My Top 10 Twitter Business Applications

1. TwitterHawk

TwitterHawk is a real time targeted marketing engine that allows you to search Twitter on a chosen topic (or keyword) and will either auto-reply to that person or generate a list of matches for you to respond or reject. The point of this application is to hit the conversation while it is happening and they follow up. Make sure you are being sincere when using the tool. DO NOT SPAM.

You also have the ability to link track with an average cost of around .02 cents. The people over at Twitterhawk are feeling blessed and are offing 10 free tweets for signing up.

2. CoTweet

CoTweet is a web application that allows you to manage up to six Twitter accounts through a single CoTweet login. This is a great tool for businesses with more than a couple of employees using Twitter at one time. You have the ability to monitor keywords and different trending topics on Twitter. You can assign Tweets and on duty notifications for your employees! It is an awesome tool. I would recommend this for any business owner.

3. TwitterFox

TwitterFox is a Firefox (the Web browser) extension that notifies you of your friends’ tweets on Twitter. The Firefox extension adds a tiny icon on to the Firefox status bar which notifies you when your friends update their tweets. It also has a cool small text input to that you can use to update your tweets from your browser. This may be overkill for some of us that use Twitterific or TweetdDeck, but it is a cool tool to use. You may think it’s perfect if you love Firefox and Web browsing!

4. TweetDeck

There is no better tool out there for managing and organizing your Twitterati than TweetDeck. Imagine a tool that you can use directly from your desktop that manages followers, friends, replies, direct messages, groups, and anything you could possibly imagine. Tweetdeck gives you the ability to create groups that could cater to any type of subject. If you want to pull a feed from Twitter that has to do with Barney and childhood stories it is completely possible to do.

Tweetdeck can also be downloaded on your iPhone and used when you are away from your desktop. The program is easy to use and easy to manage. Built off the Adobe Air platform, it is your social dashboard for Twitter. And in respect to that little tool called the iPhone, there is a feed for that.

5. Hootsuite

Where Tweetdeck gives you the ability to organize and manage followers, Hootsuite is just as powerful when it comes to the world of Twitter productivity. Hootsuite gives you the ability manage multiple Twitter accounts, add multiple editors of the same account, pre-schedule your Tweets, and measure traffic. If you are looking for a tool to help you stay productive throughout your day and not be held hostage by the time suck police, Hootsuite is where it is at!

You have the ability to view clicks and where the click originated based on region of the world. You also have the ability to view your more popular Tweets as well as how many clicks you have received over a given time.

6. Twitterific

Twitterific can be likened to Tweetdeck but is designed more for use on the MAC desktop. Twitterific has an excellent user interface and is small enough not to be annoying. It gives you the same type of abilities as Tweetdeck but offers more keyboard shortcuts for the MAC user. The application is designed to let you view as much or as little information as you prefer when using on your desktop. Twitterific is also available for download on the iPhone as an application.

7. Twhirl

Twhirl is a social desktop software designed by the people who brought you Seesmic the video conversation website. The Twhirl application is still built in the same realm as Twitterific, Tweetdeck, and Hootsuite. It also has the ability to be run on both Windows and MAC platforms. If you are familiar with sites like Friendfeed and Seesmic this may be the tool for you. Twhirl gives you the ability to connect to multiple Twitter, Iaconi.ca, Friendfeed and Seesmic accounts.

You can let Twhirl run in the background while working and it will give you random pop-ups that display new messages. There are a couple of other cool features worth mentioning for this productivity chapter. You can cross-post messages to multiple profiles on other social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace. You an also record a video and share it on the video social network, Seesmic.

8. NearbyTweets

This is a tool for those of us who would enjoy connecting to individuals in our general location. NearyTweets is a website that allows you to search based on geography in order to build customer relationships and monitoring in real time.

NearbyTweets is still fairly new but they will have some awesome tools coming up in the future including premium business tools, ability to show nearby business on Twitter, and a page for setting your default location.

9. TwitterGrader

Hubspot, the people that brought you Website Grader, realized that there was a need to track and rank users based on a certain criteria on Twitter. TwitterGrader was the answer to that question. The site allows you to track and measure your (and others) relative Twitter power. The calculation is based on a combination of different states including your number of followers, the power of your followers, number of updates, clicks, retweets, and completeness of your profile.

