Category Archives: Recommended Tools and Applications

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Adobe Photoshop is probably my most used software program on my computer. I use it for work, for editing photos for my blogs, and for images I design for my social media posts. Since I spend a lot of my time using it, like in any other computer programs I use, I want to make sure I’m as efficient as possible, especially when I’m working on my laptop. This is why it’s important for me to know the keyboard shortcuts to various functions and features of Adobe Photoshop CS6 (version I’m using), as shown below.

Photoshop CS6 Shortcut CheatSheet - Tags

I hope you find this list useful. These shortcuts have saved me a ton of time! In fact, I no longer navigate through Adobe Photoshop CS6 with a mouse and I feel so efficient. 😉

8 Must Have Android Social Media Apps

Social Media Apps for AndroidWorking as a social media manager full-time, I take it upon myself to make sure I’m updated on the latest news and information related to social media, the internet and the world so I can work on strategies and share them with my team. This may prove to be a daunting task with the vast amount of resources we have. Thankfully, there are various Android social media apps for my phone that help me consume contents more efficiently.

Aside from reading up on social media articles, I also make sure that I share articles I find really useful through my various social media accounts. Hopefully, this list will help you.

 

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn

Of course, you shouldn’t be without these apps developed by the various social media sites themselves. The features you use and love on the Web versions are most likely made available on their mobile apps as well since, well, mobile is the future.

Twitter and Facebook apps for Android

I use my Pinterest app for Android for pinning, liking or even organizing my Pinboards. I use Facebook and Twitter for posting images I find amusing that I’d like to share with my network. I use Instagram for almost exactly the same reason.

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What You Should Know About Facebook Scheduling

Facebook Scheduling - tips and guides on how to use this feature by blankpixels.com

With the ever increasing importance for a company to have a social media presence, there is no doubt that having a Facebook page is on top of anyone’s to-do list. But, to be successful in this platform, you have to consider the fact that since you are dealing directly with consumers or your customers, you need to be creative, entertaining and consistent in what you post. Thankfully, Facebook has allowed page owners to schedule posts straight from their page without any need to use a third party application. This post hopefully will tell you more on scheduling posts on Facebook.

 

Automation vs Being ‘Social’

Automation of content posting on Facebook or Twitter may not be ‘social’ for most people, but, in my opinion, it does help in ensuring efficiency and consistency with what you post.

As a Social Media Manager myself, scheduling posts helps in planning ahead, so that I can focus more on interaction on days when I already have contents planned and scheduled out. I don’t see myself frantically coming up with things to post since I already thought ahead. I can sit back and wait for people to interact with the client pages I handle as they see the contents I’m putting out. If anything needs changing, it’s easier to manage.

 

Facebook Scheduling vs Hootsuite and other Third Party Apps

Facebook scheduling vs Hootsuite

This is  slightly bad news for social media tools like Hootsuite and Buffer since many people will prefer to schedule posts through Facebook directly. I only use them now for Twitter and I have switched to using Facebook scheduling completely. Why?

  • No more annoying indication that the post was from ‘Hootsuite’, Buffer, Tweetdeck, etc. Even if you posted the content right away, it’ll still show you did so through Hootsuite. And this may turn off many people as they see you’re scheduling posts. Update: This no longer applies, but I still prefer to schedule through Facebook since I can easily view them on the Activity Log.

    With Facebook scheduling, there’s no hint or sign that it was a scheduled post. This is particularly good for those days when you need to go on a much-needed vacation from maintaining your page. No one will know it was scheduled, unless they ask you questions and you were not able to answer on the same day.

  • There have been numerous reports (see this) that posts published through third-party applications like Hootsuite are not given priority and have very low Edgerank (in short, the chances for your posts to be shown to your followers on their Newsfeed) and there are some that are hidden altogether.

    With Facebook scheduling, your posts will look ‘normal’ and, from what I observed, it doesn’t affect each post’s Edgerank negatively. It’s as if you posted in real-time.

  • Facebook Insights doesn’t track the likes, shares and comments on posts published through Hootsuite. This is one big downside.
  • No more Hootsuite Photos album. Instead, your images will show up under a new album called ‘Photos’.

I know, Hootsuite is still a very useful tool for bulk scheduling, reporting and monitoring, but if you are after the ‘social’ factor of this platform, Facebook scheduling is the way to go.

 

How to Schedule Posts on Facebook

Let’s get on with the tutorial. How exactly do you schedule posts on Facebook?

Important Note: If you have not entered a milestone yet like when your company or website was established / launched, you’ll be prompted to do so before you can schedule posts.

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An App for Moms and Future Parents

A friend of mine has been pregnant for a couple of months, and has spent a lot of time worrying about how to look after their child once they’ve been born, not to mention about how to stay healthy while pregnant and about appropriate baby names. Desperate to help her out, a close friend of hers decided to look for some cool baby apps on my phone, and found one from Bounty, which had everything she could possibly need in terms of advice and fun stuff.

Bounty Baby names app for IOS Apple devices

My friend was really worried about what to name her child, but after someone told her to download the app, she used the feature where you can generate a random baby name for a boy or girl just by shaking the phone. 😀 She decided to go with the name she got from the app as it was quicker than spending weeks thinking about it. Apart from that feature, she loved all the useful tips about how to cope during the different stages of pregnancy.

She told me that the app also has a number of features about health, fitness, mental wellbeing and even fashion and what maternity clothes you should wear to keep you warm or cool depending on the time of year. I might keep it in case I decide to become a mommy, and will turn to it if I ever worry about what to do when I have to change a diaper or when the baby kicks. 😉

I was testing it and I found using this app entertaining, even though I’m not a mom. It’s easy to read, has plenty of great features, and it’s a doddle to use. I’ll make sure that when I see something fun on the app, I’ll share it with my friends, especially those with kids or baby bumps. Surely, they’ll decide to download the app themselves to see if what I told them about it was true, and it sure is! 🙂

Easy and Free Website Builder

Being a website designer, I know how complicated it can be to build your own site from scratch. If you’re like most people who are not as keen when it comes to programming or you prefer a more visual process when building your website, the level of difficulty can be overwhelming.

Over a decade ago, I learned how to make my own website through free website builders that were available then to anyone with a decent internet connection. Since the capabilities of those tools were limited compared to what we have today, I had to force myself to learn HTML the hard way.

Fast forward over 10 years, the amount of tools available to everyone has greatly increased. Almost anyone can now create and use a free website builder to put up their own space on the web.

Take for instance IM creator. If you’re into minimalistic designs (something I’m getting more attracted to nowadays) – simply yet elegant – then, you should give this site builder a try. Here’s a 60-second video on how you can create your own website with the tools they have to offer:

See? Very user-friendly, chic, simple and, best of all, it’s FREE!

If you don’t have the budget to hire a web designer and you have limited knowledge of coding, then, you should most definitely try IM creator. I highly recommend this site builder for artists or photographers who want a simple way to display their works online.