Now that you have a SocialOomph account, what do you do with it? There are lots of options, and it can easily become confusing. I've used this service for over two years, and I've figured out how to make the most of the service.
This article covers the basics of setting up your account to get the most out of what SocialOomph has to offer. Oh and if you only have a free account don't worry. I'm covering both free and pro accounts here :)
First let's look at the dashboard (the screen you'll see after logging in). The screen shot below is for my free account (but it looks the same for pro).
The menu items I've circled in red are the ones we're going to talk about in this article.
The first thing you need to do is add a Twitter account. Before doing this you need to open a new tab or window and log into your Twitter account. SocialOomph will search for an active Twitter login and add that account without you having to enter your Twitter user name and password.
Once you've done that, go back to SocialOomph and hover over the menu item "Social Accounts." You'll notice that some menu items are faded out. That's because I'm doing this on a free account. The pro version lets you add Facebook and other services.
Click on "Add Twitter," then on the next screen click "Authorize Access" and your Twitter Account will be added.
Note - if you don't see the Authorize Access button that means you haven't logged into your Twitter account yet.
Next it will take you to a screen allowing you to set up your new account.
Note - You can also access this screen at any time from "Manage Accounts" (under "Social Accounts" on the main menu).
Check the two boxes I've circled, add a welcome message and click save. If you'd like more explanation, here are a few notes about this screen:
- I've chosen to send a welcome message to new followers. This sends a one-time message to everyone who follows you.
- In the welcome message, it's a good idea to ask a question or make a simple statement with a link to your website. Questions engage people and get conversations started right away.
- Right under the welcome message box you'll see the number of characters in the message. Remember that Twitter limits tweets to 140 characters or less, so be succinct.
- I've also checked the Auto Follow box. This is an awesome feature because it makes sure you're following everyone who follows you. In Twitter the name of the game is getting more followers and people really appreciate it if you follow them back so this is a very handy feature.
- You'll also notice that I did NOT check the Vet Followers box. That's because it holds up the auto follow feature, requiring you to review and manually follow people who are following you. This is a great feature for someone who is selective about who they follow back but since you're using SocialOomph for business you'll want to automatically follow everyone who follows you.
Note - You can add as many Twitter accounts as you want. Right now I run about 10 just for my own businesses and also manage some for other people. It sure is convenient being able to track them all from one place.
Ok now that you've gotten your Twitter account all set up, let's Tweet something!
Going back to the menu on the left, click "Schedule New Update." This is where you're going to spend most of your time. Study the picture below to get an idea of the different parts of the screen:
The screen is pretty self explanatory. I want to remind you that by upgrading to a Pro account you can schedule updates to many different types of accounts besides Twitter and also schedule Recurring updates which is a huge time saver! For instance I have a list of about 30 business related quotes and tips that are automatically sent out once a day to all my social networks. Since I have them set up on a recurring schedule, once the last update is posted the list automatically starts over again with no work needed from me.
Important - DO NOT use this for spamming your social media accounts! This is a professional tool that should be used with discrimination to grow your business, not push potential clients away. See my article "10 Tips for Effective Business Tweeting" for more information on how to use Twitter for business.
Ok, now that you've posted (or scheduled) an update, let's check it out. From the menu on the left, click on "Scheduled Updates." This will take you to the following screen, which shows a list of all scheduled updates.
Note how each updated is listed with it's scheduled date and time. You don't see it here but updates that have already been sent out say "published" at the bottom right. You can use the symbols to the bottom right of the updates to make changes as needed. That's it... pretty easy huh?
In the next article I'll explain how to monitor your replies so you can get in on the conversation. Have fun scheduling updates!
