Posts Tagged ‘Twitter tools’
New Breed of Web Metrics Can Help Marketing Executives Make Better Decisions
Monday, November 19th, 2012As online marketing processes have evolved, the number and sophistication of software tools to support specific functions has exploded. Every discipline within marketing and PR has its own tools, among them:
Content development: CMS tools (WordPress, Joomla, HubSpot, 100s of others), Adobe CS, tools for creating infographics, etc.
SEO: backlink tools (Backlink Watch, SEOmoz, Majestic), keyword research tools, page optimization tools, SEO plugins.
Social media: social media monitoring (Radian6, Sysomos, SM2), social media management (HootSuite, SocialOomph, Buffer), Twitter tools, etc.
Web analytics: Omniture, WebTrends, Google Analytics, Clicky, and more.
All are very helpful, even essential, but most are designed for practitioners, that is: they help a specialist in a particular discipline do his or her job more effectively. Not only are they tactical, each focuses on supporting one functional silo or another. Not surprising, since this is how digital marketing is managed today—as a set of largely disconnected specialties. So much so, companies utilize different tools, resources, and in some cases, even different agencies to manage web visibility for brand, SEO, social media, PR, and paid advertising.
And of course, search has evolved—it’s no longer just 10 blue links. Today, web presence goes way beyond a company’s website. News and social links are as vital as are other points of visibility. What’s missing is the larger strategic picture needed for top-level decision-making and for managing digital marketing and PR in a coordinated manner. We’re all missing this because there aren’t tools to help us do it. Or are there?
A “Eureka” Moment
A couple of weeks ago, we blogged about the web presence optimization (WPO) framework. This model (evolved from a 2010 post) came about from KC Associates’ (KCA) client consulting projects. Operating as a cross-functional team, each consultant knew that a framework for optimization is useless unless there’s a way to track and measure gaiting factors that can be adjusted in order to move the optimization needle. So the group took a long, hard look at the tactical tools each consultant uses with a more creative mind of how they might be repurposed for WPO.
For example, SEO backlink tools can provide detailed lists of the precise backlinks to a competitor’s website. This can be quite valuable to an SEO consultant, but it’s mind-numbing overkill for a VP of marketing.
However, a graphical comparison of the type and quantity of backlinks pointing to the firm’s website and the sites of close competitors may be very enlightening (e.g., discovering that competitor A has twice as many media links and three times as many social links pointing to them)—particularly if these measures have changed significantly in a short period of time.
This simple change in thinking was truly eye-opening.
Necessity is the Mother of Invention
First and foremost, the WPO framework provides the strategic and structural approach to the unified management of web visibility. And WPO metrics that support this framework provide the critical measurement necessary to enable the overall coordination of these disciplines to improve presence optimization and performance.
The set of 100+ WPO metrics that the group developed for KCA clients is driven by data collected by a host of off-the-shelf tools as well as some custom developed sources. As a collection, the attributes of these metrics differ from what most other tracking and measurement tools are set up to provide in six distinct ways:
- • Focus on management, not execution. WPO metrics are designed to support management decision-making (e.g., where should we devote more resources) rather than tweaks to specific tactics. Put another way, they are about the “what” rather than the “how.”
- • Provide a unified view of results. They provide leaders and team members with an overall picture of press (media outlets), social, website (organic search), industry (e.g. associations, research organizations) and paid web presence. The tactical tools available tend to focus on one or two of these areas.
- • Include competitor metrics. An organization’s digital marketing results don’t exist in a vacuum; it’s critical to be able to view results in the context of competitive activities. Competitive benchmarking is vital to developing strategy and allocating resources.
- • Reflect the value of owned, earned and paid presence, not just the company website. What customers, analysts, journalists, bloggers, and others have to say about you is sometimes more important than your own content. WPO metrics show the value of all of your points of web presence, whether it’s your content or something produced by a third party.
- • Are actionable and NOT “everything but kitchen sink.” Too many tools try to report every possible detail, rather than just what’s important. The result is data overload and analysis paralysis. It’s confusing and too much to absorb, and therefore doesn’t get acted upon. Best-practice WPO metrics focus only on measures that support concrete action.
- • Identify clear priorities. While WPO metrics cover a lot of ground, not every measure matters all the time. For example, if your media share-of-voice remains about the same from one month to the next, but your AdWords conversion rate drops by half, WPO metrics focus on the latter result.
WPO metrics won’t replace tactical, execution-level tools, but they will help guide decisions about which functional tools to use and how to coordinate the tasks of different disciplines for a larger purpose. They fill a critical gap by giving marketing executives, and everyone on digital marketing and PR teams, a unified view of web presence that reflects a more integrated optimization effort.
28 (of the) Best Twitter Tips, Tools and Tactics of 2012 (So Far)
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012Twitter isn’t just for the birds anymore. According to recent social media research, Twitter now has more than 165 million users, and is attracting nearly a million new users each day. Twitterers collectively post a billion tweets every three days. 62% of the Fortune 500 companies have at least one Twitter account, and the average Fortune 100 firm maintains 10 separate Twitter handles to support different product lines, divisions, functional areas and geographic regions.
How can you stand out among all the chirping, build your Twitter presence, grow your following, and get your content promoted?
Find the answers to those and many more questions here in more than two dozen of the best Twitter how-to guides, resources, tools and reviews of 2012 so far.
Twitter Tips for Newbies
A Beginner’s Guide to Twitter and the Twittersphere Culture by Creative Marketing Channel
Catherine Lockey helpfully walks new Twitterers through the process of getting started and building a following on Twitter, from opening an account and creating lists through DMs, retweets, hashtags, post frequency, following back and more.
