Authentic. Visionary. Genius.

These are the buzzwords floating around the articles about Steve Jobs today. My inbox is full of them.

I usually avoid buzzwords.  I have this tiny orange rebellious streak running down the side of me (why orange? who knows). I avoided getting on board with Google plus until just a few weeks ago, I have avoided this strange fashion trend that wants to revitalize the 80′s, and I have so far avoided Apple. I tell myself that I don’t want to become a mindless servant to mass hysteria, but in reality, I am just stubborn.

Today as people mourn the loss of Steve Jobs, I think about what I know of him as a business man. I didn’t know him personally and didn’t even use his products. Maybe it’s just hubris, but I am inclined to believe that he had a rebellious streak too. In the 90′s Apple was a joke. PC’s were the next microwave- everyone had one or everyone was getting one. Apple almost went under. Several times. My husband still jokes that you either need a computer science degree to set up your home network or you need to hire someone to set it up if you choose Apple. I have no idea if that is still true- as I said I don’t use Apple.

Today I see Apple everywhere. Everyone who I know that travels for work has an Apple laptop. I think they call them MacBooks instead of laptops. Rebellious. They are light weight and easy to pack in their carry on. I can’t even tell you how many emails I get in a day that say “sent from my ipad” or “sent from my ipod”. Mine says something like “Sent from my Droid Replenish on the Sprint Now Network”. I think. I don’t know. Email me and I’ll reply to you and let you know.

My rebellious streak has kept me from giving in to the ipad or iphone. I love Sprint and my Droid. But everyone knows, and even I have to admit, most of the innovation that brings my Droid and all the life-saving apps to my pocket is thanks to Apple and a guy who had the guts to be different.

As I read the heartfelt articles siting examples of the people who clearly love their ipads and iphones, I feel a twinge of regret that I had not hopped on this particular bandwagon earlier and I suspect anyone else who has resisted Apple for this long feels the same and is rushing out to get their first ipad or iphone in an attempt to feel a connection to this strange vibe in the air today.

Me? I think I’ll be rebellious a little while longer.

It worked for Jobs. He found a niche, carved it out, and stuck to it until he was the best at it.

Rebelliousness.

One of my favorite fan page apps is RSS Grafiti. This allows me to import multiple RSS feeds into my fan page or my personal page and allows me to control which feeds are switched on, how frequent they post, and how the posts appear. It also has Twitter integration so that I can choose to tweet my RSS posts as they come in. If you are a blogger, this is a great app to use on your fan page.

It’s really easy to access apps in facebook and to add them to pages. Just visit http://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/apps and select an app. You can also do a search in the main tool bar at the top of the page and when your results come up, click “apps” on the left. Whatever you want to do with your page is possible with the right app.

Adding tools like this to your website allows you to easily increase page views and user engagement, and promote your content. Wibiya has a lot of cool of free apps and features that enable you to extend your content’s exposure and provide users with a more interactive experience of your website.

Today, Facebook and Twitter also use RSS feeds, making it possible for you to proudly display your activity across many platforms at once or to subscribe to other people’s updates on your site. One example is seen at my client’s website  slingshotsuccess.com. The site has multiple feeds at the bottom of the home page because there are three main contributors to this site. Each person’s blog and event updates are displayed easily on the site.

RSS feeds are also a great way to build traffic and boost SEO. The more Google and other search engines see your site being updated, the more robust and active they view your site. Updating your site frequently is a plus to Google, and having an RSS feed that is active on your site is considered an update.

RSS feeds are also a grest way to provide instant content. If you follow a blogger who posts relevant information, post their feed to your site. Your site visitors will see that you are informed on relevant topics and the blogger will appreciate the extra traffic and exposure.

 Twitterfeed.com is an RSS feed that allows you to sync up your social accounts, website, and blog. It’s definitely a cool tool!

There are some great tips for using twitter to cut through the noise and to get to your customers.

1. Countdowns. “Only 2 days left until the big day…” whatever the big day is build excitement by counting down on twitter. People will have an incentive to retweet NOW and to click NOW.
2. Give credit where it’s due. When someone retweets or shares your posts, send them a public thank-you. (Use @ followed by their user name). People will see that not only are you paying attention but that you are present and participating.
3. Customer Service. Occasionally the complaint or negative feedback happens. Get creative and turn the negative into a positive. If someone asks a question, answer them right away. When you get good feedback or praise, retweet it and say thank you!
4. Spread the News. Let your followers know about events, news, and product launches by tweeting the benefits, takeaways, and details. Share big news for other people, especially people who you want to strategically align with or who you want to get the attention of. They will appreciate the help spreading the word.
5. Get to the “Hurt”. When talking about benefits of a product, service, or event, use words and phrases that address the problem. This is a perfect opportunity to provide yourself as the solution. You will also show up more in searches.
6. Share Success Stories: When people with a large following tweet about you or mention you, when you have big news, or when you get a new testimonial, share the news with your tweeps. You will build your credibility and people will begin to see you as a successful expert in your field.
7. Integrate: When something fun happens on Facebook or Google+, or when someone posts something cool, tweet about it and bring people over. It’s a great way to build a larger community.

 Tweetdeck.com Socialoomph.com and Hootesuite.com are all programs that allow you to manage your social networks in one place and to schedule tweets into the future.

My favorite is Hootesuite. It integrates easily with Facebook, has sophisticated reporting for clicks and impressions, and allows you to manage all your social media profiles from one window. Even if you never schedule a tweet in advance, Hootesuite is a great service to managing social accounts.

Here are some of mine:

They have regular guides to increasing SEO, using social media, and blogging, and they are FREE. They even host webinars for free on the same topics. They are a great marketing and SEO company and they really know  their stuff. Here are a few of my favorite things:

How to monitor social media in 10 minutes a day: http://www.hubspot.com/social-media-monitoring-in-10-minutes-ebook/

How to Generate Leads Using Linkedin: http://www.hubspot.com/how-to-generate-leads-using-linkedin/

The Definitive Guide to Integrating Social Media and Email: http://www.hubspot.com/the-definitive-guide-to-integrating-social-media-and-email/

99 Tools for How To Generate Leads with Social Media: http://www.hubspot.com/free-ebook-99-tools-to-generate-leads-with-social-media/

The NEW Twitter for Business (2011) http://www.hubspot.com/twitter-for-business-a-beginners-guide/

Business Growth Through Blogging http://www.hubspot.com/free-ebook-case-study-how-to-achieve-business-growth-through-blogging/

Inbound Marketing and Virtual Events: http://www.hubspot.com/Natural-Synergy-between-Inbound-Marketing-and-Virtual-Events/

Facebook Marketing Update: http://www.hubspot.com/free-ebook-the-facebook-marketing-update-spring-2011/

The science of timing: when to post to social media, blogs, and when to send your newsletter: http://www.hubspot.com/the-science-of-timing/

Grader.com is just as cool.

http://grader.com/ Here they feature Facebook, twitter, website graders for SEO with statistics and tips to boost your performance online.

Have a look, and while you’re there, subscribe. You’ll be glad you did!