Are you looking for an inexpensive way to add some video to your website or blog? Here is a great website that has really caught my attention, Animoto.com.  Animoto allows a user to upload pictures, video and music to create a unique video which animoto produces in a matter of minutes. The videos can be made for business or personal purposes and can be shared via social media, email, embedded into a blog/website or downloaded.  There are 3 different payment options,

• Option 1- Basic-free which gives you 30 second video clip with music
• Option 2- All Access Pass- allows for full length video and some upgrades for $30
• Option 3-  Professional- $249 per year, this option takes off the animoto logo and includes various other upgrades for you business

Check their site for more info, it is lots of fun to create the videos! animoto.com

Whrrl.com is a social media website that lets users create a story based on digital pictures that  are uploaded via iPhone,  mobile phone or computer.  When a picture is posted to whrrl it creates, a “footstream” which is a digital record of the places a person goes in the real world. I thought whrrl would be an interesting way for a business owner to share a behind the scenes story about their business and enhance their online community.  As the story is created, it can be embedded into a business blog.

In addition to the above features, whrrl has a Merchant Program which allows a local business that is participating in this program, to give whrrl users a special incentive to visit their business.

I think whrrl looks pretty interesting. I am planning to use this social media tool for an upcoming PR campaign for BornFit.com. I look forward to using whrrl, it’s  fun to learn something new!

A website that I often like to use for helpful information is called Mashable.com. On this site you can find all sorts of helpful information for your business like 10 Rules for Increasing Community Engagement which is super important when planning social media campaigns. I also found the articles 9Tips for Enriching Your Presentations With Social Media and How to Measure Social Media ROI, something that comes to mind when spending money on Social Media. So if you are  teaching yourself how to build your Social Media “hub” for your business check out Mashable, you will learn a lot!

I am often told that doing Social Media takes too much time. Well here is a little tip that will help save you some time while doing Social Media for your business.

Did you know when you create a Facebook Fan/Business page, you can link the Facebook business page to Twitter?

When you create a page, you will automatically be prompted as to if you would like to connect your fan page to your twitter account. This is great because it can save you time and you can post to two social media platforms at one TIME!

When you make an update in the status bar of your Facebook Fan page, that update is automatically sent to Twitter for Twitter update! COOL!

So if you make a Facebook Fan page make sure you add this feature! It is easy to do!

I came across this YouTube video on a blog called socialnomics. I found the video to have some very interesting points about social media and worth the time to watch. Great information if you are still on the fence about whether or not you would like to enter into social media for your business

Spending a lot of time doing social networking? Wish you could earn a bit of cash for the kids while you are blogging or sending out tweets? Here is an interesting website, www.redgage.com. Sign up for RedGage, and you can earn money for your content. All of your content from your various social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,  Flickr and Blogger is aggreagated to Red Gage where your content is then measured by page views. RedGage pays you based on the value of your content. Pretty cool, getting paid for something you already do.  Once you reach $25, you receive the funds in a Visa debit card.

I would love to hear your feedback if you have tried RedGage or plan to try it. Leave a comment below this post to share your experience with RedGage. RedGage can also be found on twitter @RGHelp

Using Skype to Save the Family Money
By guest blogger Karen at SavingTheFamilyMoney.com

In December of 2007, our cell phone company let us down and we decided to cancel them. Long story short, they changed my phone number without permission, and it was a customer service nightmare trying to get it resolved. After long discussions with my husband and a lot of research, we decided to give Skype a try. I first heard about Skype on the Clark Howard show. I had always heard him talk so highly about it, that I thought it was worth a try. My husband is tech savvy, so he was excited about testing the technology and seeing if it would work for us. I’m happy to say it is still our main line after 20 months. I’m happy to say I gave up a cell phone for over a year.

Please note: Skype cannot be used for emergency calling. My husband has a work issued cell phone, so we would use that as our backup. I have been told, if you plug a phone into the wall and get a dialtone, even without phone service, you will be able to call 911 from your house. I’ve heard this occurs mostly in apartments, but you should try it.

