A Sense of Scale: Social Networking By The Numbers (Video) « Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Social Media, Web Marketing.

When executives need a marketing catalyst to come in, challenge a “this is the way we’ve always done it” mindset, and inspire consumers to take immediate action, they ping Brody. Exploring and developing new innovative approaches to business is not a hobby for him; it’s a full time pursuit.

Brody arms North with over 20 years experience in venture analysis, brand strategy, product launches, retail promotions, consumer anthropology, and developing disruptive concepts in traditional and emerging mediums.

Before drinking the Virgin Kool-Aid, Brody wore just about every strategic leadership hat within the advertising industry; from Copywriter to Account Planner to Creative Director. He created and spearheaded the Concept Team for the Integer Group/TBWA, America’s 4th largest retail promotion agency with over 800 employees nationwide. The sole mission of this intrepreneurial project was to breed a higher degree of innovation and trigger breakthrough impact for new business and high-priority client initiatives; it resulted in putting more beers in hands, more butts in seats and game-changing thinking into motion for big brands like Coors and Coors Light, the NFL, EarthLink, Qwest Communications and United Airlines.

He first sharpened his experiential marketing chops as Director of Game Operations for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the Continental Basketball Association, where he was recognized league-wide as a promotional innovator. Each home game he entertained the fans with a mix of stunts that included dropping pizzas from the arena rafters and showcasing on-court diaper derbies. He even taught the team’s mascot how to dunk (yes, “with authority”) off the mini-tramp. Brody graduated from the University of Arizona, and spends his free time pedaling bikes, tracking down the ultimate carne asada taco, and boasting about his prowess in Ping Pong.

So we have taken a little bit of time to compile some of the”How-To’s” grow Twitter followers. We have experimented for the last year with a lot of different ways and we where curios as to the experiences out there. Here are 3 list that we found that we liked.

Here is our “web round up”:

From WebStudio13
How to Grow Your Twitter Followers – 5 Ways That Work for Me
by Andrew Ran Wong published September 12, 2009

From Ploked
11 Ways To Grow Your Twitter Following
April 15th, 2009 | ploked

From TechCrunch
Kevin Rose: 10 Ways To Increase Your Twitter Followers
by TechCrunch on January 25, 2009

As with all things digital I am obliged to experiment with the latest. I began using Twitter on February 9th 2007. (I found this date using MyFirstTweet.com) About 6 months after Twitter was founded. I will admit that I did it because it was “new” and our resident entrepreneur the CEO of MetBlogs, Sean Bonner, was raving about it. Over the two years that followed I experimented with Twitter in many ways and I wanted to share my experiences with you and what worked and how.

So, does Twitter matter? Does it work? If so how and why? What was my experience over the last two years?

To answer the first question, yes, Twitter does matter. To me personally it matters because it allows me to reach a wide audience with valuable bits of information, Groop updates and the occasional personal update.
If you are in advertising it should matter because it is on everyone of your customers minds. If you don’t personally use it, how can you talk to your clients about it? Even if it is to poo poo it.

If you are a media company it matters because it allows you to broadcast small bits of information on an ongoing basis. The news now breaks on Twitter, your next film will gain buzz on Twitter, your readers will hear about the latest article on your blog on Twitter.
Does it matter less If you are a lifestyle brand? That depends on the lifestyle of your customers.

Does it work? It works both as passive ambient awareness of what is going on around you and also as a discovery tool for things that you might not be looking but catch’s your eye. I know that I have personally discovered products, events and people that I was not looking for by just seeing what people are talking about.

To give a few concrete examples here are some experiments I tried over the last two years:

1. How many friends in New York (I live in LA) could I get to a bar if I notify them the same day?
The answer? A lot. Using Twitter, Facebook, our blog and our Email list(s) and mounting a campaign from my hotel room. Here are the pictures to prove it:

2. How many attendees can you get to a free seminar? A lot. Again, using a combination of Twitter, Facebook, our blog & our email list(s) we where able to get 300 people into a room.

3. How can you help a client, for us Opportunity Green attract an audience of 500 people to attend their conference? I don’t have to repeat it again.

As you can see, it is never Twitter by itself, it’s an eco-system of social tools that help create tangible impact and movement within our sphere of influence. It also does not have to be just for events. In my experiments using Twitter to send out interesting blog post we find, send out our newsletter after we have sent it via email, retweeting interesting articles we find on important topics of the day, have great response. I have found that the consistent low-level messaging that occurs helps create a conversation and a story about who The Groop is.

So that’s great Jose, but how does this relate to my business and how do I do it?

