Well, Wednesday’s chat was interesting, to say the least.  We did see 629 tweets from 94 contributors in an hour, and there were a lot of shared resources during that time.

One lesson I think we all learned is professionalism.  There are good and bad ways to approach a situation.  If you have a problem with someone, always try to correct the situation with face to face interactions to resolve any issues.

One item of note before we get into the digest.  On the right hand side of this page you’ll see a link to join the Community Managers (Social Media Managers) group on linked in (or directly linked here.  Please feel free to join and contribute!

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Q1 How many active programs do you use for community building/metrics and what are they?

bbenishek: We currently use Google Analytics and Omniture for metrics.

bbenishek: wthashtag also provides good chat stats.

JPedde: I just found www.justunfollow.com yesterday and it really helped me clean out my work twitter account.

JPedde: We’ve also been using Constant Contact for newsletters, SiteFinity for website/SEO.

JPedde: Oh one of the best tools, is untweeps.com. Unfollows those you follow that are inactive for 30,60, 90 days

KellyLux: We also use Google Analytics, Hootsuite and Klout.

heidianspaugh: We’re currently in the process of figuring that out. Does anyone have any experience with Visible Technologies or Alterian?

BillBoorman: Branch out, job magic, FaceBook ads and @BraveNewTalent have a good app launching

dohanley: I recently started using @TwitCleaner to clear out inactive users, spammers, and ppl who don’t contribute much to the conversation

nickcicero: If you’re looking to clean up your twitter, I recommend Tweepi: www.tweepi.com

bcromlish: I like thesis for wordpress and livefyre comments

heidianspaugh: I have Groupon and LivingSocial

JennaLanger: Depends what you need. We use Woopra for real-time analytics, and paid android apps like hootsuite have more features

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Q2 How much of your day is spent troubleshooting/learning new programs?

digitalmention: I spend a lot of time not only learning new programs, but #researching new ones as well. Knowledge is power.

40deuce: I’m ususally pretty good at figuring out new technologies, so not a lot of my day is spent learning new things

Toby_Metcalf: A few hours a week. Use PHP for my forums, but looking for / testing options there.

RussoNoon: I devote over an hour a day to trying to “keep up” with the new tools and tricks available. And that’s still not enough.

JMattHicks: I just started learning Python and PHP…so basically all day! lol But being new to professional social media/CM, prob 10-20%.

joshshear: I spend a few hours each week reading and trying new tech or software, usually away from work.

JennaLanger: I spend at least an hour a day messing with WordPress – trying new plugins, testing code changes, messing with formatting

PaigeHolden: Some of my LinkedIn groups have been really great for new info and advice. My Google Reader is pretty extensive too.

Holdcom: The more applications I find, the more I recognize how useless a lot of them are. Its important to stay focused!

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Q3 How do you handle requests from pp promoting & asking you to use their services?

digitalmention: If the proposal makes sense, we’ll look into it possibly. If not, it’s just a simple, honest “no.”

swonderlin: We highly suggest using our tools as we have done the research to see which ones have worked best.

KellyLux: For now, we are going on reputation and whether or not we have any connection..whether we will entertain a conversation

jvkautz: Ignore. If it’s worth looking at, it’ll be recommended by people I trust.

JPedde: If it fills a need for me, I’ll look into it. If its your run of the mill SEO, Website Design, SM Consulting, I dont use it

PaigeHolden: I’m more inclined to use a program with good customer service and training. Sometimes, that can make my case for me.

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Q4 How do you make the case that you need certain programs to your bosses?

digitalmention: Pose the problem & show how the new program will solve.

digitalmention: Provide real-life examples of how it will solve the problem. Perhaps provide numbers, if possible.

JennaLanger: I use the free version for as long as possible, until it becomes too limiting. If it makes us more productive, it’s worth it

40deuce: I think you need to show the benefits of paying for certain services. I always try to find free ones first though

RussoNoon: I use programs that are recognizable in the mainstream and are most likely to generate the most “buy-in” from cautious users

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Thanks to all who participated! If you would like to see the entire transcript, please click here. Make sure to come back to #cmgrchat every Wednesday from 2-3pm EST for more chats – Next week’s Chat will be discussing “Daily Tasks.

If you would like to follow any or all of those who participated today,  please click here.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for future topics, leave comments or get in touch with myself or Kelly!