I’m not talking about turning your blog into an iPhone application but rather making it more friendly for the iPhone browser. In other words, when a user is visiting your blog from the device.

This is done for WordPress blogs with a very simple and free plugin called WPTouch (created by Brave New Code) that you can install and configure yourself in just a few minutes. There is nothing else to it, you do everything from your WordPress dashboard.

You can also download the plugin here.

If you are looking into having an actual application built out of your blog, there are services like MotherApp or iSites that can do that for less than $100/year.

I’m sharing some images here so you can get a better idea of how it looks and works. The first image shows the homepage (left) and how it actually looks like an app. To the right is the post, it displays all images and… yes, the tweetmeme button works!

Yes, this is all happening in the browser. Other features that are very useful are the access to the RSS and the menus, in the next image (right), I’m showing how “Categories” are displayed.

The commenting system, Disqus in this case, is fully functional.

Final Thought

What is the point of all this? We are moving into making ourselves available in different forms, if you can turn your blog into a more user-friendly format for your readers AND for free… why not?

Share your thoughts.

Share

At this point it is very clear that you need to run 2 power tools around your branding, your site or business: Twitter and Facebook Fan Pages, but when it comes to the later you have to dig a little deeper to get familiar with the possibilities.

The main difference is that you will be working more on Facebook itself while with Twitter you’re relying mostly on 3rd-party apps. I created a list of 10 steps to help you get some blood pumping into your Fan Page. Here we go:

1. Insights (Your In-House Analytics)

If you are already running a Fan Page, the first step will be to start paying attention to your analytics. Yep, Insights doesn’t include an incredible amount of analysis and reports but it sure provides enough data to get to know your audience a little better. So make that your first stop, see the genders, age groups and other available data before you start designing a strategy. In case you haven’t seen it, it’s located on the left sidebar of your page.

2. Vanity URL

In order to do this you need to first have a minimum of 100 fans. This pretty much takes your URL from http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/socialmouths/180746308742 to http://www.facebook.com/socialmouths. Hurry up if you don’t have your 100 25 fans yet and reserve your username, after all this is only the #2 most popular website in the planet.

3. Big Profile Pic (Banner Style)

There is not much to do with Facebook in terms of customization and don’t get me wrong, this is a good thing or the site could be looking more like MySpace… but that means we have to leverage from any real estate available on the page and that is your profile picture. The width of the image is limited but you can use a vertical image that covers most of the left sidebar.

4. Invitations & Bulk Messages

One of the main differences between a Profile and a Fan Page is that you can send bulk messages to all your fans. Also, and one of the first steps you should take is sending an invitation to join to all your friends with the “Suggest To Friends” feature right under the profile picture.

Obviously this a feature that you need to use wisely and be careful not to annoy your audience.

5. Facebook Widgets On Your Blog

So you are promoting your content on your Fan Page, now promote the other way. Bring your Fan Page to your blog or site by adding the Fan Box to encourage visitors to join the page. Facebook provides you with the necessary code to take care of the integration.

Along with the Fan Box, there are many other tools available to make your blog very Facebook friendly.

6. Twitter Integration

You can’t ignore Twitter. Again, both ways, you can now sync your Fan Page to update your Twitter status. The other way will be to bring a Twitter feed into your Fan Page, you can do this with applications that let you do this in a few clicks and add it as tab.

7. Blog Promotion

You should always post links to the wall but if you are looking into taking it to the next level, add your blog to the tabs. Blogging networks such as NetworkedBlogs or Blogged allow you to integrate a feed and give your fans a little taste of your blog. At the same time, your blog is now part of a network and that can translate in some additional traffic and followers.

8. FBML Landing Page

So this one requires of some coding skills and the installation of the FBML application to be able to integrate, but it is great way to welcome new visitors and turn them into fans. First time visitors usually land on the wall, which really doesn’t say much of what you’re all about. This pretty much allows you to do whatever you want with all the real estate on the content area. If you don’t have the design and coding skills, consider hiring somebody to do it for you, it is definitely not rocket science and it adds a lot of value to your Fan Page.

9. Facebook Ads

Those little ads you see on your profile sidebar are a great way to increase your fan base, mostly to kick it off at the beginning. Facebook advertising is really very affordable, you can setup campaigns of any sizes by controlling your budget and they are highly targeted. We usually assume that advertising is expensive, don’t let that scare you and give it a try.

10. Facebook Apps

There are many applications you can integrate to Fan Pages that will help you promote user interaction. Some of them, like the Video app, are already a default on your page, but I suggest you browse through them and you will most likely find something great for your industry or business. Don’t be affraid to test different ones, you can always remove them.

So To Wrap This Up…

If you are an entrepreneur or a blogger, you can’t afford to ignore this power tool. Just like any other social media platforms, you need to be creative and find ways to provide value and engage your tribe.

Having a clear goal of what you want to achieve is always good, then test and adjust.

If I’m already using social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, why do I need a third-party application?

Valid question, and I’m usually opposed to using too many things. I also enjoy the time I spend on the actual sites, but in this case, I will give you 10 reasons why I love HootSuite and why you should give it a try.

I have only one rule about technology usage. I play with most toys because of what I do (and because I’m a guy…), but to actually implement it into my daily action , it has to simplify instead of complicate. I think this provides a good starting point, to the list now…

1. Web-Based

Nothing to download or install, which also means that you don’t have to launch it and wait for it to load on your machine. Pretty simple, anything web-based is just more convenient.

