Twitter is proving to be one of the most popular and used social media channels in existence.  Everyone from teens to businesses are using it to spread their message.  As a business,+ one of the most difficult things about Twitter is finding relevant users to follow you.  Here are a few tips that you can use to make your Twitter profile more “followable”.

• Create a custom background – This shows that you have taken the time to create a look that matches the company personality, or reflects the company website or logo.  Twitter profiles with templated backgrounds show users that you have not fully gotten on board with Twitter.
• Create a custom avatar(profile picture) – This can be as simple as using the company logo.  Again, not having a custom avatar shows little creativity and lack of care.
• Retweet your current followers – Retweeting shows interaction and can be enticing to many users.  Retweeting your followers can also lead to some reciprocal Tweeting from your followers.  Think of it this way, the more you give, the more you can get.
• Offer specials or contests – Specials and contests are a great way to entice new followers and re-energize older ones.  You don’t have to give away the farm, but small gestures can go a long way. 
• Try to balance your following/followed by ratio – Try to have a fifty fifty split of followers and those you follow.  If you have too many followers and you don’t follow that many people, it can show that you aren’t interested in starting a conversation but only interested in forcing your message.  Conversely, if you follow too many people and not many follow you, it can appear that you are just looking for leads instead of really wanting to participate.

If you haven’t yet gotten involved with Twitter, you may be missing out on some great information about your business.  Use the above tips to make sure your Twitter profile will be interesting to those who see it.

Who knew passwords were so important?  I wrote a newsletter article recently highlighting my trials and tribulations surrounding a lost Twitter password and all  of the other programs (besides Twitter) that were impacted as a result of this change. This brought about a new password, along with several third party application updates too.  As recently as today, there was additional impact on a Facebook application we were using.   Since we needed to update a bunch of our third party social media applications, our Facebook page was trying to sync to one of these applications (also used by Twitter) using an invalid password.  Nobody had thought beyond Twitter as to the reach a change of password would have.  With all of the integration available within social media today, its just  another reason to maintain a spreadsheet of not only your programs and passwords, but also  of  the relationship between each of these programs too.

For many years now, advertisements during the Super Bowl have been almost as popular as the game itself. People have come to expect new and entertaining messages from big brands like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and many automakers. So come Sunday, it will be interesting to see how many of these brands decide to incorporate Social Media into their campaigns.

For the first time in over a decade, Pepsi has decided not to run any ads during the game. Instead, they are choosing to put an estimated $20 million toward an online campaign that includes updating their website, as well as creating a strong presence on Facebook.

Coca-Cola apparently will be doing a little bit of both. They plan to run 2 advertisements that will promote their corporate philanthropy and also offer virtual gifts through their Facebook page, with all donations going to one of their charities.

Going even a step further is the automaker, Audi. In an effort to promote their environmental-friendly cars, they have created the “Green Police,” a group of individuals from the media that are chronicling their driving experience on their journey to the Super Bowl in Miami. Their updates will be found on YouTube and Twitter. A Super Bowl commercial will also introduce the world to this new campaign.

These are just a few examples of how integral Social Media has become in our overall marketing campaigns. Just a year ago, none of these types of media were being discussed in this magnitude. If the Super Bowl ads are any indication, 2010 is going to be a very social year!

As over 48 million people watched the President’s delivery of The State of The Union on television, it was simultaneously streamed on the web and accessible on a new White House developed iPhone app.

Once the speech began, last Wednesday evening, the White House opened a forum for an interactive exchange.  Viewers were encouraged to submit questions via Youtube.com/CitizensTube.  The format could be video or text.  Google Moderator, an application that allows you to pose questions and vote on your favorites was employed.  So far, over 11,000 questions have been submitted by 55,340 people.  In excess of 643,000 votes have been cast.  The White House will screen, sort and eventually choose 100 of the most popular submissions for the president’s response.  This too will be in the form of a live Q and A webcast delivered from the White House Library.

It is clear that these platforms are changing “politics as usual”.   Social Media now offers an opportunity for direct dialogue between the President and the Public. As we saw, it was also extremely instrumental during the recent political campaigns.  Should you be considering Social Media for your marketing campaigns?