We’d like to introduce you to a very simple but infinitely helpful online tool called NameChk. Simply type in your desired username or vanity URL into the form field, and NameChk will quickly check that username availability against 159 different social media platforms they recognize. You can also filter the list down to their most popular networking sites, if 159 is too overwhelming.

For example, below is a screenshot of a search for available accounts under “october17media”. As you can see, some are already taken (by us!):

Now doesn’t that make your life easier? Instead of checking each social networking website individually, you can have definitive answers all in one place! There are plenty of helpful social media tools like NameChk that save you time when creating and managing your brand’s social media marketing. Do you have any recommendations for tools you use?

HootSuite, the social media dashboard of choice for many social media marketers, companies and individuals, has recently announced the launch of their new app directory that gives users a ton of new features. The new app directory, currently consisting of Youtube, Flickr, Tumblr and Get Satisfaction, allows users to share, upload, view, search and comment on both Youtube videos and Flickr images, post to and view tumblelogs and share, view and filter topics on Get Satisfaction, all right from their dashboard.

Currently, the app directory consists of four apps, but as Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite, said, “We look forward to seeing the unique extensions, mash-ups and integrations savvy developers create for the HootSuite App Directory[...]Our rapidly growing customer base is eager for more tools to spark their social media powered campaigns and build their brand online to drive leads and awareness. If you have an idea, I encourage you to apply for access.” Holmes also stated that “there are many more apps and HootSuite updates on the horizon” so it won’t be long before we see more great tools coming from this.

As of now, the app directory is only available to Pro and Enterprise users, so if you are thinking about upgrading or you just want to get started with HootSuite and have some questions, give us a shout and we’d be glad to help you out.

Get a semi-custom web design, WordPress content management and monthly updates for as little as $149/month.* Or, get started in social media with a custom Facebook tab and Hootsuite for as little as $59/month.*

Connect with our office if you’d like an information sheet with further details or if you’d like to get started!

*Package requires a 36 month commitment.

TransLink on Twitter, over 14,000 followers!
TransLink on Facebook, over 2,290 fans!
TransLink on Foursquare, over 30,000 followers!
TransLink Buzzer Blog

1. Tell us about the early days of social media at TransLink:
Well, initially we started a Twitter feed during the Olympics with the aim of communicating with media outlets. We hoped to alert them of service disruptions. Internally we organized the resources so that Twitter was supported 20 hours a day during those 17 days. Our plan was well received by the public and our dedicated team and systems associated with the channel grew strong. After the Olympics, our budget was reduced and we had to begin managing the channel(s) from our own desks.

Another neat fact is from when we launched our Foursquare initiatives. With the help of one of our staff members, Jhenifer Pabillano, TransLink was the first transit agency in North America to approach Foursquare to organize official badges and Check-ins with the organization. If you’ve ever checked in on the SeaBus and gotten the “I’m on a boat” badge, that’s thanks to Jhenifer.

2. So, for a while channel management was off the side of your desk. How did you transition that to the success we see today? Who manages it now?
After a small debate we could think of no one more naturally suited to the role of actual status deployment than our customer services experts. They already knew our policies and procedures, and they had direct access to timely transit information. Since it was a natural fit, we started to train them on Twitter. We taught them everything from the basics of typical social media vernacular to the culture we wanted the channel to embody. Now, we have a total of 12 people managing the feed and funnily enough only one of them had ever been on Twitter before we trained them!

3. How do you know if you’re doing well in Social Media? You’re not exactly selling “widgets” here, what social media metrics do you track at TransLink?
The obvious one is followers and fans. We’ve gone from 3,800 followers after the Olympics to over 14,000 on Twitter now. We also watch our interactions. For example, we started posting major service disruptions on our Twitter feed.These got re-tweeted and we knew it was something people appreciated. And, when we started posting “etiquette reminders” (i.e., “Does your bag really need its own seat?”) they were also re-tweeted. When we see that happening, we know we’re onto something and we build it into our future status update schedule.

We also track our number of complaints and commendations. We’re actually required to do this by legislation and report our satisfaction ratings. Additionally, we track the number of hits back to our website.

