SocialGO Blog

Check out LoNyLa – our new featured community

Henry — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:30:32 +0000

LoNyLa is a global network, creative lab and broadcast platform that links artists to collaborate and develop new work for stage, film, tv and transmedia. They’re using SocialGO as complete online home for their group – providing their visitors information, networking and broadcasting. A vision that the new SocialGO enabled for them “in a snap.”

LoNyLa’s owner told us her favourite thing about SocialGO is that “it’s sleek and beautiful. The visual impact alone of the community pages makes a huge difference to users. If they’re uploading videos and graphics that they’ve taken time to create, they need a comparable visual environment that frames the work. The interface is more elegant than Facebook, and so users don’t feel as if they’re simply using another Facebook application. The SocialGo platform is different enough so users feel as if they’re in a customized community – but not so different that they don’t know how to use it.”

LoNyLa’s new community site has only been around for a short while, but the owner’s fantastic work is pushing it in the right direction – it’s showing signs of becoming a vibrant, fun and truly valuable resource for creative artists around the world. We wish them the best of luck with their community in the future!

Got a site you’d like us to feature? Shoot an email to featureme@socialgo.com

Woorank.com – Improve your SocialGO website’s visibility

Henry — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:02:28 +0000

We’ve recently come across a great tool that we think could really improve our users’ websites visibility on the web – WooRank is a website review and SEO tool. You can run an analysis of your site and get free tips on the steps you can take to improve it’s visibilty. This will give it more chance of appearing in people’s searches around the web!

Check out WooRank – they do one free report per week, so make sure you type in your URL carefully!

What’s YOUR SocialGO website?

Henry — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:19:11 +0000

SocialGO ’2012′ was only released yesterday, but we’ve already seen hundreds of sites starting to take shape. We’re excited to see such a wide range of groups choosing SocialGO to host their new online home – marketing groups, tea fans, music communities and, yup, even a war re-enactment group!

If you’ve created a SocialGO website and want to be featured on the blog in the coming days, send an email to featureme@socialgo.com and we’ll put you on display.

Debuting SocialGO ’2012′

alex — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:51:17 +0000

It’s been a busy and exciting few weeks at SocialGO as we have seen ’2012′, the latest release of the SocialGO platform, come to life. 2012 represents a major refresh of the network look and feel which we think will help our site owners become even more successful at creating amazing communities.

Here are the key changes:

New UI for our sites, creating a more contemporary look and feel and making the sites faster and easier than ever to use.
A navigation and structure split between the “website” and “social network” parts of your site.
The website side aims to make it easier than ever to recruit members, publish a blog, write content pages like About Us/Contact Us/Membership Rules etc
The social network has minimal branding and focuses on giving your users a kick-ass social networking experience.
We have introduced an easier signup process which allows people to get up and running faster than ever.
Moderators now have a Publish link on stream posts which allows any content on the site to be pushed out the community’s Facebook and Twitter page.
Stream posts can now be shared instantly on Facebook and Twitter to both your personal account and (if you’re a moderator) to your community’s. Followers and fans who see these posts will then visit your community and will be encouraged to join your site.

Existing customers will be able to upgrade to 2012 in the next few weeks. Please contact support@socialgo.com for more information.

What will you use the new SocialGO for? Drop us a comment and let us know!

SocialGO Spotlight: Casting Exchange

Henry — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:52:30 +0000

Casting Exchange is a popular social network exclusively for the entertainment industry – connecting actors, writers, producers, directors and agents. Founded in April of 2011, the original “Casting Exchange” quickly grew to more than 10,000+ members in less than a year. Now, they’ve found their new and improved home on SocialGO and just keep on getting bigger. Check them out here.

What is it?

Casting Exchange’s founder Ryan Felton has got his members covered – not only does he provide them with a great platform for members to network through forums, chat, and blogs, but the site also acts as an invaluable information resource for those in the industry. Audition notices are posted for aspiring actors, events to workshops are organized in the Event section and Felton blogs daily industry news. He’s fast making it a one-stop shop for anyone interested in working in the entertainment industry.

How do they use SocialGO?

Ryan has created a simple but effective design using the Canvas designer; creating a user experience that’s clear and easy to navigate. He’s also go the network linked up to his Twitter account – not only does his site display a feed of all recent tweets, but any updates to his blogs are automatically tweeted from his main twitter account. Linking your site with your Twitter account is a great way to synchronize your social presence.

Every day more and more people are getting involved with the community, and we wish Ryan the best of luck with his site. Is it popular with his members? Just ask them …

Two delicious updates and free Google Credit

Henry — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:18:46 +0000

We’re really hungry today. Can someone bake us some tasty snacks in return for these updates and amazing food puns? Thanks.

Member activity emails

So what’s on the menu today? We’ve cooked up thousands of social websites here at SocialGO – and we know one of the most important ingredients for any community is this:

To keep your community moving, members need to be reminded of what’s happening, and have a constant taste of the action.

