If you’re researching social media & social networks, chances are good you’ve stumbled across Twitter in recent months. Twitter is an online community of people writing text-based, miniature-scale (max 140 character) blog posts about moments in their lives.

But Twitter isn’t just for individuals. Twitter holds great potential for improved online communication, collaboration and relationship building for business. Early adopters in social media marketing are picking up and running with Twitter, adding it to their client’s overall online media marketing mix.

Twitter offers unique opportunties for the enhancement & expansion of traditional marketing and social media marketing campaigns. We see companies and savvy Internet marketers coming up with new ways to use Twitter to their advantage. A few ways you might consider using Twitter in your online PR and Internet marketing strategies include:

• building relationships with prospective clients
• promoting events
• providing insight and commentary on an event in real time
• promoting special offers or daily specials
• facilitating collaborative experience
• building conversation
• sending press releases
• opening dialogue between promoter and promotion participants
• website traffic generation

Here’s a random sample of companies using Twitter as part of their social media marketing efforts:

• Amazon
• Dell
• Woot
• MTV Music Video Awards
• Mac Rumors
• ESPN
• Carnival Cruise lines
• Intel Software
• CNN
• Delta Airlines
• Eleven Marketing

And here’s a few news sites using Twitter to their advantage:

• CNN
• New York Times
• BBC 

What ways have you seen or tried using Twitter for online marketing or communication for your company or clients? Do you see a future for Twitter or is it just another passing social media fad to be replaced by a bigger-and-better social network or instant messenger mashup within the year?

Want to experiment with Twitter? Sign up for an account at twitter.com then make a plan for integrating it into your daily routine. Install Twitbin or Twitterific to keep updated. Explore this comprehensive list of Twitter applications.

twitter marketing

You’ve built a facebook group but you’ve only got a few members. How do you get the thousands of members you’d like and how do you keep them? Here’s some tips to help you grow your facebook group:

1. Build the Right Foundation – Set it up right. Make sure you choose a title, category and description that is most relevant to your brand or target demographic. Offer as much info as possible about your group including contact info, location, purpose. If you want to build real community, allow people to post comments, photos and/or videos in the group. You’ll likely want to make your group public so anyone can join.

2. Friends Build Friends – The best way to get people to join your group is through personal invitation – so get busy inviting your friends who are already in Facebook. Your friends’ friends will then notice that they joined a new group and may be interested in checking out the group.

3. Use Email to send Invitations – Facebook allows you to send group invitations to all of the contacts in your Outlook, Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo accounts, so don’t forget to invite everyone who’s not already a Facebook friend.

4. Update Regularly – Don’t build your Facebook group then leave it to stagnate for 6 months. Update your news and photos and videos and comments regularly. Update your group bi-weekly or more if possible, depending on the nature of your group.

5. Promote Your Group Outside of Facebook – Promote your Facebook group on your website, in press releases, in your blog. Wherever you have a presence online is an opportunity to feature your Facebook group and invite people to join.

6. Be Human, Be Friendly – Welcome new members, send out periodic emails to your group, encourage them to invite their friends. Don’t abuse your members by spamming them with irrelevant information, but keep it focussed on the topic of your group. You’ll notice that many people who join your group will not already be your “facebook friend” — so send them an invitation to become your friend.

Need assistance building or growing a facebook group? Click here to contact the Facebook marketing experts at Eleven today. 

What issues are you facing with your Facebook group(s)? Are there other strategies or tactics you’d add to this list of tips for others to consider as they build and promote their Facebook or other social network groups?

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facebook marketing