4. So, other than through obvious exposure of people chatting with you online, what other things are you doing to promote the feeds?
We do some cross promotion between the channels (translink.ca, m.translink.ca, Twitter.com/translink, facebook.com/translink, buzzer.translink.ca) and we’ve added it to our press releases. Obviously, being a public organization and a service provider we can’t run a contest aimed at growth. We’re yet to do any advertising on the trains and buses themselves about our channels but you can find it through our website. In truth, most of our growth comes from the informational value in our channel. The growth is organic.

5. What unique challenges do the TransLink social media channels face?
Well, with more than 50 SkyTrain stations and more than 8000 bus stops to consider, it can be hard to deal with communication about every single site – particularly on Foursquare. Alerts can be hard to send out on certain social media channels to reach everyone in need (i.e., If an elevator isn’t functioning at one of the SkyTrain stations).

Because we’re focused on having feeds of value to our followers, we also realized that different people are interested in different types of information at various times. To offset this we don’t duplicate information on our channels and instead treat each with its own unique personality. For Twitter we post service disruptions and do customer service; for Facebook we post community oriented activities (i.e., inviting people to come out to a new bus that we’re demo-ing or asking you to post your biggest transit pet peeves); and on our “Buzzerblog” we post historical events, facts and information for the hardcore transit fans. There is something for everyone! We only cross-promote when it fits.

In addition, having so many people manage the feed means that we need to have a clear course of action on who is responsible for posting and responding to each message that goes out. We’ve made some internal systems to deal with this and have found particular success in Hootsuite’s “Assign”feature. Our team is divided across a few different buildings so being able to assign responses enables us to coordinate efficiently.

6. What’s something interesting you’ve learned from managing the feeds?
We thought we’d see a drop in the number of phone calls we received as our Twitter community grew, but that hasn’t been the case. In fact, we get just about the same. So, we’re reaching and engaging with more customers than before, which we’re thrilled about!

As a tip, I’d recommend that social media managers always look for ways to change. Twitter and Facebook might not always be the ‘it’ thing. Google+ is looking at doing a paid profile for companies and who knows what else next! We like to go into a space and watch how it works. And then judge if it will or won’t work for our organization. Social Media isn’t an ‘exact science’ and you have to be open and brave enough to trying new things.

As of right now these changes are receiving mixed reviews from users but as with all past Facebook changes, it’s more a matter of users needing to become familiar with the new features than the features themselves actually being flawed. To try and ease the pain that comes along with all these Facebook changes (and yes there have been many lately) we’ve decided to go over some of the most important ones and show you how they work.

Lists

It seems as though Facebook has taken a page from Google+’s book with its list feature. The new ‘Smart Lists’ feature automatically organizes your friends into different categories including work, family, school and city, allowing you to have more control over who is seeing your posted content. Much like Google+’s circles it gives users the ability to use their judgement regarding who should be seeing each of their individual posts.

Subscribers

Facebook’s new subscribers feature allows users to make their profile more public. You can connect with users that you may not necessarily be friends with; by simply making your updates public you can share them with anyone who’s subscribed to your feed.

This ‘twitterish’ feature is perfect for celebrities, musicians or public figures that are looking for a larger Facebook audience. The only question now is should you create a Facebook page or simply allow subscribers.

Below you can see the difference in features as laid out by the Facebook+Public Figures page:

As you can see, if you’re a brand looking to increase interaction with your fans there is no substitution for a Facebook page but if you’re a public figure simply looking to expand your audience without putting in any extra work, then allowing subscribers could be just what you’re looking for.

Recommendations

The Recommendations box, though not really part of Facebook’s current rollout of new features, is relatively new and can increase your page’s fan base. Now when users first like your page they are immediately prompted to write a recommendation.

Once the recommendation is written it will appear in the news feeds of anyone that is friends with the person who wrote the recommendation. It will also show up on the right side of your page in the recommendation box and will never move. That way, positive comments won’t get pushed out of site over time as with regular wall comments.

Timeline

Facebook’s biggest and easily most controversial change is its Timeline, a completely new format for your personal profile. The interactive timeline will include all of your status updates, posted photos, apps and places you go. Facebook will also be encouraging users to post information and pictures from their past, in hopes that it will eventually have the full story of your life, all the way from birth.

The Timeline was originally set to launch on September 29 but recent legal troubles surrounding the feature have pushed that date back to October 6. It’s hard to say if that date will change again but be sure that once Timeline does launch, there will be no shortage of buzz about Facebook’s latest innovation.

If you have any questions about any of Facebook’s latest changes and how they could affect your business feel free to contact us!