A recent change to Google’s search algorithm rewarding “freshness” makes it crucial to update your website’s content frequently.You have to crank out content for your Facebook fan page and tweets. Your blog is a website too, and it needs new, relevant content. Add to that the e-news campaign coming up that will tie them all together. Yikes! How do you slay the ever-hungry content monster?
Here are 12 free tools to help you stay alive in 2012.
Organize all the blogs you subscribe to into an attractive, magazine-style format, and it syncs up with your Google Reader feed.
‘Collect, highlight, then remember:’ Bookmark your favorites, probably more intuitively than your browser does it.
Get the latest news on any subject you follow, gathered for you in one neat little email plopped into your inbox however often you choose.
Capture screen images, make notes on them, save them and share them by simply grabbing the little half-moon that lives at the top of your screen. (Be sure to follow copyright and fair-use laws.)
Jing also lets you make little videos, with voice narration, of whatever you’re doing on your screen…instant videos.
Get your own channel, publish your videos—screencasts, too—and add music from a large free library.
You can track the most popular subjects in your newsletters if you use a professional email platform Who clicked on what is your best indicator of what people are engaged with. Write more about that.
Create e-books from many types of original documents, in minutes, and link to them or make them available by registration.
Generate random numbers to help pick contest entrants. You’ll use it.
Park your audio files here and link to them. Free.
Start a blog—business or personal—with absolutely no technical skills needed. You can even make your posts via email. It doesn’t get any easier than this.
Gather your thoughts for new subjects and get input on them from your circle of trusted business buddies.
Whew! Now you are armed with what you need to generate ideas for original content and to share online gems with your audience, on any platform. Did I miss your favorite? Please let us know what they are.
Featured image licensed via Stock.Xchng.
Kim Phillips is the founder of Lucid Marketing and author of the Lucid at Random blog. With over 30 years of experience in corporate advertising for a major financial institution, sales and marketing, Kim provides clients with marketing communication strategies, branding, content management and creative services. She is a teacher and speaker, and she finds time for musings and the occasional rant on her personal blog.
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Thanks, Kim. I've been using #3 and #6 the most in 2012. I do use the Google Reader with my Google Alerts along with using them in conjunction with BundlePost for content curation and scheduling with HootSuite.
@Kim Phillips So far, I've just posted videos in support of my blog. Did one on the Klout Algorithm storm, what I'm thankful for, 2012 Goals, etc.
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Awesome job of highlighting content management apps that many of us have not worked into our SoMe flow. I think I have heard of 3 on your list. Fantastic resource!!!
Latest blog post: 12 Positive Personal Actions To Make 2012 A Happy Year
@BrandFlair Excellent! Be sure to look at the Rafflecopter app that @susansilver suggested. I added it to my art page in like 2 minutes, including figuring out how to use iFrames. Couldn't have been easier.
I'm a big fan of Diigo as well. With Google Alerts, I've noticed a lag in when content is first published and it hits my inbox so it's best utilized in tandem with other monitoring tools.
Latest blog post: Language Fluidity, Speech Communities and Social Participation
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@susansilver I just installed a contest on my Kim Cuts Art Facebook page and it was a breeze! Walked me right through how to install the Static iFrame app... couldn't be easier. Thanks for the reco.
Rafflecopter is great for giveaways. Takes care of everything for you http://www.rafflecopter.com/