10. Twilert

Twilert is the tool for the paranoid in all of us. Twilert gives you the ability to receive regular email updates of tweets containing your brand, product, service or any word you could possibly want, really any word. The service is extremely easy to setup and you will be able to stay on top of the conversation surrounding your specific keyword.

You can also use the service at search.twitter.com but Twilert gives you a more consistent feed from the world of the Twitter.

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An Inspiring Story for Monday

There are times when you come across stories that are profoundly inspiring. There are acts of extreme human resolve that can keep you pushing ahead with the things that need to be done. Ben McDonald is a friend from Anderson University that plays, writes, and performs with the band Sidewalk Prophets. I had the pleasure of knowing Ben in college and he has undertaken and extreme makeover that has left me feeling… well a little overwhelmed… in a good way.

In order to gain the full perspective I decided to embed this slideshow in order for you to view the overwhelming change Ben has gone through over the course of a year.

It is hard not be inspired by stories like this. He has made it through his 290-some workout and is pushing ahead to become a healthier individual. Do you feel inspired to finish something you started? I know I do. How are you going to use stories like Ben to enrich your life and help you along the path to success or greatness? It takes dedication and hard work to realize the kind of potential that you are capable of in life.

What are you going to do to make this week the start to something great?

Pre-Order My Book Twitter Marketing for Dummies

I was given the opportunity to write Twitter Marketing for Dummies from Wiley Publishing because of a direct connection through social networking. The relationship was further solidified by a connection on Smaller Indiana. I am humbled to have been given this wonderful opportunity and it is highly unlikely it would have happened without the connection through social media.

Here is the breakdown:

An introductory guide to effectively using Twitter to grow your business!

The field of social media marketing is exciting, cutting-edge, and…open to almost anything! Twitter’s style of quick remarks lends itself to a carefree, conversational tone, ripe for passing along a plug, sharing a suggestion, or referencing a recommendation. This fun and friendly book is an excellent first step for gaining insight on how to effectively use one of the most popular social media tools to expand the success of a business.

In addition to covering the basics of Twitter, this easy-to-understand guide quickly moves on to techniques for incorporating a Twitter strategy into your marketing mix, combining new and old media, building your network, using Twitter tools, and measuring your success.

• Examines how Twitter’s style for character-count caps and real-time posting allows for unique marketing opportunities
• Analyzes several real-world examples of successful strategies for marketing on Twitter
• Discusses ideas for promoting brands on Twitter, building a following, communicating better with followers, and driving traffic to a Web site
• Shares the top Twitter applications

So get chirping and put Twitter to work for your marketing needs today!

You can check out the book at the Twitter Marketing for Dummies pre-order site. A big thanks to Erik Deckers (@edeckers) because without his help this book would have never happened.

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Are You Coming To The Hullabaloo on Sept 16?

I am happy to announce that I will be speaking at the AddressTwo Hullabaloo which is going to be held on September 16th in Indianapolis. What is this thing all about… other than the weird name? It is beyond cold calls and bulk mail… it is about hunting down new business using tools that are revolutionizing the way we communicate with each other. This is a half day extravaganza of networking, workshops, marketing ideas, hunting for new prospects, and killing it on sales/business growth.

More information on the Hulabaloo:

Who Should Attend?
The AddressTwo Hullabaloo is for anyone—whether you’re an AddressTwo user or not. The workshops and training you’ll receive are applicable for any business, regardless of how you manage your contacts today. Of course, if you’re interested in learning more about AddressTwo, there will be plenty of opportunities for that as well.

What will go on there?
The agenda will begin with a keynote address from reknown speaker and business coach, CJ McClanahan. Then, the afternoon will be broken into two 1-hour sessions during which you can choose which workshops you wish to attend. Finally, we will close with a short address from Nick Carter, inventor of AddressTwo, and then an hour of free drinks and networking.

Do I have to kill any animals?
No. All the food provided will already be dead and cooked. The hunting theme is only figurative. Loon Lake Lodge would like all guests to rest assured that no animals were harmed during the decoration of the lodge

Register Here: AddressTwo Hulabaloo

Giving More than You Get and Living the Dream

We have a half-day planning session at Brandswag today. You know how strategic planning goes… you go through values, vision and mission statements, marketing initiatives, and the like… However this is not why I am excited to attend the planning session. I am excited to see the power of six creative minds joined together to brainstorm around the future of a company… a company that we all love.

It has been two years since Brandon Coon (my partner) and I have opened the doors at Brandswag and now we have the most talented team a person could ask for..

