Today’s guest post is written by Matt LaCasse.

As you are likely aware by now, Twitter rolled out a major redesign and announced brand pages simultaneously.

While the brand pages announcement is by far the most exciting part of this, we’ll have to wait to see their full implementation since they’re available only to mega-brands at the moment.

You may remember Twitter purchased TweetDeck earlier this year, and at the time there was much hand-wringing over what Twitter would do with its new toy. Theories ran the gamut from a complete shutdown to a shelving of the popular third-party service.

Then, the redesign happened and we have an answer to the question of what Twitter will do with TweetDeck. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Lisa Gerber. 

My first real job in the PR industry was working with downtown Seattle retailers assisting them with cooperative branding and marketing initiatives.

Right away, I noticed two types of business owners: The type who are passionate about their business and curious about how to apply new ideas to their models; and the victims, who blame outside sources for everything. They looked to their landlord and their neighborhood association to bring them traffic.

To the latter, I wish I could have said then, what I’m about to say now: You shouldn’t be in business.  Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Brian Meeks.

Twitter introduces brand pages.

Some people say it will be a game changer. Those people are idiots. It won’t be a game changer, because NOBODY uses Twitter for tweeting…or at least they shouldn’t be.

So now I am filled with my trademarked “Howler Monkey Angst.”

It isn’t that they are making an effort to improve the Twitter site for its users that pisses me off; it’s that there are ANY users.

As I type this rant, I’m well aware of the unreasonableness of my dismay. Twitter provides a service I love. I would describe myself as a power Twitter user and have developed a lot of great friendships, but it has been almost two years since I’ve used Twitter for tweeting (giggles a little, knowing that the masses still wouldn’t understand what the hell I’m talking about…silly luddites…I digress). Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Keredy Andrews.

The evolution of technology has moved the PR pitch away from hard copy press releases to the phone and email, but now reporters are busier than ever. Emails too easily get lost in the melee and when you catch them on the phone, they often don’t have time to listen to a pitch and ask you to send an email.

So how do you get their attention?

Over the past year or so I have been using Twitter to contact journalists. It’s not only an extremely useful platform to get their interest, but it also helps you to get to know their work, to create a rapport, and to spot media requests; all of which are integral to being a good public relations professional.

The worlds of the media and PR agencies are both fast paced so the immediacy of Twitter enables both parties to take advantage of reacting to trends and breaking news – stories can be imagined, written and published within an hour if it’s a hot topic. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Adriel Hampton.

Forget how many followers someone has, how many likes they have, and even their Klout score.

The first thing to look at when making a snap judgement about someone on Twitter is how many lists they are on.

Twitter introduced lists two years ago and their effective use separates amateurs from the pros.

The thing is, any former real state agent (<ducking> – some of my best friends are realtors) can amass tens of thousands of followers, but in general, a person who’s been listed 100 or more times has achieved significant credibility. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Shonali Burke. 

When Gini and Lisa asked me to write about Twitter chats for Spin Sucks (ok, “tweetchats,” if you must, I’m going to stick with the former, I’m old-school, whatevs), I scratched my mane.

I’ve written so much about TCs in the past, I was worried about what I could share with you that wouldn’t be same old, same old.

But then, a friend who currently runs a popular Twitter chat DM’d me to tell me he might be shutting it down. The reason? Life has taken over, and he’s finding it tough to keep it going with the same level of verve and vigor as he did in the past.

My response? “Don’t do that. Ask <person who is well known for focusing on the discipline> if they can do it. It’s a good chat. It teaches people.” (Or words to that effect.) Continue Reading »

This is not our annual trends blog post.

That is coming in a few weeks…and it includes some things you won’t expect. Plus it will give you an opportunity to include a trend you think we forgot. So be thinking about what you want to include. We’re going to include the one winning trend in our December webinar and you’ll win a free seat or two.

Today, though, I want to talk about some things you should be considering for your 2012 marketing and communication plans. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Andy Crestodina. 

Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others to reflect correct behavior for a given situation…The effects of social influence can be seen in the tendency of large groups to conform to choices which may be either correct or mistaken; a phenomenon sometimes referred to as herd behavior (source: Wikipedia).

We’re all affected by the actions of people around us, especially when we have little information to go on.

This is called “social proof” and Twitter is a great example of this kind of psychology at work.

When you see an account with a large following, it looks like a big third-party endorsement. There is not much other information but a tiny image and the 140-character tweets. So we quickly assume the person must be influential.

But are they? Not always… Continue Reading »

Today’s guest is post is written by Jay Pinkert.

Amidst all the froth about the new Facebook features and the general release of Google+, it’s easy for social media professionals not to spend much time considering the importance of simple tools.

We can get so focused on mastering the “next big thing” that we overlook applications that might seem basic to some.

But to others have the potential to fundamentally affect whether and how they can productively engage in social media.

For solo and small business owners who have the desire to participate in social media but believe they do not have the time to do so effectively, something as modest as an easier way to compose and schedule tweets can be transformational. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest is written by Howie Goldfarb

Twitter or Facebook? Most consumer brands use both now. But what is the difference if you are crafting your strategy related to increasing sales?

Twitter is selling and Facebook is marketing.

Twitter is selling

Selling is finding someone and persuading them to buy your product. On Twitter, I can search, contact, ask questions, overcome objections and close the sale. Continue Reading »