Beginner Tips For Your Corporate Twitter Publishing Schedule by Social Fresh
Writing that “Twitter provides an opportunity to mix structure and spontaneity in your business communication,” Brad Shorr offers guidance on scheduling tweets without going overboard on automation, from picking the right scheduling platform to categorizing the content you want to tweet to using repetition (carefully).
How to Grow Your Twitter Following
4 Ways to Grow a Twitter Following That Matters by Social Media Examiner
To grow a relevant and productive following on Twitter, Rich Brooks recommends avoiding shady tactics and shows how to do it right, starting with creating a strong profile (including your real face, detailed bio and physical location) and using third-party tools and directories to find interesting people to follow, and progressing through promoting your Twitter account through other channels (your website, email signature, etc.).
10 Ways to Build Your Twitter Following Like Big Brands Do by iMedia Connection
Contending that “it doesn’t take a big team and millions of dollars to get attention on Twitter,” John Manoogian III recommends emulating 10 strategies used by big brands, such as polishing your image: “Customize your background with something that fits you. Use a large image or a tasteful pattern. Check out Themeleon or Pixelgirl Presents for ideas.” Also on his list: staying positive. “Big brands typically emphasize positive things and never go on a stream of consciousness rant. When necessary, present thoughtful criticism but keep it professional.”
WTF? Twitter Abbreviations
OMG! Over 40 Twitter Abbreviations You Should Know by Social Media Today
If you’ve spend any time on Twitter you know what an RT is, and you’ve perhaps responded to an amusing one with LOL or even LMAO, but are you familiar with MT, OH, OMW, SMH and HtH? If not, check out this big list of Twitter abbreviations from Tammy Kahn Fennell.
Top Twitter Abbreviations You Need to Know by Social Media Today
Want even more Twitter shorthand? Bliss Hanlin provides a list of about 140 (how appropriate) examples of Twitter shorthand ranging from the obscure (CX = correction) to the borrowed-from-the-military (SNAFU, FUBAR) to common hastags (#FF for follow Friday).
Tips for Twitter Brand Pages
4 Ways to Leverage Twitter’s New Brand Pages by iMedia Connection
David Clarke explains four ways that businesses can capitalize on Twitter brand pages, including enhanced customization, “turning Twitter into a more sustainable channel of its own. It’s easier to promote hashtags, Twitter chats and special promotions specific to the brand.”
New Twitter Brand Pages – Guideline and Examples by DreamGrow Social Media
Mart Prööm explains half a dozen things companies can do with Twitter brand pages, such as using calls to action and promoting limited time offers, and includes 12 examples of famous brand pages including Disney Pixar, Audi, Pepsi and Red Bull.
4 smart tactics for brands on Twitter by iMedia Connection
Jon Elvekrog details “four concrete strategies to use social advertising to deepen your brand impact on Twitter” for brands, among them getting your content “in front of connected fans. These Twitter users are active sharers — spreading ideas, offers, and messages among their own followers and people aligned with their interest graph. If you get your paid campaign in front of influencers, they’ll spread your messages for you — and bring them to many more people than you originally targeted.”
17 Examples of Twitter Brand Page Backgrounds to Inspire You by HubSpot
Noting that “first impressions matter. So if you’re trying to build a remarkable social media presence, you can bet that the look and feel of your brand pages in social media will make an impression on new visitors who know nothing or little about you,” Pamela Vaughan showcases examples of brand pages that visually capture the reader’s attention including Spotify, Target and Zipcar.
General Twitter Guides, Tips & Tactics
How To Build Your Professional Twitter Brand by Heidi Cohen
According to research cited by Heidi Cohen, “the most positively received tweets are asking your followers questions, sharing useful information, and letting people know you’ve just created new content…By contrast, the least liked tweets are those that let the world know what you’re doing and broad greetings with no added information.” Among her top 10 tips for building your Twitter brand: dress your Twitter profile for success, offer meaty Twitter content, and give digital shoutouts to colleagues and others.
How To Optimize Twitter: Be Real, Profiles, RT, Hashtags & More by Search Engine Watch
Noting that’s it’s getting tougher to stand out on Twitter now than it was in the less-crowded early days of the platform, Lisa Buyer provides several tips for brands and individuals, such as “keeping it real” (showing personality as well as business content), optimizing your profile (with specific best practices), and using hashtags carefully.
Rocking the A to Z of Twitter and Tweets by Resume Bear
***** 5 STARS
Shirley Williams creatively offers 26 Twitter tips alphabetically, from A (“Audience – Followers that connect with you because they believe you do interesting things and/or have interesting things to say”) to Z (“Zed Carpet – …Listerious is a great site to get acquainted with the Who’s who of Twitter by all kinds of categories”).
Secrets of Becoming a Pro B2B Tweeter by Social Media Today
Do you wonder how your Twitter presence looks to others? Kevin Jorgensen recommends using TwitCleaner (a recommendation I strongly endorse) to check your own Twitter profile for sins like excessively retweeting, too many links, too much self-promotion, too much use of automation and other sins. Then he provides several tips for improvement such as participating in Tweet chats and actually conversing with people.
The Top 10 Reasons You Need to Use Twitter Lists Now by Bad Redhead Media
Rachel Thompson offers 10 reasons for using Twitter lists, such as that you can use them to categorize up to 10,000 followers, they can help increase your Klout score, and “Lists are a perfect way to attract followers to your stream. People are flattered you’ve added them to a list. It means you care enough to take that extra step (which takes seconds). It’s like you invited them to an exclusive party.”
Tailoring Twitter: The ROI of Curating Content on Twitter by Successful Blog
Liz Strauss explains the benefits of curating content on Twitter and how to do it well, closing with “The ROI of curating content on twitter is the influence gained from incrementally staying in sync with the tools and the culture while still listening.”
6 Data-Backed Tips for Getting More Retweets [Research] by HubSpot
Wondering what type of information, timing or tactics will garner the most retweets? Dan Zarella shares half a dozen research-based tips for maximizing pass-along on Twitter, including “Say Something New. When I compared the ‘commonness’ of certain words in retweets versus the ‘commonness’ of words contained in a random sampling of non-retweeted tweets, I found that retweets tend to contain much rarer words. People don’t want to retweet the same things that everyone else is saying, they want their tweets to stand out!”
Twitter Tool Reviews
4 Twitter Analytics Tools For Your Business by Social Fresh
Amy Moczynski provides helpful, detailed reviews of four tools for Twitter analytics: SocialBro (which she calls “the most comprehensive tool for analyzing Twitter data that I’ve found…after entering your Twitter log in information, prepare for your mind to be blown”), TweetStats, TwentyFeet and PostPost.
Want Guest Post Links? Find Them Via Twitter [TOOL] by The Daily SEO Blog
If you’re ready to get your geek on, this post from Ethan Lyon presents a tool and instructions for finding blog guest posting opportunities via Twitter. The tool pulls an RSS feed into “Google Docs, finds all of the t.co URLs, enlarges them, eliminates duplicates based on domain, and presents them in a nice package.” For the slightly less ambitious or technical, try Blogger LinkUp.
The Top 20 Twitter Clients being Used in 2012 by WindMill Networking
Neal Schaffer serves up brief reviews of the top tools for tweeting. Not surprisingly, HootSuite, Tweetdeck, and Twitter itself top the list. I would have expected Buffer to show up a bit higher than #13, though as Neal notes, it’s not strictly speaking a Twitter client but rather “a perfect complement to help you schedule your posting on Twitter.”
12 Most Clever Twitter Tools by 12 Most
The ebullient Peg Fitzpatrick reviews a dozen top Twitter tools for various functions, including Tweepi for cleaning up your Twitter following with following/unfollowing help, Formulists for organizing and managing your community through smart Twitter lists, and Twitalyzer for analyzing the Twitter influence of anyone on Twitter.
5 Best Analytics Tools for Twitter Search by DreamGrow Social Media
Tom Chu offers brief reviews of five Twitter analytics tools including The Archivist (“This tool works in just the way it sounds. You download the desktop app and it archives search results for you to go through later. The search will find as many results as possible, and then you poll those results without you having to monitor it”), Twitter Counter and What The Hashtag.
A Silver Lining In This Cloud by THINKing
Harry Hoover recommends using SocialBro to create word clouds revealing the terms that your friends and followers tweet about most frequently. “You might discover new topics with which to engage your friends and followers. Further, you can drill down by tags to find out specifically which friends or followers are talking about that word.” You can also use TweetCloud to see which terms you use most often.
More Twitter Tools
Per the website, Itweetlive’s “Conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) search engine uses advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and clustering tools to gather similar status updates, provide response suggestions based on real-time Twitter analytics, and measure engagement levels. In this way, we build a smart conversational tree that actually suggests the best statistical responses for status updates received in the future.” Basically, it lets you use statistical rules to talk “personally” to many people at once. Interesting concept.
A slick little low-cost tool that enables you to store up to 25 different search phrases for Twitter, identify potential followers / people to follow based on those searches, manage your follow/unfollow activity, and direct message any or all followers (up to Twitter’s daily limits).
A free or low-cost Twitter management tool that provides Twitter use statistics, weekly email digests, scheduled tweeting, conversation tracking, sorting of friends and followers, and an activity feed. Paid versions add features like bit.ly integration and the ability to manage up to 60 Twitter accounts.
The original hashtag wiki. Search for any phrase and see a collection of hashtags associated with it.
One Final Twitter Stat
Social Media Infographics & Stats
Andres Silvaa shares an infographic from Klout which shows the expected half-life of a tweet based on the tweeter’s Klout score. For users with Klout scores under 40, activity tends to die off after 25 minutes and a handful of retweets, while those with scores of 75 and above can expect hundreds of retweets over three to six hours.
Best Twitter Guides, Tips and Tools of 2010
Monday, January 31st, 2011Twitter came of age in 2010, growing at a scorching pace—from 75 million users at the beginning of the year to more than 190 million by the end of December. Twitter is used (officially) in 65 of the Fortune 100 companies, 63% of small to midsized businesses, and nearly half of all B2B enterprises.
As adoption skyrockets, marketers are striving to optimize their use of the world’s most popular microblogging platform. And that leads to questions, like: What are the best ways to attract more (relevant) followers? What types of information are worth sharing, beyond blog posts? Which companies are really succeeding on Twitter, and how are they doing it? How can I get more retweets? What’s a Twitter chat, and how do I participate in one? Which are the most helpful third-party tools for Twitter?
Get the answers to these questions and more here in some of the best Twitter guides, tips and tools of the past year.
How to Get More Followers on Twitter
How to grow your Twitter following by iMedia Connection
***** 5 Stars
Based on research, Courtney Wiley reveals what type of content to tweet, when to tweet it, and the ideal frequency of tweeting to use in order to grow a Twitter following.
47 Twitter Power Users’ Secrets To Getting Many Followers by JobMob
A selection of the Twitterati share their advice—ranging from short snippets to fairly detailed guidelines—on how to grow your Twitter following. Robert Scobel, Dan Schawbel, Peter Shankman and many of the others are legit no doubt, though a few of the “power users” here are questionable. Still, lots of good advice.
Get More Twitter Followers by Treating Your Profile Like a Landing Page by Social Times
Darko Johnson shows how to apply the principles of effective landing page design to your Twitter profile in order to increase the likelihood that people who see your profile will choose to follow you.
20 ways to increase the number of your followers on Twitter by Web SEO Analytics
Wisely warning against the use of automated programs or techniques, Vasilis Vryniotis offers 20 “white hat” best practices for increasing your Twitter following naturally, such as promoting your Twitter handle in online and offline locations (your blog, website, email signature and business cards), adding yourself to Twitter directories, and perhaps most important: mentioning and thanking the people who help you.
Why 150 Followers Is All You Really Need by TwiTip
Then again, do you really need more followers? Srinivas Rao uses the theory of Dunbar’s Number to argue that 150 followers is all one needs on Twitter. The author makes an intriguing case, but I’m not sure I buy it (particularly given that he follows over 1,300 people on Twitter).
How to Do Lots of Other Things on Twitter
16 bitchin’ commands and shortcuts for Twitter by eConsultancy
Want to quickly see the last tweet from a particular Twitterer? Or the most recent tweets mentioning that person? How about performing advanced searches on Twitter, like exact match, either/or, hyper-local (with x miles of…), or find questions you can answer? Chris Lake shows you how to do all of this and much more with these helpful Twitter shortcuts.
40 useful things you can share on Twitter besides blog posts by Social Media Today
Frequent best-of contributor Adam Vincenzini contends that “the more unusual and varied your stream is, the better—both for you and your followers.” And with that in mind, he lists more than three dozen types of items you can share on Twitter other that stuff from your RSS stream, such as a new app or tool (with a quick tweet review), an interesting hashtag or discussion, an interesting/relevant YouTube video or a link to a Twitter list you think is worth following.
7 Really Cool Things About the New Twitter by Social Media Today
Tia Peterson praises seven features of the new Twitter interface (such as the “Recently Listed” box, easy DM replies, and ability to send a tweet from any page) but also cites three areas that still need improvement.
How Many Times Do You Tweet Your Blog Post? by Ask Aaron Lee
Most bloggers tweet each of their posts only once. How many times should a post be tweeted? In this post, Aaron Lee and Guy Kawasaki recommend an ideal frequency, backed up with some highly logical reasoning. Spock would approve.
How Twitter increased my blog’s traffic by 300% in one week by MackCollier.com
Ever wonder exactly what impact Twitter can have on blog traffic? Mack Collier details an experiment he ran and shares the nitty gritty numbers and percentages, as well as the process he used, concluding “even if you only have 100 followers, you can still leverage Twitter as a tool to build your blog IF you are active on Twitter. Active interacting with others, engaging in conversations, and linking to valuable content.”
13 Twitter Tips for Increasing Engagement by Sazbean
Sarah Worsham lists helpful tips for increasing engagement and growing your following on Twitter, such as sharing and retweeting, asking questions, attending tweetups and using Twitter directories to find people in your industry.
Twitter success stories: Explaining the ROI of Twitter by {grow}
As Mark Schaefer explains, “There are MANY benefits to Twitter besides direct sales. You might gain information, competitive intelligence, insight, a new supplier or partner, publicity, brand awareness, an idea, customer insights, and yes, even a potential customer. And while all of these are great, most are intangible and difficult to display in an Excel spreadsheet! So why keep trying to do it?…When benefits are difficult to quantify, the best way to explain the value is through a story.”
8 Ways to Not Get ReTweeted by HubSpot Blog
Dan Zarrella uses extensive HubSpot research to show that practices like talking about yourself, dumbing down the readability of your tweets, eschewing links, and repeating the same things everyone else is saying are great ways to avoid being retweeted.
26 Twitter Tips for Enhancing Your Tweets by Social Media Examiner
***** 5 Stars
Debbie Hemley provides a highly creative A-Z list of practical tips for maximizing the business impact of your tweets, from Answers and Behind-the-Scenes info to utilizing YouTube and a Zippy Writing Style.
4 Rules for Marketing on Twitter by Practical eCommerce
Paul Chaney reveals the “unwritten” rules for earning influence on Twitter, for example: “Don’t Follow Just to Pitch. A distasteful trend has developed among newer Twitter users. For example, people are following me and when I respond in kind, their first tweets are frequently to pitch me on a website they want me to visit or a service they provide…If you want a formula for how marketing via Twitter and other social networks should work, it’s this: Connect > Converse > Convert.”
Calculating and Improving Your Twitter Click-through-Rate by SEOmoz
The brilliant but oblivious Rand Fishkin illustrates how to calculate your Twitter click-through rate (CTR) and notes some findings from his own experience: shorter tweets and those that are on-topic (whatever your primary topic is) tend to get retweeted more frequently. Somewhat surprisingly, Klout scores appear to have little correlation with retweet rates.
Twitter Dictionary | 35 Twitter Abbreviations by Bit Rebels
Primarily for Twitter newbies, Diana Adams defines nearly three dozen common Twitter / texting abbreviations such as DM (direct message), IRL (in real life) and Gr8 (self-explanatory).
Typecasting Twitter: 7 Top Uses by iMedia Connection
Noting that “Twenty nine percent, one in every three tweets yields some kind of reaction—comments, re-tweets or clicks. Ten percent prompt a reply to the original tweet. These are direct marketing nirvana numbers,” Daniel Flamberg dissects research to isolate the seven most common uses of Twitter.