2. Multiple Accounts

Not only you can manage multiple Twitter accounts in one place but with just one click you have total visibility of the next account. You can also post a tweet to a specific account, to more than one or to all your accounts at the same time.

3. Ow.ly

HootSuite has its own URL Shortener so you don’t have to setup any preferences for that or get an API from. Again, make my life easier… You can also use Ow.ly as a separate tool and you just need to sign in with your Twitter account.

The other cool feature about Ow.ly is that you can post pictures and file sharing, and video is coming soon. Of course you can enjoy these items also on HootSuite.

4. Facebook, LinkedIn And Others

The latest update is the integration of other social networks including Facebook (Profiles and Fan Pages), LinkedIn and Ping.fm, which should take care of the rest. You can update your status and send it to the networks of your choice the same way you post to Twitter.

Also, you have access to viewing the Facebook news feed, your Fan Page wall and your LinkedIn Network Updates without ever leaving the application. Very useful for a quick look.

5. Stats

As long as you are using the Ow.ly shortener, HootSuite tracks all the clicks and creates very useful charts to analyze your performance.

This is a great tool to visualize how many times followers click on an specific link, referral and regional stats and the most popular links you have posted. This last one helps you determine what kind of content is your tribe digging the most so you can follow that trend.

6. Hootlet

Hootlet is the little browser plugin that adds a button to your bookmark toolbar and lets you share content from anywhere on the web. This means that you don’t even need to go to the website when you find something worth posting.

Also, installation is as easy as dragging the button to the bookmark toolbar.

7. Schedule For Later

HootSuite also lets you schedule your Tweet or Status to be posted later, this way you can plan your social activity and also makes changes before they go live. Think about this for a second, what if you have a post that’s scheduled to go live on your blog tomorrow morning, you could also schedule the links to publish automatically on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms just after that. Now you can sleep until noon (just a thought…)

8. Interface

Have your own personal setup. The use of columns, which I should say it’s not exclusive, is a great way to visualizing all your Twitter activity without having to navigate to other pages. Again, less clicks. This is something you can customize to your needs, you can display the feed, your own Tweets, direct messages, mentions, really whatever you want and in the order you want.

Everything is accessible within one click, whether you want to look at a different account or a different social network.

9. Twitter List

With new features like Twitter Lists, the possibilities of adding other columns have also been included to the interface. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with information if you follow a lot of people, Twitter now helps you classify information into groups called “Lists”. HootSuite has now added the feature and you can separate these lists into columns.

10. iPhone App

Not out yet, but it’s coming very soon. You will be able to manage multiple accounts, schedule your social activity and more from the palm of your hand. There is your location independence baby…

So To Wrap It Up…

There are other applications and it really comes down to what works for you. If you prefer a desktop app or if you are looking for other features, what matters is that it simplifies your day.

What are you using? Share your thoughts…

Share

Nomee has just released its 2.0 version to the public and I thought it would be a good idea to review some of its features. To start, I’ll say that there is a concept behind this application that caught my attention, it seems to me that you are connecting with people instead of websites.

The other important aspect, is that it could simplify your social media activity by managing all your networks from only one place, and I’m always chasing simplicity. So let’s get to it…

I guess first things first, this is an Adobe Air application so it lives on your desktop. It’s not web-based.

Every Network You Can Think Of…

Besides updating your Facebook status and your tweets, Nomee connects to 120 websites and feeds, which is quite impressive because most of the time applications connect to a few networks only.

Connecting With People Instead Of Websites

Nomee allows the user to import those connections that really matter, but what’s really cool is that from there you can follow those people wherever they are and bring it all in one place, in other words, you don’t have to chase people to different platforms.

Regain Control Of What You Share

Nomee has a feature called “Cards”, which is a profile you create in order to share information with your network. You can easily manage what you want to share with family or co-workers by setting up public or private Cards.

You can also take your Card and embed as a widget into your own website or blog.

Organization

Another cool feature that will help you simplify your social media activity is group aggregation. You can organize your network into groups and configure filters so you eliminate the clutter and receive only the information you want. With the just released version 2.0, you can now import and manage your Twitter Lists.

One of the things that are most important in social media is sharing and generating valuable content to your network, Nomee will be a great tool to simplify this task. Get all your information already filtered and classified in groups and share to all from one location. Priceless…

Final Thought…

Nomee looks like more than just a pretty dashboard, if you take the time to configure your settings it can really do a lot of the heavy lifting that comes with social media and handling different networks. But the app has many other features such as accessing YouTube videos right from your dashboard so you should visit the site and decide if you want to give it a try… it’s free btw.

Before you go crazy trying to find your Facebook Profile or Fan Page ID, here it is in 3 easy steps…

Step 1: Go To Your Facebook Fan Page Or Profile

Just go to your public profile or fan page.

Step 2: Control-Click (Mac) Or Right-Click (PC) On Your Profile Picture

On your Profile pic, right-click if you have a PC or control-click on a Mac, once the drop-down menu is displayed, click on “Properties”.

Step 3: Copy Your ID From The Element Properties Box

Once the “Element Properties” box is displayed, go to the end of your “Address”, select and copy.

That’s It…

Just paste it whenever you need it or save it for your records.

Hope this helps… If you have any ideas for next Mini-Tutorial issues, let us know in the comments