First and foremost it’s less about “your business” and more about you. Note that for the most part all of what I have described has been done from a Twitter account for – JoseCaballer. A person is easier to relate to on Twitter than a brand. That said, it does not mean that they are mutually exclusive. We also have a Groop twitter account. But overall my preference is to use an account that is from me. Not just a company. It makes it more personal, more human.

In summary, Twitter, like any other communications medium has it’s pro’s and con’s, but it is undeniable that the power of passive ambient awareness is here to stay. Whether as Twitter or as something else.

I want you to ignore all the commentary from the peanut gallery and get started experimenting with Twitter.
To get started I would like you to join us for “Church of Twitter” on October 17th. You will be able to bring your laptop and start with the basics of getting set up and growing your followers. “The Reverend” Casey Eberhart will share with us the secrets to using Twitter and Facebook as marketing tools.

http://churchoftwitter.eventbrite.com/

Join us for Church of Twitter: Using Twitter & Facebook to Market Yourself & Your Clients

Save-The-Date: Saturday October 17th From 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Featuring the worlds first 140 character hymn Choir or “Twire” as we call it.

West side location still to be announced.

$125.00 Early Bird – $175.00 Regular – $195.00 At the Door

Sign Up Now!

What You Will Learn:

How Twitter works & getting started
Adding and growing followers
Do’s & Don’ts
Measuring impact
Using Twitter together with Facebook
Planning and executing Campaigns
And much more!

Who Should Attend:

Advertising Professionals
Media Planners
Account Executives
Creative Directors
Art Directors
Media Executives
Writers
Producers
Actors
Consultants
Musicians
Artists
Graphic Designers
Illustrators
Fashion Designers
Photographers
Architects
And More!

A percentage of our revenue goes to support individual art & design students through the Legacy Circle scholarships.

Legacy Circle is an Art Center Alumni led fundraising effort that aims to help young creatives afford a professional arts education by providing scholarships from Alumni to current students.

For more information visit: http://www.artcenter.edu/legacycircle/

Tom Davenport writes that twitter is a fad. He got some nice responses on his comments.
Good blog post to read.

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A few months ago I was speaking at a marketing conference, and after I spoke on marketing analytics, there was a panel on social media. Larry Weber, who started and then sold a very successful PR firm (and who is on Babson’s Board of Trustees), was asked whether there was a role for analytics in social media.

“Frankly, I’m tired of analytics,” he said. “I got into social media in part to get away from analytics.” Well, honesty is good, but I didn’t see then — and don’t now — how you can do serious marketing through any medium without metrics and analysis. Twitter and other social media may be fun, but are they really serious marketing tools?

Read Entire Article

Good Article from Chief Marketer on why Twitter matters and the good and bad of Twitter.

What is Twitter? Is it an effective marketing tool? How do you measure its ROI? All of these are questions worth addressing.
Basically, Twitter is a next generation instant messaging tool. But how does it add value from a marketing perspective, instead of just a personal communications standpoint? The answer lies in attracting enough of the right followers and creating dialogue among the group you develop.

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Great post from our friends at iMedia Connection.

To the casual user, Twitter looks like a simple bulletin board of often useless status reports. Yet, smart marketers are starting to find Twitter feedback quite essential to their overall social marketing plans. Filtering and organizing Twitter feedback is one area where the right application is crucial to success.

“Twitter is all about listening, understanding, and participating as a marketer,” says Art Sindlinger, vice president/activation director at Starcom USA. “We try to help our clients use Twitter with a real intent in mind. This is much more than just purchasing media.”

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McKinsey put together a survey of nearly 1,700 executives on the impact and benefits of Web 2.0. Check it out:
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The heaviest users of Web 2.0 applications are also enjoying benefits such as increased knowledge sharing and more effective marketing. These benefits often have a measurable effect on the business.

Over the past three years, we have tracked the rising adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, as well as the ways organizations are using them. This year, we sought to get a clear idea of whether companies are deriving measurable business benefits from their investments in the Web. Our findings indicate that they are.

Read Entire Article (Will require login to McKinsey Quarterly)

Nice article from Fast Company

Many brands like to treat social media like a big party at the cool kids house. Everybody’s invited, and having a great time. The conversation is flowing and it’s the place that everyone wants to be. Eventually, you realize that your brand is not there yet, and someone (usually someone with a big title) decides that your brand should be. So you put on your best party clothes, show up at the door and loudly announce your arrival. The only problem is, the party is already in full swing, people already have their drinks, and no one was waiting for you to show up in the first place.

Click Here to Read Article