That’s why the newest 300 members to your network will now receive email notifications about the latest member activity on your community.

You don’t want people signing up, taking a look around and then never returning – so this is a great way to get them coming back for seconds.

You can turn this off in the ‘advanced settings’ section of your admin center if you really want to – and there’s an unsubscribe link in all emails sent out.

Admin approval on member signup

Site Admins can now select a ‘require administrator approval’ setting baked into the ‘Advanced Settings’ section of their admin centre. When activated, members have to wait for you to approve them (in the ‘Member Manager’ section) before they can start contributing to your network.

This is useful if you want to maintain a fancy, exclusive member base – or if you just want to ensure you keep the bad apples out of your site.

Free Google credit for all!

Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch! We’ve partnered with Google to give all of our paying customers FREE credit for Google’s advertising system.

· Advertise locally: Your ad can be shown to customers searching in your area for what you offer.
· Easy start-up and management: AdWords Express relies on powerful technology and advertising data to set up and automatically manage your ad.
· Pay only for success: You only pay when potential customers actually click on your ads. And, you can change your budget or cancel at any time.

Those on the Premium plan get $50 and our lovely friends on the Concierge plan get $100. Please note this deal is available to paying customers – so not if you’re in your free trial!

To claim your coupon or learn more, please send us a ticket through our help portal – http://help.socialgo.com.

SocialGO Spotlight: Lis Photography

Henry — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:57:32 +0000

Lis Figueiredo is a professional photographer who uses SocialGO to manage the online presence of her company – Lis Photography

What is it?

The site is a great way for Lis to promote her services to a wide audience – she’s got galleries of previous work, information about her products and an email form so you can book your own appointment.

How do they use SocialGO?

Liz has worked hard on her custom design using our ‘Canvas’ theme designer and has customized the site to match her existing branding. She’s also got what every great site needs – interesting content that’s regularly updated.

Time for some more updates!

Henry — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:08:14 +0000

New ‘Socializer’ Theme

We’re excited to announce our newest series of ‘Socializer’ themes – available for all sites now. They sport a sleek Facebook-styled design and are formatted to look amazing on mobile phones and tablets.

Private Events

We launched ‘Events’ just before christmas, and now we’re including a much-requested addon for them. You now have the choice to make each event private. When this is selected, attendees can only join the event if they’re invited by the event owner.

SEO Title

Everyone knows how important it is to get your site on Google – and although this little option won’t get you to the top, it’ll help you make sure your listing displays properly. Click on ‘Page Settings’ for any page to set the ‘SEO Title’. This is what will display in the title bar on browsers, and in the title section of search results.

New features update

Henry — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:32:13 +0000

The SocialGO elves have been working hard to bring you some sparkling new features before the holiday season. We’ve had loads of requests for Photo Galleries, Private Messaging and Events – so, that’s what you’ve got. Read below to learn more, and happy holidays from SocialGO!

Photo Galleries

All site owners can now add photo galleries to their site. Just head to the ‘Build‘ section in your Admin panel, and click ‘Add a Page‘. You have the option of creating a Standalone Gallery, where you can organize photos into albums, or a Community Gallery, which automatically displays all member photos uploaded to your activity streams.

Private Messaging

All members in your community now have their own personal inbox – where they can receive private messages from other members. When a new message is received, a notification pops up and the recipient can carry on the conversation in the message window. Easy!

Events

The Events feature lets you and your members organize meetups, conferences, parties – or any other events related to your community! Once an event has been created and shared, people can mark their attendance as ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Maybe’ and interact with the other attendees.

Loads of New Themes

Feel like giving your site a fresh look? Check out our latest batch of new themes in the ‘Design’ section of your Admin Panel.

SocialGO welcomes Kasabian

Henry — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:57:23 +0000

SocialGO is thrilled to announce our partnership with the popular rock band Kasabian. Their new fan community website – KasabianLive.com – is fully powered by SocialGO, and allows Kasabian fans from all over the world to come together, stay in touch with the latest news, interact with the band and connect with other fans.

What’s on the site?

The band uses the blog to keep their fans up to date, which includes video diaries from their tour, competitions and general updates from the band.

When members log-in, they can create their own profile and connect with other fans through IM chat, the forums and ‘The Wall‘. Members can register instantly with their Twitter or Facebook accounts.

The chaps in the band even have their own ‘Test-Transmission’ blog for off-topic posts and funny things they want to share with their fans. Great idea!

Kasabian and SocialGO

KasabianLive.com is an example of how a social website can be a fantastic way to complement a band’s existing social media strategy.

Facebook pages are becoming an essential way for bands to post basic updates and news. But when it comes to really connecting and sharing with fans, the feature-rich community environment of a social website can give a band far more control and insight into their online fanbase.