Add and Automate Updates on Your Ning Networks

I hesitate to tell you how long I've been looking for a way to add and automate updates to my Ning profile pages. Several months ago I heard about Ping.FM and love the way it automates updates on a wide variety of social media sites - although there are some more I think should be added.

But, my biggest wish was to find a way to add these updates to my Ning profiles - and I have profiles on almost 40 Ning networks. So - that one little thing could add updates to 40 more social sites. Maybe that explains why I was so anxious to find a way to automate this.

Just a note - in case you're reading this and don't know what I mean by "update" - this is the short messages that we post on Twitter and that you see on other social sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and MANY other sites. It is in that box that usually says something like - What are you doing?

So last night I was working on the social media package descriptions for a new social media setup that we will be offering in the very near future. I was creating a spreadsheet template for the full list of social sites that we set up for clients who opt for this service. I checked the Ping.FM site to be sure I hadn't missed any sites - and that's when I saw Shoutem.com. I'm not sure if its new or if I just missed it in the past.

I clicked on Shoutem.com to add it to my postings from Ping.FM and I set up my profile on their site. That's when I saw a note about adding ShoutEm.com to my Ning site. At that point - I stopped everything else and had to check out the post.

I will admit that I made a few mistakes in this setup - but it is working now. I'll even share the silly things I did wrong to save you all that wasted time :) So - here are my step by step instructions for this setup. As a quick bit of shameless self promotion - this is a small part of the new social media setup programs that my company Promo 101 Promotional Services offers --- more information about that when I finish designing the packages we will offer.

1. You need a Ping.FM account - www.ping.fm
2. You need a ShoutEm.com account - www.shoutem.com.
3. Set up your own network or join another network on ShoutEm. You will need the URL for your network and also your user name when you set up the Ning application.
4. You need at least one account on a Ning Network. If you don't have any, but would like to check it out - I invite you to visit one of mine http://readersstation.ning.com
5. Once these accounts are in place - log into your Ping.fm account and you will be on the dashboard. On the left side of the page you will see "Add More Networks". Click there and it will bring up the full list of sites that you can connect on.
6. This can be routed through ShoutEm (http://www.shoutem.com) and Laconia - (http://laconi.ca) PS - Do not sign up for both - or two copies of your pings will go to Ning.
7. I was unsure what needed to go in the "server" box - use your URL with the http:// and you do not need to include your username in the URL.
8. Go to your ShoutEm network page - this is mine http://promo101.shoutem.com/admin to see an example. At the bottom of the page, click on "widgets". This page will give you the URL to use on your Ning page and it also gives you the html if you want to add the ShoutEm.com widget to your own Ning network.
9. Go to your Ning profile page and on just about every network that I'm on - under my profile picture I see this link - Add Profile Apps
10. Click on Add Profile Apps and you will see a list of applications that you can add. In the left column - you will see a list of links, click on +Add by URL
11. Once you click on +Add by URL you will see a box - this is the URL that you need to add http://www.shoutem.com/apps/ning/1.0/ShoutEmNingApp.xml
12. Go back to your Ning Profile page and click "settings" on your ShoutEm box which will be at the top of the page. In the first box - put the URL for your network - mine is promo101.shoutem.com and in the second box add your username - mine is admin
13. Once that is done - you are ready to post. Add a new ping on Ping.FM and it should post on all your Ning profile pages where you added the ShoutEm application.

That may seem like a lot - but imagine all the time you will save once it is setup.

This is one small part of the social media setup that we offer. It is a wonderful and very useful tool to help you connect with people on your social networks. We can even set this up so that you can "ping" through your email account. If you would like more information, feel free to contact nikki@nikkileigh.com

Till next time - Look for more tips....

Nikki Leigh
Author of Book Promo 201: Harness the Power of the Internet with Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing