Four Social Media Tools Worth Trying Out

They land on my radar in a couple of different ways.

It starts with my daily reading. Technology blogs like TechCrunch, Mashable and Engadget introduce, overview and report on a myriad of Web 2.0 services and tools designed to enhance the effectiveness of the social media marketer.

I’m also now fortunate to have them pushed to me as well. As this blog as grown in readership and prominence, I have made it onto a few public relations lists. I typically receive an Email or two a week from a publicist asking me to test out the latest app or tool from their client.

Every month I carve out 90 minutes to do just that. My evaluation criteria are fairly simple:

-Is the tool easy to use?
-Is its functionality unique?
-Does it potentially enhance or improve the success of a social media marketing program?

So, here are a few Web 2.0 offerings I received this weekend that I believe are worthy of mention.

Twiangulate: It’s an effective tool for gathering intelligence and insight about a person’s Twitter following. Do you share any connections? If so, how many? And who? Who does a person follow that may be of interest?

Klout: Measures the influence of a Twitter user based on 25 parameters. It’s a fast service and works well as a quick assessment tool. However, I’ve found the information delivered by Twinfluence to be more comprehensive and meaningful.

Swix: It’s like Google Analytics for a social media marketing campaign. Although still in beta, this dashboard is a good stab at trying to bring measurable meaning to social media activities. Pricing ranges from $9 to $99 a month based on number of users.

Social Mention: This free service also borrows from Google in its positioning – it’s like Google Alerts for social media. Set up alerts for any name, word or phrase and it will push mentions to you by Email.