How to Participate in a Twitter Chat Session like #BlogChat or #AgChat by ag – a colorful adventure
For those who haven’t participated in a Twitter chat session before, Janice Person provides clear, step-by-step instructions for getting setup, using controls, and keeping up with the stream of conversation.
3 Absolutely Cool Twitter Search Tricks to Help You Save Money! by Sexy Social Media
In this helpful but brief post, Annie Wallace shares three clever Twitter search tricks you may not be aware of.
Best of 2010: 14 Ways Every Business Should Be Using Twitter by Inkling Media
Ken Mueller lists 14 practices businesses can adopt to optimize their benefit from Twitter, such as providing customer service, promoting events and monitoring competitors.
Twitter Tools
20 Top Twitter Monitoring and Analytics Tools by Pamorama
Pam Dyer serves up brief reviews of more useful Twitter tools including Twitscoop (trend-monitoring), TweetBuzzer (identifies popular brands on Twitter), Twitter Analyzer (kind of like Google Analytics for Twitter) and Tweeps (get stats that help you decide who to follow—or not—and find people you’d like to have following you).
How to Add a Tweet Button Anywhere by SitePoint
While there are several easy avenues to placing a Tweet button on a blog, Alyssa Gregory supplies simple instructions for adding Tweet buttons in other venues like emails, PDFs and Facebook pages.
11 Websites to Schedule Your Tweets Online for Free by TwiTip
Young Yang reviews free tools for scheduling tweets, like FutureTweets, HootSuite and SocialOomph. It’s important to remember that Twitter is a social platform, so your followers will expect interaction; if you’re busted relying too heavily on automated or pre-scheduled tweets, you will lose followers. However, these tools can be very helpful if used strategically and sparingly.
Type in any three words or phrases and compare how often each is tweeted about.
5 Best Twitter Tools For Smarter Blogging by Smedio
Sridhar Ramunajam provides quick reviews of five helpful Twitter tools including dlvr.it for auto-publishing blog content to Twitter and TweetStats, which provides stats about your account (e.g., tweets per hour, tweets per month, tweet timeline) in graphical format.
Six Benefits to Using Twitter.com Instead of an App by TwiTip
Shannon Albert makes the case for using Twitter itself rather than a third-party app (e.g., HootSuite or TweetDeck) for interacting on Twitter: it’s faster, has no limits on Tweets per hour and lets you see other users’ custom backgrounds among other advantages.
Twitter Stats
All You Need to Know About Twitter in 2010 [Infographic] by Mediabistro
Lauren Dugan presents an infographic from Flowtown that reviews Twitter highlights of 2010, from Bill Gates setting up a Twitter account in January through celebrity digital death at year end.
Related Post
50 (of the) Best Twitter Guides, Stats, Tips and Tools of 2010 (So Far)
50 (of the) Best Twitter Guides, Stats, Tips and Tools of 2010 (So Far)
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010While a dwindling number of business executives still dismiss Twitter as a waste of time, recent research suggests it is one of the most valuable social networks for business. Awareness of Twitter has exploded; 87% of Americans said they were “familiar with” Twitter in a poll taken earlier this year, versus just 5% in 2008 and 26% in 2009. Although fewer Americans use Twitter than Facebook, Twitter users “are far more likely to follow Brands/ Companies than social networkers in general. 51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks. Twitter users frequently exchange information about products and services.” 71% of business users now say Twitter is a useful tool, up from 59% a year ago. And 52% of journalists say they use Twitter to research stories and discover what’s hot.
So what are the best ways to use Twitter for business? How you can use it most effectively? Which tools are most helpful? You’ll find the answers to these questions and many more here in 50 of the best Twitter tools, posts, how-to guides and rants of 2010 so far.
Twitter Facts, Figures & Stats
New Data on Twitter Usage Can Strengthen Your Twitter Outreach by Search Engine Guide
Jennifer Laycock reports some fascinating statistics and insights from a HubSpot study, revealing factoids such as: the average Twitter user has about 300 followers and follows 170. Thursday is the busiest day of the week on Twitter, and the highest click through rate on tweeted links occurs between 2 and 3pm. Tweets that include links are far more likely to be retweeted than tweets without links. And much more.
The Truth About the Average Twitter User [STATS] by Mashable
Ben Parr digs into a study from Barracuda Labs demonstrating how power users rule on Twitter: “Only 26% of Twitter users had 10 followers or more by December 2009, while only 40% were following 10 people or more (in fact, a majority of Twitter users, 51%, were following less than five people)…only 21% of Twitter users are active users.”
I Tweet Therefore I Am by Brian Solis
How popular is Twitter? Who’s really using it? Brian Solis provides a wealth of statistics that answer these questions and more, e.g., 87% of Americans said they were familiar with Twitter in 2010, up from just 26% in 2009. Total volume is approaching 50 million tweets per day. Women slightly outnumber men, and one-third of Twitters are in the 25-34 year-old age bracket. 63% have at least a college degree, and roughly a quarter earn more than $75,000 per year (a figure that is likely higher, as 27% refused to answer the question).
The Ultimate List: 100+ Twitter Statistics by HubSpot
***** 5 Stars
Kipp Bodnar collects 17 Twitter infographics quantifying everything from the different categories of tweets and how Twitter compares to Facebook to the peak days for different types of tweets and the most-followed Twitter users (Ryan Seacrest beats CNN; that’s just sad).
Tracking the National Mood Through Twitter by The New York Times
Nick Bilton reports on how researchers from Northeastern University and Harvard have analyzed Twitter messages to keep tabs on the nation’s mood. Among the findings: during the work week, people are happiest in the early morning and late evening. When Twitter users get collectively upset, the most negative tweets tend to come from the central states and the East Coast. And as perhaps a hopeful sign, “the peak of happiness on Twitter is reached on Sunday mornings.”
