hey all,

I found two tools that I think are fantastic! I wanted to share them with you...

1. Netvibes
2. SM2 by Alterian

Netvibes - Dashboard Everything!

This tool is FREE. (Which is nice!) You enter a word or phrase and it aggregates everything on the web into one place. The dashboard is really cool. You can do as many as you want (track brands, competitors, etc...).

The Point: What are people saying/talking about?

You never can have enough information about what is going on in your business ecosystem. This tool will bring up relevant articles as well as blogs, tweets, and anything else that mentions you or your competitors. Talk about research...

SM2 by Alterian

This site has really amazing resources on Social Media. I am in the process of trying to find a niche in Social Media Strategy, so I am doing copious amounts of research on this stuff. The Alterian site really has some quality information.

HOWEVER, the real gem is their Social Media Monitoring tool. It could be thought of like Netvibes in that it aggregates every mention of word or phrase. The difference is the way you can look at the info and what it actually means. You can view by demographics, domain, author, location, positive or negative in feeling, and way more.

They have a 'freemium' version that is the full version, and you are only limited in the number of search results. There's still a ton you can do and you will definitely benefit. I have applied for a 30-day demo in the belief that I'll be able to use the research to talk to a couple potential clients and close one...just based on the data I'll have to show them. (We'll see! - If I can get one, it'll more than pay for the $500/month investment after my free 30 days)

Have any of you tried these?

What awesome Social Media Tools have you used? Let us all know in a reply!