Here is an example of Twitter, just one tool.



Twitter atwitter: It's the fastest-growing social network


Do you Twitter? It seems everyone is joining the hot social network, even
not-so-troubled-these-days pop star Britney Spears and presidential
candidate Barack Obama. Beyond celebs, Make magazine is using Twitter and
newspapers including The New York Times and The Oregonian are using it to
push headlines. Not surprisingly, Nielsen Online found that Twitter was the
fastest-growing social networking site online in September 2008 boasting 343
percent growth since September 2007.



For the uninitiated, Twitter is a cross of text messaging, instant messaging
and blogging in which users are limited to 140 characters for each message.
While News Corp.¹s MySpace remains by far the biggest social network in the
U.S., it has only grown 1 percent since September 2007. Comparatively during
the same time, second-place rival Facebook grew by 116 percent. Topping the
fastest-growing social networks
after Twitter are Tagged, which saw 330 percent growth, Ning, LinkedIn,
music site Last.fm and Facebook.



Here are some suggestions for increasing brand presence on Twitter:

Develop a Brand Fan-Feed - Like RSS feeds for corporate blogs, or widgets
that serve content about a brand to individual websites, putting your brand
on Twitter is a good way for the brand to communicate with enthusiastic
users ‹ as well as counteract the effects of disgruntled customers. It can
also bring fans together, like a Facebook group, allowing them to talk to
each other about their favorite brands.

Monitoring - Twitter users have a lot to say about brands they encounter
every day. Because they are limited to 140 characters, they use brusque
language: that is, they either love or hate you. It is in a company's best
interest to keep track of what people are saying and respond accordingly -
much like Comcast did with TechCrunch blogger Michael Arrington.

Enforce Employee Policies - By developing a policy about Twitter use, you
can avoid the issue of employees' identifying themselves as part of a
company on personal Twitter accounts, then making public potentially
damaging statements.

Stake Your Ground - Users searching for a brand should be directed to the
company's account, not to a "cybersquatter" who stole the place for some
quick advertising hits. Even if a retailer is not planning on being very
active on Twitter, it should at least secure its brand name to prevent
others from posing as the brand.

Read more tips for using Twitter to build brand integrity:
http://www.marketingvox.com/how-to-using-twitter-to-build-brand-integrity-03
8162/



Read more about using Twitter in journalism:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twitter_for_journalists.php



Regards,



DEON BINNEMAN

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From: prbytes@yahoogroups.com [mailto:prbytes@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Cyrus Afzali
Sent: 11 January 2009 06:47 AM
To: SmallShopNetwork@yahoogroups.com; PRMindshare@yahoogroups.com;
prbytes@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [prbytes] RE: [SmallShopNetwork] XP Question - "Interactive
Marketing?" What is it? Have I done it and didn't know it?



As best I know, interactive marketing is using technology-based
approaches to reach a target audience. So, for example, that could range
from a webinar to a podcast, or even a blog. The theory behind
interactive marketing is that businesses see increased success by having
a "conversation" with current and prospective customers/clients rather
than speaking to them in a "one-way" voice as traditional ads do.
At best, I'd say it's still an evolving field. It definitely shows
promise, but a lot of companies really haven't figured out how to do it
effectively yet.

Social media is definitely a part of interactive marketing, but there is
also a host of work being done in the area that's more about information
than it is marketing.

Regards,

Cyrus

-----Original Message-----
From: SmallShopNetwork@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:SmallShopNetwork%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:SmallShopNetwork@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:SmallShopNetwork%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of Ned Barnett
Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 12:17 PM
To: PRMindshare@yahoogroups.com <mailto:PRMindshare%40yahoogroups.com> ;
SmallShopNetwork@yahoogroups.com <mailto:SmallShopNetwork%40yahoogroups.com>
;
prbytes@yahoogroups.com <mailto:prbytes%40yahoogroups.com> ;
prquorum@yahoogroups.com <mailto:prquorum%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [SmallShopNetwork] XP Question - "Interactive Marketing?" What
is it? Have I done it and didn't know it?

At my wife's suggestion (believe it or not, until this morning I've
never
been there), I've been cruising my local CraigsList looking for some
free-lance writing gigs to fill in the "available inventory" created by
the
loss of a client (they closed) and the suspension of another client
(they're
85 days past due, and I don't work on spec or on faith). One of these
listings was for an "Interactive Marketing Copywriter" - and they said
experience with "Interactive Marketing" is a plus. Since I specialize in
being a generalist, I probably have that experience, but I'm not
entirely
sure what the current definition of "Interactive Marketing" is - if I
know
what it is (in the minds of the folks who posted this listing), I can
bridge
from my most relevant experience to this gig and maybe pick up a few
bucks.
With two boys in college, believe me, a few bucks can help a lot.

Gotta run - I'm taking a course this morning on using social media in
advocacy writing and promotion . seems like it's time for me (in the
words
of John McClane in Die Hard 2) "to wake up and smell the 90s" - or, in
this
case, the 21st century <g>.

Thanks for your help.

Ned

Ned Barnett, APR

Marketing/PR Fellow, American Hospital Association

Barnett Marketing Communications

420 N. Nellis Blvd. A3-276

Las Vegas NV 89110

702-696-1200 - ned@barnettmarcom. <mailto:ned%40barnettmarcom.com> com

http://www.barnettm <http://www.barnettmarcom.com> arcom.com

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