Why should brands bother with Twitter? This table says why by Social Media Today
Dirk Singer uses data from an ExactTarget study to show that “US Twitter users in April 2010 were far more likely than general Internet users to post to forums (75% vs 25%), blog (72% vs 14%), comment on blogs (70% vs 23%) and post ratings / reviews (61% vs 20%). In other words, the 14 million odd people who regularly go on Twitter (as opposed to the 95 million that have signed up), are already active in social media, know how to make things happen and to create noise – good or bad – online, and take conversations elsewhere, be that to blogs, forums, other social networks, or even the mainstream media.”
How-To Guides and Best Practices
10 Tips to Getting More Retweets by TwiTip
Kiesha Easley shares her personal story of transition from Twitter newbie to expert and offers 10 tips for getting retweets she learned along the way including sending direct messages, tweeting others’ blog posts and responding to interesting tweets.
8 Simple Steps to Growing a Quality Twitter Following by Social Media Examiner
Cindy King supplies an excellent guide to creating a tweet plan, a strategic approach to using Twitter, though she helpfully warns “Don’t make the mistake of relying solely on the scheduled tweets in the tweet plan to connect with people and expect to build your business. You still need live tweets to engage with people.”
Secrets of Twitter Hashtags (For Those Still Unsure) by Interactive Insights Group
For those unsure of what hashtags are or unaware of their many uses on Twitter, Robin Broitman offers an extensive list of hashtag resources and guides.
Twitter: The 7 Rules of Business Engagement by Smedio
Douglas Idugboe advises Twitterers to keep their Twitter handle as short as possible (to help with retweets), avoid automated DM welcome messages (hate these!), be conversant, and retweet others among his best practices.
HOW TO: Make the Most of Your Twitter Profile Page by Mashable
Amy-Mae Elliott offers guidance on writing a great bio, selecting a Twitter picture, making the best use of your URL link and using lists to optimize your Twitter profile.
How to Monitor Your Brand Using Twitter Search by Pamorama
The always insightful Pam Dyer embeds and summarizes a video from John Hayden demonstrating how to create saved searches (for your brand, competitors, industry terms, etc.) in Twitter, track URL mentions, create feeds from searches and more.
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Tweets by Smedio
Jay Adams suggests that the “Twitter traits that make for effective tweets” include clarity, brevity (pretty much a requirement given the 140-character limit), and strategic use of keywords and links among other characteristics.
62 Ways to Use Twitter for Business by GigaOM
Twitter isn’t just for linking to blog posts or telling the world what you had for breakfast, as Meryl K Evans demonstrates in this extensive list of the business uses of Twitter such answering questions, providing highlights from a conference or event, getting and giving referrals, finding topic experts and tracking conversations about your brand.
The Ultimate Guide to Twitter Theme Design by 1stwebdesigner
***** 5 Stars
Anastasia Miles provides an outstanding, detailed, richly illustrated step-by-step guide to creating an attractive and effective Twitter background.
5 Secrets To Get Retweets That The Experts Won’t Tell You by Tremendous News
Am irreverent yet informative post that could have been included instead in the most-entertaining-of-the-year category, but is too helpful not to put here, on how to get more retweets. Example: “1. Focus On The Sexually Active. Think of a retweet as an STD. But one that’s not devastating. One that still retains a measure of hilarity. Crabs. Let’s do crabs. Now picture twitter as sexy college campus during the first week of school…Who is in danger of getting crabs?…Is the fat, hairy terroristy looking dude going to get crabs? Of course not. So don’t fill your followers with people like him. Focus on the sexually-liberated cool kids.”
21 Twitter Tips From Socially Savvy Companies by Fast Company
The ubiquitous Brian Solis offers tips for Twitter success based on the experience of real-world companies like Dell (special offers), Comcast (customer service), using dedicated brand channels (Ford) and developing new ideas (Starbucks).
Twitter 101 for Business: A Special Guide by Twitter
Must-reading for any business owner or executive who still doesn’t “get” Twitter – the folks actually behind the world’s most popular microblogging platform put together a detailed guide to using Twitter for business, covering everything from getting set up and learning the lingo to building relationships and measuring value.
The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter by Webdesigner Depot
*****5 Stars
In this ambitious, long and lavishly illustrated post, Angela West compiles a remarkable collection of Twitter tips, etiquette, jargon, tools, apps, icons, WordPress plugins and more.
50 Power Twitter Tips by Chris Brogan
Social media rock star Chris Brogan offers 50 tips for interaction, technical considerations, business, integration, and off-Twitter activities (e.g., “Think of Twitter as a guidance system to what you think is interesting. A lot of that is likely off-Twitter.”).
10 Reasons You’re Not Getting Followers on Twitter by Social Media Today
Paul Sutton lists factors that can turn off potential followers on Twitter including using your profile to sell, excessively automating your tweets and tweeting repetitive messages.
Twitter Tips – Things You Should Know by Trailblaze Social Media with Josh
Joshua Lyons provides a short but useful set of tips he believes can help “make the difference between mediocre Twitter use and excellent Twitter use.”
Twitter SEO
How to Turn Your Twitter Profile Page into an SEO Masterpiece by TwiTip
David McClellan presents an outstanding to optimizing all of the elements of your Twitter profile (name, bio, avatar, URL and feed) for search.
Twitter SEO Best Practices by SEOptimise
Tad Chef covers the best practices for SEO with Twitter: how to rank in search with your profile and tweets, get found in Twitter search, make your tweets spread virally and capitalize on Google real-time search.