I consider myself blessed to be running an organization who has a mission/vision statement that isn’t lengthy and boring it is simply:

To help companies incorporate creative tools that build strong relationships with their clients.

There is one other statement that we try to live by at Brandswag:

By creating ideas that infect business, we move beyond thoughts, ideas &  theory.
It is about producing intentional campaigns and dialogue that move customers to buy.

In the words of Mike Lantz, one of my mentors and owner of LQ Strategies: I am living the dream.

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We Do What We Do and Why We Do It

Why do we do what we do? How many times have you asked yourself this question? Do it.

Why do WE do what WE do? There are a multitude of different answers depending on the person. We do it because we love what we do. I do it because of the challenge of running a business. Maybe, it is to be an employer and give people jobs.

When it comes to running a social media education company in Indianapolis I haven’t quite pinpointed the main push that drives me to work everyday. I love what I do, I love the people I work with, and I love the concept of educating people on the wonderful world of social media. However, there is one thing that always pushes me passed the edge and gets the juices flowing: that spark.

The spark of a business owner, employee, sole-proprietor, or salesman understanding the concepts of communicating online. When you are standing in front of a group of people you can almost see the light bulbs explode over their heads… in brilliant light… that is where I enjoy my life. Education can change businesses… shifting paradigms is important to growing companies.

If the only thing you can do is teach your clients something… anything… to make their lives easier, faster, and better… you have done the right thing. We are all striving for something and most of the time it is taking the red to black.

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Twitter Can and Will Drive Business

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of participating in a first hand account of how Twitter can drive a customer to a place of business. This, my friends, is the story:

I have been wanting (for awhile now) to get my second tattoo. It has been a self-debate on how much I should spend, where I should go to be “tatted,” and what tattoo I should ink into my skin. I finally came to the point where I was ready to take the dive and step out into the world of tattooing but I had one more question to answer:

Where should I go for a tattoo?

I decided to ask the Twitter world where I should get my tattoo because I believe in the concept of word-of-mouth marketing over any other system. I sent a tweet out that read:

Best place to get a tattoo in #Indianapolis?

Within minutes I had multiple tweets from individuals telling me their favorite place to be tattooed in Indianapolis. Metamorphosis won over the rest because of the evangelists (customers) that love and cherish the work of the shop.

The sad part of this entire marketing test is that I was not contacted by a tattoo shop on Twitter. The other shops in Indianapolis may have missed an opportunity to influence my buying decision because they failed to use Twitter as a communication medium.

I will be heading over to Metamorphosis this week to get the tattoo priced and to finally get inked. Let this be a lesson to all… if you train your customers to be your Evangelists and they use Twitter… you should also join them on the platform.

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What Zig Ziglar Can Teach You About Social Media

I follow Tom Ziglar (the esteemed son of Zig Ziglar) on Twitter almost relentlessly. He posts many one lined thoughts from his father and also some of his own musings that get me thinking on a daily basis. Last night he had a “tweet” with the simple line:

“Happiness is not where or when; it is here and now.” Zig Ziglar

It is amazing to me how simple quotes can unlock an amazing wealth of information from your head… forcing you to think past the daily routine… forcing you to realize the potential of your activities.

Of course… being a marketer obsessed with social media… I had to apply Zig’s thoughts with what we talk about on a daily basis.

When we are debating the use of social media in a business environment whether it is product marketing or reputation management… it is important to remember the thought: it is here and now not where or when.

The world of online communication is creating a chasm where you have to understand the concept of NOW marketing. People are talking about you NOW. Your customers are communicating with your company.. NOW.. There is no when or where.

Only when you shift your paradigm to the here and the now…

Can you understand the true potential of using social media for your business.

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Ranked #183 of Top 200 Social Media Blogs

Sometimes you just need a little pick me up. I received it last night when I got word I was listed as number 183 of 200 top social media blogs on the Internet. You have to look under the top 100 to download the 200 list. Still makes me feel good though. ha.

Shameless self-promotion isn’t so bad if you do it less than promoting others. Kind of funny after my post this morning.

Here is the link to the list: Top 200 Social Media Blogs

Something to Brighten Your Saturday

There are certain times in life when you just need a pick me up. Today I needed a pick me up and I found one… in the form of a small child… missing teeth.. and holding a harmonica. Ben is the son of @mssinglemama and is an AWESOME harmonica player. Watch and have a good Saturday.By the way, you should check our her blog at MsSingleMama.com.