated For 2011 (socialtimes.com)
• Social Media Revolution Video 2011 (prwarrior.typepad.com)
• 3 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses by Author Erik Qualman [video] (hubspot.com)
• Today is Birthday of Emily Post [Dhananjay Parkhe 'Jay'] (ecademy.com)
• Emily Post's Great-Great-Granddaughters Keep Etiquette Guide Updated (shoppingblog.com)

Add a Google+ Widget to Your Blog

There are other types of widgets for Google+, but I chose this particular one because I wanted the option of the live feed.   Widgets Plus offers a quick and simple way to create your personal Add Me on Google+ widget!

If you do not want to include the update feed on your widget, just uncheck the box.  You can also change any of the settings by clicking on Main area settings, Title settings, Name text, Button and Bottom text too. This will give you the option to change colors and text size.

Let me know how you liked this widget.  Was it simple to create? If you have any other questions let me know!

How to Shorten Your Google+ URL

Those of you on Google+ will see that your URL contains a large group of numbers.  Mine looks like this: https://plus.google.com/110001470658860658081/posts.  I wanted to add my Google+ link to the Contact Information section on my Facebook profile, however, I did not want to add a long link. 


I just happened to be reading a post on one of my favorite blogs, Mike's Life and I noticed at the end of his post he entered a shortened URL inviting his readers to connect with him on Google+.  I was intrigued and found this great tool gplus.to! Thank you Mike! 


It is so easy to do, just follow the steps above and very easily you will have a shortened URL that will direct to your Google+ profile! 


Now instead of that long URL I can use gplus.to/lisaladrido anywhere! 


Let me know how you like it! If you aren't on Google+ yet,  just add your email and I can send you an invite!