Be sure that you have read this post about creating a Facebook Update strategy that works for you first. This Google Reader tutorial is to be applied to what you learned in that post.
My mission is to help you understand the value of social media marketing (not just in theory but in actual strategies that you can take action on) and support you in building a personalized, profitable social media game plan for your unique business. This isn’t some big ‘a-hah’ moment. It’s a consistent series of subtle two millimeter ‘tweaks’ that make all the difference over time.
Effectively using Google Reader to be a better listener is one of those two millimeter tweaks. It will help make you a better marketer.
Use this short lesson to begin using Google Reader for content curation, better listening and as a tool to feed your network with what they want most – great content that will help them.
Quick Step by Step Way to Use Google Reader to Listen More Effectively AND Efficiently
- First login to your Google Mail account at http://www.gmail.com. You do have a Gmail account right?
- Go to Google Reader, which can be found at the top left where it says Reader.
- Consider this your “home base” for listening. Take note of the “Add a Subscription” at top left.
- Now, open a new tab and go to Google Blogsearch – http://blogsearch.google.com/.
Type in your search. This could be your company, organization, competitors, product names, services, keyword phrases, etc.
Determine what you’re searching for. It’s just as important as determining your niche.
Now we’ll use the results you got from that search. I searched for Network Marketing Lead Generation.
- Do you see where it says “Subscribe” at bottom left? Right-click on the RSS link, and select copy.
- Go back to your Google Reader tab, click “Add Subscription,” and paste. Then click “Add.”
Repeat this for as many search variations as needed for blogs. Check it every day. Skim and scan the headlines, and follow the links to the blogs as you see relevant. Read, comment, connect.
As I mentioned a the start of this post, you can use Google Reader to inform your Facebook Updating strategy so that it works for you.
Try doing the same with Twitter search – http://search.twitter.com
The challenge will be fine tuning your searches by determining what searches yielded inaccurate results. There is a lot of muck out there. This is simply trial and error, and can only come from multiple attempts. Replace bad searches with better ones.
I like Google Reader because it’s efficient. But I also recommend Feedly . It works nicely with your Google Reader.
What did you learn?
You learned how to listen more effectively and efficiently using Google Reader, which is the opposite of spreading your voice all over the place. It’s more effective to listen first before “speaking.” Make active listening a regular part of your daily work flow.
Got questions? Ask in the comments below.
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