What I am going to share with you is not new, but I am surprised at how many people do not use this time saving source. Ping.fm is a resource that I want everyone to know about. If you aren’t using it then you need to rethink the reason why. If you are using this wonderful tool then maybe I can share with you some more helpful tips to help in your successes.
In there own words:
“Ping.fm is a simple and FREE service that makes updating your social networks a snap!”
To me the best part is that the service is free and you can post from anywhere with their mobile, instant messenger and email apps. They also work along with hundreds of other 3rd party apps to make updating your status simple and fast. Ping.fm was recently acquired by Seesmic making the service much more powerful. You can send an update and it can be submitted instantly to 50+ social networks including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Ning, WordPress, TypePad, Yammer, Status.net and many more.
My favorite part about using this valuable resource is that I can post from my iPhone from anywhere sharing with my friends and family something cool. For example, I recently sent an update to all my friends to over 20 of my social networks right from my phone. The update was sent from the beautiful mountains of Utah stating that I had just finished a Half Marathon.
Here is a very short video I created showing how easy it is to sign up and start using Ping.fm today:
There is also a trick to update your Google Buzz account via Ping.fm and here are the steps:
1. Of course you must have a Ping.fm account, sign up here – http://ping.fm/
2. Add Gtalk by clicking “Add Network” at the http://ping.fm/networks/ page
3. Next enter your email address and password associated with your Google buzz account then click submit:
4. And for the last step, you need to add Gtalk as a connected service by logging into your Google Buzz account. See images below for steps:
That is it, your Ping.fm posts will now automatically post to your Google Buzz account. Most other social networks are much easier to add as you can see in the video I shared above.
There are some things you need to know with using Ping.fm as a social media tool. You need to remember that it is simply a tool that will help save you time. It is not an automated tool that will make you millions or get you more followers necessarily. I see many people abuse the tool to the point that they are not being social anymore with their friends and followers. As we know, Social Media is all about the conversation and being social. If all you are doing is submitting updates and not a part of the discussion then you will loose out on what social media really is.
Here are some helpful tips and reminders to save time but still be social:
- Only use Ping.fm as a status update service and not your only means of connecting to your social networks
- Post your status updates and make sure you still login to your social network profiles to be a part of the dialogue
- Don’t overdue it with your submissions, you will loose a lot of friends and followers this way
- Use other tools to help you in the conversation (e.g. Seesmic, Hootsuite, or Tweetdeck)
In conclusion, Ping.fm is simply a tool for us as marketers and individuals to use to help us save time when conversing and sharing stuff with our friends and followers. This free resource has the ability to help us be more productive if we use it correctly and wisely. Bear in mind that any tool can be abused, so just be careful. Also always remember to have fun.
