Wikipedia.org, the free online encyclopedia, is a force on the Internet and in the world of social media. This wholly interactive way of sharing and retrieving information has over 13 million articles. According to their website, the word Wikipedia means a technology for creating collaborative websites, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning “quick”) and encyclopedia.

Having an article about your business in Wikipedia is beneficial for the simple fact that it can drive great quality traffic to your website: 

For instance, when a business (such as IBM) appears prominently in the search results pages of Google, the Wikipedia entry is considered to be such an authority, that it will rank very prominently in the search results. This results in more traffic to your site because of the valuable real estate that it takes up in the SERPs.

Links coming from Wikipedia to your site do not have any value in terms of “Link Juice”, but, again, will drive traffic to your site and will give your business credibility in the industry.

Wikipedia is human edited, so any Wikipedia editor can delete your article if they feel that it is merely a “commercial” for your business and/or it doesn’t have any cultural significance. This means, obviously, that not all websites will be successful at submitting an article to Wikipedia and keeping it there. Articles on people or businesses should read like biographies, in that they are written from a neutral point of view. So, has your business made any industry innovations? Is it notable and culturally significant? If so, you may have a shot at gaining a presence on one of the largest sites on the web.

Does your Twitter stream need a bit of a boost?  If so, you may consider adding some photos and video to your stream to make it a bit more fun, fresh or engaging.  Adding photos to your stream can be a great way to show your followers where you are, or perhaps give them a view of what you’re looking at.  In some instances, I have seen users give a sneak peek of products by using photos in Twitter.  An easy service to use is www.twitpic.com.  If you already have a Twitter username and password, then you already have a TwitPic account.  With your same name, you can log into this service and post your pictures.  When you upload your picture, you have the option to also add a description which will then be the Tweet.

If you are away from your computer, and you wish to upload a photo while on the go, you have a couple of options.  You can email a photo by using the email address that TwitPic assigns to you, or you can use one of the many mobile applications that TwitPic has partnered with.  The more common mobile applications include:

• Twitter for iPhone
• Twitter for Blackberry
• Twitter for Android

For those looking to add video to their stream, one service that can be use is www.twitvid.com.  Like TwitPic, if you have a Twitter username and password, you already are able to log in to TwitVid.  Once you log in you can upload video and attach a message that will go out with the Tweet.

Many third party tools and applications feature TwitVid, so it is easy to upload videos from anywhere.

When you add photos and videos to your stream, it gives your followers something new and fresh to look at.  It shows that you are constantly looking for ways to engage them, and they will appreciate that.

You may have heard that Google is entering the social media realm with their new product called Buzz.  If you already use Gmail, you may already be aware of Buzz.  Essentially, Buzz will take your current list of contacts and have you “follow” them and they can follow you as well.  With this new feature, you can now share photos, status updates, and other information more easily than before with your friends.

Once you signup for an account, or start using it within Gmail, you can choose to make your profile private or semi-private, and add links to the other social networks that you participate in.  Some have already raised concerns about Buzz attaching to your Gmail because it will now make many email addresses public.  Is this something you really want to do?  And making your profile private only prevents it from being indexed in the search results.  You will be provided a Google profile URL, and if someone knows this URL, they can see all of your content such as photos, status updates, etc. This is unlike other networks such as Facebook, where you can make all of your information private.  In Facebook, even if someone knows your personal URL, they can’t see all of your information unless you give them permission to do so from your account settings.

Another interesting aspect is that it doesn’t seem to be built for businesses, at least for now.  At first, Facebook was only peer to peer and businesses were not allowed.  But now a business can create a fan page and promote goods and services and market to their fans.  With Google Buzz being integrated into Gmail, how will businesses be able to get in this space? I think due to the ability for fan pages, Facebook has grown. Other social networks, like MySpace have made it harder for businesses to have a page and therefore their popularity and growth has decreased.

Time will tell if Google Buzz will be the next social media giant, but for now, I am a bit skeptical.  What are your thoughts?

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.

With new Facebook pages popping up every day, it is important that your page stands out from the rest, especially from your competition.  It seems that many Facebook pages are only utilizing the basics.  Customizing your page further will help to make it more appealing and can encourage more fans to interact with the page.  Below are a few ideas that you can use to help your Facebook page to be more noticeable.

Custom Tabs
Utilize custom tabs to give your fans something unique.   When a Facebook page is created, the standard Wall, Info, Photo, Notes and Video tab are included.  While you can post some great information in these tabs, creating a custom tab is a another way to get fans interested in a newsletter, promotion, contest or webinars.  Each custom tab you create can also incorporate HTML, so you can lead viewers off of the page through the addition of links.  Adding some creativity to your page will give you something that your fans may not be able to find on a competitor’s page.  Below is an example of a custom tab utilizing HTML.

By now I am sure that you have heard of Twitter.  People are using it to connect with others to share small bits of information.  “Twitterers” are using this service to keep in contact with old friends, follow celebrity gossip or even look for business products and information.  As a business, it is important to have a custom Twitter channel to help capture some of these users who may be searching for what you are tweeting about. 

As you build a following on Twitter, it can be increasingly difficult to manage.  With more followers comes more interaction, and with thousands of followers, keeping those interactions personal and up to date can be difficult.  Luckily, many third party developers have been designing applications to help with the management of your Twitter channel.  Below are a few of my favorites that can help businesses manage their Twitter channel.

Tweet3 – This service is great for businesses that may have multiple Twitter channels.  Some businesses have a channel for the main business and another channel for their customer service department.  Tweet3 allows you to have one central place to log in and manage all of your Twitter channels.  This can help you to organize your channels better without having to log into separate accounts.  It also contains an analytics package that will help you to track your tweets, followers and interactions.

CoTweet – Some businesses have one Twitter channel with multiple people wanting to create tweets and interact with customers.  CoTweet Beta is a great tool for that.  It allows many people to share information through a Twitter channel, while retaining their personal identity if desired.

TwitterHawk – This is well suited for those with a larger budget.  TwitterHawk allows you to create custom responses to users who search for “keywords” you predetermine.  When a Twitter user mentions your search criteria, a tweet is sent to them automatically on your behalf.  You can have up to 5 auto responses, and the cost is five cents per tweet sent.

Mobile Applications – With the advent of many mobile Twitter applications, now anyone can Tweet from anywhere, no matter what kind of device you have.  Now you don’t have to be bound by your computer to make updates throughout the day.  You can use your phone to send updates about what you are doing from anywhere.  For a list of the most popular mobile twitter applications broken down by device, please visit: http://mashable.com/2008/12/21/twitter-mobile-applications/