Discovering User Generated Content

Discovering news, information and customer reviews has never been simpler with the help of several social media advancements.  From push to pull communication, getting the inside scoop as fast as you want is possible, and can be vital to tracking and monitoring your public relations and marketing efforts.  Use any and all of these tools below to follow what others are saying about you, your brand and your client.  Read more about each of these tools on the Mashable and Wikipedia links below.  

• RSS Feeds: RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and according to Mashable's online article, "Do You Use an RSS Reader," they aren't as new as we think.  While they have been around since 1999, the social media hype has increased awareness of this clever tool. They are a quick and popular way to read numerous blogs, news stories and information in general all on one web page.  Utilize an RSS feed by keeping track of any and all publications you may be reaching out to, and see what consumers have to say about you or your client.

• Digg: This easy to use website helps users to share and find interesting or relevant content from anywhere online.  According to Wikipedia, users can submit links and stories and vote or comment on submissions.  You can look at it as a democratic way of rating online information, and it also allows you to see what consumers are discussing.  One of the neat things about Digg is that it stores the most popular or commented on stories on the front page every day.  This top ranking spot is a great goal for public relations and marketing professionals to shoot for.  

• StumbleUpon: Also a fairly old tool, StumbleUpon was created in 2001 and allows users to see a random website, anytime and anywhere with the click of the mouse.  According to Mashable's online article, "How To: Get the Most Out of StumbleUpon," the creative website "stumble's upon" a new website each time you click, and tailors what it "stumble's upon" according to your interests and preferences.  If you're looking to utilize this tool for your small firm, try using “StumbleUpon Tag Toplist.” According to Mashable, "This little puppy adds a button to each StumbleUpon profile which allows you to see some advanced statistics about each user’s tags. It will also display a list of the most used tags, and allow you to sort them alphabetically or by tag count."

• Reddit: Mashable explains this as a "social news website" which allows users to post links to content they found on the web to other users.  Once posted, much like digg, others can vote on links and put their input into the submission.  This gives interest to another possible goal for public relations or marketing strategies as the more positive votes are given to a link, the higher the link moves up on the discussion areas.