If you want to experience the power of social marketing right now – start using tools that filter out online noise to bring you relevant information.

Gist is a free social media and web monitoring tool that accomplishes this task. The Gist technology brings your online contacts from places like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail and Outlook together in one place. The software that powers this fantastic resource scours the Internet to collect the most current Google search results, blog posts and tweets about the people and companies you are connected with online. When using Gist, you can easily track what your contacts are posting on social networks and what is being written about them online at a simple glance.

A brand is “a unique promise of value.”   It is the sum total of what is expected when people come across anything that causes them to think of you or your company.  A brand is comprised of images, words and actions. It becomes “magnetic” when the brand connects with the heart and soul of its target market.   This connection results from an individual or corporate executive being crystal clear about (1) value; (2) target market(s); (3) core needs and wants of the target market(s) and (4) exactly how the value identified in point 1 directly impacts those wants and needs.

One of the most effective ways to leverage the power of the social media and web technology to grow your business is to build a compelling and magnetic online brand online that shouts, “hire me” to prospective clients. Here are nine ways to get started.

1) Listen. Create a Google Alerts account and Tweet Beep account to monitor (i) your name; (ii) your business name; and (iii) keyword phrases related to your business solutions.

2) Develop a list of 15 keyword phrases that are relevant to your target market. Utilize the free Google keyword research tool and paid sites like Wordtracker to identify often used keyword phrases.