Blog entries

The (Not So) Basics of Blogging

ehusband@twiststl.com — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Our resident blogger is out of town, so we thought we would take this opportunity to share some useful articles with our readers. Given the medium through which we’re sharing this information, what better topic of the day than blogging? We spend a lot of time explaining to our clients how important it is to rRead More...

Brand Building For The Average Joe

ehusband@twiststl.com — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Last week we posted a blog entry on personal branding and the opportunity that the 2010 Olympic athletes now have at their feet. I started to make the point that personal branding is something that everyone can and should invest energy in, but we thought it important enough to re-visit the importance of developing a strong personal. Though the majority of the previous post focused on pRead More...

Building Your Brand

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

It’s been almost 13 years since Tom Peters published the article “The Brand Called You” in Fastweek Magazine. Peters’ article acknowledged the importance of personal branding years before most people started buying into the concept. Today, the idea of personal branding is not onlRead More...

ROI in the World of Social Media

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

As social media marketing becomes a bigger and more important component of businesses’ marketing strategies, many people have started questioning how it is possible to measure the return on investment of social medai efforts. Measuring the ROI of social media endeavors is not as simple as counting the nRead More...

Social Media: The Holy Grail of Integrated Marketing

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

For years, there has been talk about the creation of a truly integrated marketing strategy. Integrated marketing has become this elusive ideal, generating discussion over whether integration truly exists. Although some agencies have seen some progress, it seems like the potential for true integration has arisen in some of the most commonly used technology today: social media.

One of the biggest mistakes any small or midsized business can make is to think like a small or medium-sized business. You might be based in a particular region, but that does not mean that your area of influence needs to be limited to that geographic area. There are so many ways that even small businesses can think big, think globally, and taking advantage of them is key for success.

Tiger Woods Helps Put Ustream.TV on the Map

cwilliams@twiststl.com — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:04:10 +0100

It will remain to be seen if Tiger Woods’ 13.5 minute-long apology will reinstate him as golf’s godenboy, but it’s clear that the world was ready to listen. Last Thursday we anxiously awaited the event, and it seems like the rest of world did the same as the aRead More...

E-mail Marketing is the New Black

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:50:14 +0100

…maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but it’s certainly becoming the online marketing tool of choice and overtaking its analog counterpart direct mail. According to a study released from Borrel Associates, annual spending on printed direct mail will decline from $49.7 billion in 2008 to $29.8 billion by the end of 2013, forcing companies that rely on direct mail campaignsRead More...

Tiger's Ustream.TV Debut

cwilliams@twiststl.com — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:38:31 +0100

A while back we posted some of our thoughts on the Tiger Woods scandal and the ineptitude with which he handled the situation. Fast forward three months and it seems like his handlers have finally come up with a plan to rebuild Tiger’s tarniRead More...

SEO: How to Put Yourself on Top of the Pile

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

In today’s market, it’s imperative for businesses to go above and beyond any of their past efforts to market themselves and gain attention. Many of my recent blog posts have focused on some of the ways that public figures and companies are doing this, and it’s clear that a theme is emerging: the necessity of keeping up with the rapid changes in marketing and advertising. However, making effective use of social media and networkiRead More...

Waging War Through Advertising

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

It’s no secret that the advertising industry has taken a big hit in the past few years. With the myriad of media vehicles through which advertising can be delivered, the market has become diluted, making ad placement a huge challenge. The constant stream of advertising has created consumers adept at ignoring it and increasingly eager to avoid it altogether. So what does it take to capture consumers’ attention? Campaigns that are humorRead More...

Obama Understands the Power of Google

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Understanding your audience and how to reach them is important for any person or business trying to convey a message, but successfully doing so is particularly difficult—especially when your target audience is the entire country. President Obama’s February 1st Q&A session, which streamed live on YouTube and the White House Web site, proved that Obama truly understands how to use social media to bypass traditional media outlets andRead More...

Harnessing the Power of Social Media for Good

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:54:30 +0100

In response to the 2010 Grammy’s surge in ratings, a recent article on Mashable posed the question, Did Social Media Play a Role? It’s quite obvious that the answer is a resounding yes, and to be perfectly honest, it’s really no big surprise. Entertainers are some of the most prolific users of social media, and with members of the music industry Tweeting in the days, hours, and minutes leading up to the event and all the way thrRead More...

Finding Old Friends: Baby Boomers on Facebook

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:19:21 +0100

A common misconception about social networking sites is that young people are the only ones using them; however, a new report by eMarketer on social media adoption among different generations proves otherwise. According to the data, in 2009 nearly 47% of Baby Boomers were active on Facebook, compared to 15% in 2008.

It’s not surprising that Baby Boomers are adopting Facebook and becomingRead More...

Price Trumps Policy

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:56:17 +0100

Since Apple’s unveiling of its iPad, it has been virtually impossible to visit any news or social media website without being inundated with information on the new product. While the Twitterverse was all buzz about the release of the touch screen tablet that is expected to revolutionize and revive print media, there was significantly less buzz about President Obama’s State of the Union Address. The annual speech typically garners a loRead More...

Tonight Show Shakeup

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:11:26 +0100

Watching the O’Brien/Leno debacle was reminiscent of watching a car crash: you’re horrified, but you just can’t turn away. Jay Leno may have reclaimed his position as host of The Tonight Show, but with a little help from a good publicist Conan O’Brien’s career should be far from over. During his time as the host of Late Night with Conan O’Brien and his Read More...

New York Times Charging for News

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:01:14 +0100

The New York Times is the latest major print media outlet to join the trend toward a subscription based business model. Beginning in 2011, Times readers will be charged to access articles after they have reached a monthly allotment of free content. While the shift is intended to boost revenue, it’s questionable, and highly likely, that the change might reduce readership and website traffiRead More...

Twitter Pictures from Haiti

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:47:44 +0100

An outpouring of well wishes and support for the Haitian people has swept the web in the wake of adevastating 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. And just like during the Eureka earthquake, tweets have quickly spread moving and gut-wrenching TwitPics of the disaster.

Red Cross Raises $1,000,000+ for Haiti Through Text Message Campaign

ckaminer@twiststl.com — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:26:04 +0100

We’ve just confirmed that the Red Cross has already raised more than $800,000 for Haiti through their $10 text message donation initiative (text “Haiti” to 90999), which is backed by the United States State Department.

Susan Watson, director of marketing and visibility for the Red Cross, tells us that they’re getting reports every halfRead More...

Can You Be Among the Top 100 Social Brands?

ehusband@twiststl.com — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:32:45 +0100

Mashable just released the top 100 social brands for 2009 and surprise surprise they are all larger companies who are spending time and money doing things right. Ironically, social media is the perfect way for smaller brands, local companies, not-for-profits, etc. to drive traffic to their websites and build incremental sales. If you are not doing this in 2010, it should be high on your list!