Twitter Strategy
Successful Twitter Marketing Strategies by Social Media Optimization
According to a MarketingProfs study, monitoring and responding to brand mentions are ranked among the most successful Twitter marketing tactics by both B2B and B2C marketers. Driving sales directly was ranked by both groups as the least effective use of the platform.
In Social Media, Twitter is Just the Start by Social Steve’s Blog
Steve Goldner lays out a strategy for using Twitter in conjunction with other social media tools like blogs, YouTube and Flickr to optimize your social media marketing success.
7 Insanely Useful Ways to Search Twitter for Marketing by OPEN Forum
John Jantsch shows how to target Twitter users by occupation, bio or location and get the most out of Twitter by creating “some very powerful searches and alerts combining Google and Twitter.”
9 Questions for Analyzing the Tweet Stream by iMedia Connection
Frequent best-of contributor Daniel Flamberg outlines the two biggest issues facing brands on Twitter, nine questions for addressing them, and a strategy for answering those questions to “get a feel for what’s being said, understand competitive comparisons, potentially identify brand loyalists or opinion-makers worthy of extra care and attention and intervene before problems or negative comments cascade into real trouble.”
Benefits of Twitter by Boomtown Internet Group
I’m guessing English isn’t Priyo’s first language so pardon the grammar and word usage issues here, but he presents a nice list of the benefits of Twitter use for business such as for collaboration, promoting content and improving SEO.
The A-Z List: How Twitter Can Make You A Better Blogger by Ink Rebels
***** 5 Stars
Diana Adams puts together a remarkable and entertaining post, lavishly illustrated, extolling the benefits of Twitter from A (“A is for – Ask”) to Z (“Z is for – Zen”).
14 Cool Things People Do On Twitter by Penn Olson
Sarah Chong’s recommendations for Twitter use range from the common (learn, be heard) to the unusual (monitor sensors in your home, catch thieves) to the truly inspired (write poetry).
Twitter Tools and Reviews
Twitter stats and analytics tools – top 10 by Social Media Today
Chris Norton writes that “There are hundreds of twitter tools that measure different statistics out there but many can be a bit of a waste of time. I have been through most of them in the last few years and given them some kind of test” before setting out mini-reviews of his top 10 picks including TweetStats, Tweetmeme and Twitterholic.
Get rid of stale Twitter users that have stopped tweeting by Social Media Today
It’s Chris Norton again, this time providing a quick review of UnTweeps, an handy tool for culling inactive Twitter users from those you follow.
The Complete Twitter ‘Follow / Unfollow’ Toolkit by COMMS Corner
The brilliant Adam Vincenzini offers a concise but valuable list of tools and advice for managing your Twitter following.
Local Tweets: 9 Ways to Find Twitter Users in Your Town by Mashable
Josh Catone describes how to use local events and tools like Localtweeps and TwitterLocal to identify and connect with Twitter users in your local vicinity.
Busting through the Twitter noise to find a signal by {grow}
Guest author Frank Podlaha explains how to craft a search strategy and then use tools like LocalChirps, Twitscoop and Radian6 to cut through the clutter on Twitter and find exactly what you’re looking for.
Twitter ROI: Show Your Clients the Effectiveness of Twitter Campaigns by Web Analytics World
Chuckie Oliver reviews five key tools for measuring the effectiveness of Twitter activities including Twitter Analyzer, Klout and Tweet Stats.
36 Twitter Resources: Advanced Twitter Search for Business by Social Media Today
Coree Silvera compiles an outstanding list of tools for Twitter research and monitoring, directories and geolocation, along with links to articles on improving Twitter search skills.
9 Twitter Apps Worth Another Look by Web Analytics World
Manoj Jasra reviews “interesting Twitter apps” Tweetshare, ComTweets, TheCadmus and half a dozen others.
27 Twitter Tools To Help You Find And Manage Followers by 1stwebdesigner
Dainis Graveris writes brief reviews of more than two dozen Twitter follower management tools including FriendOrFollow, WeFollow, Twubble and My Tweeple.
4 Free Tools that Publish Blog Updates to Twitter by Freesourcing Blog
Mini-reviews of that use RSS to automatically publish blog posts to your social networking sites inclding Dlvr.it and RSS2Twitter.
Top 20 Sites to Improve Your Twitter Experience by Mashable
Vadim Lavrusik offers his list of “the top 20 third-party websites for making your Twitter experience more useful and easier to manage,” including tools for management, filtering (such as the very cool create-your-own-newspaper site Paper.li), spotting trends, making lists, finding new followers, measuring influence, sharing photos and video, conducting polls and more.
The Ultimate Collection of FREE Twitter Tools by Regillo Consulting Group
***** 5 Stars
An outstanding collection of Twitter tools for analytics, business, follower/following management, network building, information gathering, media sharing, organization, blogging and more.
Don’t want to go through the trouble of creating a coolio Twitter background from scratch? Themeleon is a cool tool that automates Twitter background theme development.
***** 5 Stars
One of the tightest Twitter tools around, Tweetake lets you export your followers and following lists to Excel for analysis, grouping, backup or any other purpose you can think of. In the words of the site, “The brainchild of Alfred Armstrong and Nikki Pilkington, Tweetake is here to allow you to back-up your followers, people you are following and Tweets with just one click.”
Sort of Swiss Army knife for Twitter, Tweasier’s functions include Twitter analytics, finding and sorting followers, email alerts, conversation tracking and more. Free and fee-based versions are offered.
Slick map-based interface lets you zoom in on any geographic area to find local Tweeps to follow.
