The problem with most social media management solutions is that they’re either too simple or too expensive. I’ve seen some great tools for managing your Facebook or Twitter accounts, or multiple accounts, plus your blog, YouTube and more from one dashboard, but nothing that allows you to do that for more than hundreds or thousands of dollars per month. I’ve seen the ability to automatically moderate Facebook walls as functionality built into a larger solution, like a monitoring service, but they don’t offer the management piece as a separate item.
The only time my wife and mother-in-law have ever been excited about the Internet is when they get a quarterly email from Louisville Originals telling them when the next restaurant coupon fire sale will begin online. The coalition of locally owned and operated dining spots started the time-sensitive coupon deals in 2006 and area diners went nuts. Word of mouth about the 30 percent or more discounts to a really nice assortment of dining hot spots spread so fast, people without computers would rush to sign up and click. Little did Louisville Originals know it was preceding a now national trend in online deals and couponing that has quickly become a hot, yet not altogether perfect, marketing opportunity for businesses.