The Technology – Skype is free software you can download onto your computer, that allows you to talk over the Internet to anyone else with Skype, anywhere in the world. I wish we would have had Skype when my sister and her husband lived in Japan. It would have been nice to video chat for free anytime. Now we use the video chat with the grandparents, and it’s fabulous. They enjoy seeing the kids more frequently, and the kids think it’s fun to see them on the computer.

The Money - The exciting part for me is we are only paying about $6 a month for our home phone service! (no taxes!) Imagine the savings if you did this for your family. Although my sister is now in the same city, she signed up with Skype and is also using it as her main line.

Skype has changed their pricing format a couple of times over the last two years. They’ve changed their subscription names for the bundles, so when you research it online, it can be confusing. Despite the changes, it has remained a cheap deal. There are three main levels of pricing:

1. You can do Skype-to-Skype for free. (Includes video chat, IMs and file transfer capability, but only to other Skype members)
2. You can upgrade for $3/month and get what I’d call “Skype-to-Phone,” to be able to call normal (non-Skype) land-line phones and mobile phones. Voice mail also comes with this package.
3. Lastly, you can pay for an actual number, so folks can call you. (This is where Skype becomes a land-line phone replacement.)

It’s nice because you can take those baby steps to test the service before you commit. Even after you commit, you can choose short monthly service plans.

The Ease and Convenience – My husband got hooked quickly because of the conveniences Skype offered. He loved how it worked on both PCs and Macs. I appreciated all the options Skype had, making it a seamless change & use it 100% of the time, now. Over time, we’ve used a USB Handset, USB Headset and even bought a Skype phone that works like a cordless. The skype cordless phone we have has a base unit that connects to our wireless router. It transmits a signal to the phone charger. So it can be used just like a cordless house phone. I wouldn’t say it’s like a cellphone because you have to stay within a certain distance from the base unit, just like any regular house cordless phone. But I can walk the perimeter of our property and still get a signal. So, what I want to make clear, is that you are not bound to the computer to use the service. It can be worked into your home and used like a “normal” phone. I’ve even taken my laptop on location, where Internet is available, simply plugged in my headset and was able to receive and make calls.

My husband works from home 3 days a week and he routes his work calls to his own Skype number, so it doesn’t tie up our personal line. He can sit at his desk with a headset on, and participate in a conference call. I’ve had a lot of feedback from people who have relatives in the military who use Skype. Imagine not only getting a call from Daddy in Iraq, but being able to see him and have him read the kids a bedtime story. If the grandparents live out of state, and you can use Skype video so the kids can not only become familiar with their voices, but also see them so when they come for a visit, the kids will already be familiar with them.

I would recommend testing out the service before you cancel your current landline and before you dish out the money on the cordless equipment. Just test it directly from your computer. There is no commitment and you can choose the pay as you go option. Skype has an FAQ section and a forum, where you can get more information or have your questions answered. Try it out and see if you can save your family money.

Often times I have been asked about the difference between a Facebook Group and a Facebook Fan page. Facebook can be confusing when you first join. So without going into too much detail, I will explain the difference between the 3 different types of presences on Facebook.

A user profile is a place on Facebook for your personal information. The place where you can engage with your friends and keep things casual. You can add as much personal information as you’d like. There is a place for pictures, links and other random fun ways to engage with your friends.

A Facebook Group can be created or joined. Groups are formed by Facebook users around a common interest. For instance, Mile High Mamas, which is a website dedicated to Moms in Colorado, has a Facebook group to let members know about recent updates on their website. A group can be created by going to the Groups application and clicking “Create a Group” in the upper right corner of the page. All groups require a group name, description and group type. Groups are not circulated into the members’ feed on their user profile. Therefore if you want to see group updates, you need to go to the group page.

A Facebook Page or also called a Fan page, is meant for businesses, public figures or a brand. Facebook users can become a “fan” of your page/business where they can then interact with your business. A fan page is good because updates made on the fan page are circulated into the home feed of the users. When someone becomes a “fan” of your page, friends of the person who fanned the page can then see that their friend fanned the page, and they then can also fan your  page. I manage a Fan Page for BornFit. I happen to like the Fan page because we can post updates about BornFit events, sales as well as recent blog posts from the BornFit Blog. The Facebook fan page is a great place to gain more traffic for your website and exposure for your business.

Do you have a Fan Page for your business. What sorts of things do you post on there? How do you like having a Fan Page?

Should you ever decide you would like to create a Fan Page for your business, contact me at techtalkformoms@yahoo.com, I have a Facebook Business Page set-up service.

Thanks to Christie Ingram for this informative post on Twitter. Christie  is a new mom and now a work at home mom, she blogs about being a WAHM and productivity tips and tricks at WAHM Hacks and can also be heard on Work at Home Moms Talk Radio. You can follow Christie at http://twitter.com/ChristieIngram

If you haven’t heard about Twitter by now, you are probably from a different planet, so I welcome you to Planet Earth. Everybody is all a twitter about Twitter, you cannot get away from Twitter-talk. The short definition of Twitter is a micro blogging platform where you can send out a message of 140 characters or less to your followers.

WAHMs should definitely be active on Twitter and here is why:

1. Everyone is on Twitter, or they will be joining today or tomorrow. And by everyone, I mean your customers, potential customers and your competition. If you are not on Twitter, you are not getting the attention of your customers, and your competition is.

2. It is so quick and simple (and free!) to communicate with thousands or even millions of people with a short, succinct message. I bet that the elevator pitch you have created won’t reach that many people in your lifetime!

3. It is almost effortless to find people that are interested in your market or niche – from the market leaders to the people just discovering your area of expertise. Twitter Search makes it so easy to find out what people are talking about in your market.

4. The ability to form real relationships with your followers – your customers, colleagues, friends and prospects. It allows you to share what you are doing, what articles you are reading, your likes and dislikes and learn the same thing about the people you are following. it is SOCIAL media at it’s best.

5. Send personal messages (direct messages or DMs) to your followers. You may not have their email address, but this is an excellent way to start a relationship. Send a real, engaging message, not an automatic DM to really grow the relationship.

6. Find other WAHMs (there are tons of us on Twitter) or moms to make friends, share tips and collaborate.

7. Network with other Twitter peeps (or “tweeps”) in your area in real life (aka IRL) through a “Tweet-Up”. Where people who have met on Twitter actually get together in real life to network and discuss their common interests. The Tweet-Up could be just geographically based or market based as well.

8. You can use Twitter on the go. No need to stay tied to your desk, most cellphones have Twitter capabilities as do Blackberrys and iPhones (Tweetdeck on the iPhone or IPod Touch is awesome!). Find out what is going on with your Twitter peeps where ever you are, even if you are waiting in line at the grocery store. Multi-tasking is what we moms are good at.

9. Follow specific events revelant to your market, interests or life. People use hashtags, which is a fancy word for this symbol # when they are all tweeting about a specific event. You may notice specific events like #gno or Girl’s Night Out on Twitter.

10. Find out the latest news. No need to watch the news or check news websites, often the Twitter-universe is much more current about a situation. Twitter was where I found out about the passing of Michael Jackson, long before CNN was reporting it.

Ok, those are ten GREAT reasons you should be on Twitter. So sign up today and start tweeting!

Are you on Twitter? Make sure you put a link to your Twitter profile in the comments so other WAHMs can follow you.

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I wanted to share a great resource with you. The book How to Win Sales & Influence Spiders, Boosting Your Business & Buzz on the Web. When BornFit’s owner asked me to create a blog for her business, I bought this book to help me along the process. I found the information I learned extremely valuable, so much information that I was able to start my own blog inspired by things I read. Topics in the book include; Search Engine Optimzation, blogging for business, social media, affiliates and more.  This book is worth every cent. I have referenced the book so much that it is filled with stickie notes and highlights.

You can find a link to the book on the left hand side bar of my blog, scroll down to the Amazon ads.