Twitter Rants and Musings
Why Your 4,243,564 Twitter Followers Don’t Mean Jack by aimClear
Another post that would have been a great post to include in most-entertaining-of-the-year as well. We’ve all seen the buffoons on Twitter who somehow manage to amass a large following despite offering no apparent value or even seeming to have a clue as to what “social” media means. Noting that “there are also bandwagon-jumping companies and celebrity glory-whores who go at Twitter like a portly dude at a buffet. They use it as self-centered bullhorn and nothing more,” Lauren Litwinka here brilliantly categorizes these Twitter-star wannabes into archetypes such as “You have 822,780 followers. You follow two people,” “Your feed consists of status updates. And only status updates” and my favorite: “You share would-be Zen gems through a f*cking API.”
Ten Things You Need to Stop Tweeting About by The Oatmeal
Simply awesome. Anyone who’s spent any serious time will relate to this entertaining and creative list of things we’re tired of seeing people tweet about, including what they’re eating, their workouts, their pets, and the incredible (or not so) number of Twitter followers they have.
Bye Bye Birdie: Why Twitter is On the Outs by Techi
Timothy James Duffy argues that Twitter’s popularity is fleeting, it offers most users little value, and it will never make money. Agree? Disagree? Check out the 72 comments in response to this post.
44 (of the) Best Twitter Articles and Blog Posts of 2009
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010There’s no doubt that Twitter is a phenomenon. It’s now the third-largest social network (behind Facebook and MySpace), the fastest-growing, and used by 75% of b2b companies. How can you optimize your organization’s use of Twitter? What are the best ways to search on this platform? How can you measure results? What are the best tools for increasing your effectiveness and efficiency on Twitter?
Discover the answers to these questions and others in this collection of some of the best blog posts and articles about Twitter from the past year.
Twitter Tips & Tactics
The Twitter Guide Book by Mashable
????? 5 stars
How-To: Create a Unique Twitter Background (UPDATED) by Interactive Insights Group
Robin Broitman
Twenty-One Top Twitter Tips by Forbes
Daniel Adler
HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Twitter #Hashtags by Mashable
Ben Parr
How to score the coveted retweet by iMedia Connection
Reid Carr
Free Twitter Backgrounds: 26 Sites To Get Them by Web Resources Depot
Twitter, chat and text messaging abbreviations by SearchCRM
Find Local People on Twitter Using NearbyTweets by Flyte Blog
Rich Brooks
The Top Five Essentials for a Successful Company Twitterfeed by KaneCo conversations
Jennifer Kane
Top 10 Twitter Basics Questions Answered by Junta42
Joe Pulizzi
10 Ways To Grow Your Twitter Influence by Knowledge Enthusiast
Matthew Royse
Ten Things you Must Know before Using Twitter by Tech n’ Marketing
Hillel Fuld
9 Twitter Directories You Should Be Listed On by jasonyormark.com
Jason Yormark
????? 5 stars
Twitter Search
Twitter Search Queries You Should Know by Magicomm Blog
Twitter Search Tips For B2B Marketers by Search Engine Land
Galen DeYoung
Five More Search Tools You Should Know: Twitter Edition by Search Engine Land
Matt McGee
Twitter Metrics & Measurement
6 Ways to Measure Your Twitter Voice by iMedia Connection
Daniel Flamberg
Twitter Analytics: Five Practical, Lesser Known Free Tools for B2B Professionals by ScoopDog’s Blog
????? 5 stars
3 Ways to Track Your Rank on Twitter by ProgrammableWeb
Adam DuVander
Twitter Insights & Observations
Following on Twitter: Quality vs Quantity by Hasai
25 of the Best Designed Twitter Homepages by Design Reviver
10 Basic Rules Of Twitter (And How To Avoid Being A Twanker) by Social Media Today
Rohit Bhargava
Twitter’s hidden marketing superpowers by iMedia Connection
Madhuri Shekar
Best Practices for Corporate Twittering by Social Media Today
Tom Humbarger
10 People You Won’t See on Twitter Anymore by Mashable
Jennifer Van Grove
Visualizing Twitter Statistics x100 by Digital Buzz Blog
Aden Hepburn
The Marketing Power of the Retweet: An Interview With Dan Zarrella by Social Media Examiner
Michael Stelzner
5 Reasons to Use the New Twitter List Feature by Duct Tape Marketing
John Jantsch
The 14 Types of Twitter Personalities by Media Caffeine
Here’s Hard Data for Headlines that Spread on Twitter by Copyblogger
Dan Zarrella
6 Twitter Tips You Should Have Figured Out on Your Own by Tech n’ Marketing
Hillel Fuld
Twitter Tools
105 Twitter Applications for PR Professionals by Everything PR
Genesis Davies
101 Twitter Tools – an insane list by marcmeyer’s posterous
Marc Meyer
????? 5 stars
The Ultimate List of Twitter Tools by The Social Media Guide
Matthew Tommasi
????? 5 stars
10 essential Twitter apps for marketers by iMedia Connection
Tricia Despres
TwitBacks (tool for creating custom Twitter backgrounds)
6 Twitter Apps for Marketing Your Business by Quick Online Tips
Sourish Nath
Twitter Critiques & Skepticism
Why Twitter will soon become obsolete by iMedia Connection
Jason Clark
(Interesting that this article was written nine months ago, but this hasn’t happened yet.)
Why Twitter Needs Its Bottom Spanked by Social Media Today
Jason Baer
The Twitter Revolution For Business May Not Be Televised by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Drew Kerr
Twitter Brings Lower Quality Clicks by eLearning Technology
Tony Karrer
And Finally…
Why Twitter Will Endure by The New York Times
David Carr
