HubSpot just finished a great webinar on using Twitter for business. It was well-run and very informational for both newbies and those advising on the topic like me. There were a few things I learned like:

• some url shorteners track click thrus and some don’t (Ideek, hoottweet, owl.ly, longer list to come hopefully)
• www.twitter.com/replies shows every tweet that includes @yourusername
• tip from me: include the hashtag for your event during the pre-event correspondence
• you can register your hashtag at www.hashtags.org
• tracking ROI on Tweeter use on visitors, leads, conversion to sales is real proof of marketing validity

You can also ask the participants questions related to the event like I did, “how many people watching the #hubspot webinar have people dedicated to social media marketing vs “spare time”?” and get some great responses.

All the responses to the questions I posed through Twitter during the #hubspot webinar.

Ok, I admit that sometimes I can be gullible…but is there really a Firefox crop circle?

This is what the Zemanta link takes me to on Google Earth. Impressive if it is true!

Like most people, I am sitting here trying to cram 30 hours of to-dos into a 24-hour day. Most people that know me, know that I’m a working mom and so my do-to list consists of family duties, work duties, staying on-top of my industry activities, networking, marketing, paid consulting, free advice, family fun, and occasionally time for me. I’m sure I forgot something in there…oh yeah, pet care. Ugh.

My plan for the next three days.

Of course, I try to simplify where I can and I can cook a weeknight dinner in under 15 minutes, but you can only get so efficient. What I find really helps is a multi-pronged approach:

1. I use Microsoft Outlook’s Calendar to map out everything I need to do for the week including personal, work, and reminders of what I’d like to do for the future.
2. I use Microsoft Project to plan long term consulting projects and break it down each week for my Outlook schedule. Not to mention highlighting the tasks on my gantt chart.
3. My Firefox browser has all the important home page’s up:
   1. ExecTweets is first so I can see what the Top Business Executives think is worth tweeting about
   2. iGoogle is next for my RSS feeds, stocks, widgets, and search of course
   3. Then my Belmont email account which I have yet to setup in Outlook
   4. Next comes all the web pages of information that I found yesterday and need to read or research further. Right now, it is FusionCharts documentation, Flickr API documentation, and Facebook Pages changes.
4. My startup desktop applications include:
   1. TweetDeck for following my colleagues and their industry adventures
   2. AIM for keeping in touch with my virtual work teams
   3. Outlook with personal and BPM inboxes for “traditional” email correspondence

And then I have three phones that sit on my desk: cell, home, and work.

I think this is a pretty good system for keeping in touch with my ever-changing virtual network, and filtering through the glut of information in an attempt to find what is relevant or interesting. I still would like to have another six hours in each day.

If you have any tips for keeping organized or getting to the information that you want with little effort, I’m always looking for new options.

I attended the DC Ad Club’s event on how the Obama campaign used social media to truly change the way America participates in politics. Andrew Noyes, a reporter for Congress Daily, had some intriguing insights as an outsider covering the use of the media. I think he had the best perspective on the whole campaign because he was not part of the push, but followed it intensely. Andrew followed the campaign from campaigning for the presidency through the transition team through to the white house ongoing communication to the public.
The main approach seemed to be getting the Obama brand to infiltrate every communication channel possible, and to constantly be integrating with its audience. While there were some technical challenges during different segments of the campaign—there was freedom to make decisions quickly and use all forms of technology during the campaign, but the white house places specific rules and processes around what they can do/who they can outsource to—their team (led by Chris Hughes) of over 80 people on the web team stayed consistent.
Some of the highlights include:

• A large mobile component. Phones have mass audience penetration and have high engagement. People read txt messages within 15 minutes of receipt and have a 60-90% open rate. They also usually respond within 60 min. Source: Jeff the third speaker (sorry Jeff, missed your last name)
• Using the website as a hub, including mentions in speeches and off-the-cuff remarks
• Blogging by the team, supporters, and the candidate
• Lots of web video (my sister-in-law sent me a YouTube video back in 2006)
• This got the younger generation that isn’t watching traditional TV as much
• Facebook and MySpace pages
• iPhone app that let you organize your address book by battleground state and call them if you saw their state was losing ground. And ringtones of course.
• Txt message VP announcement (this was huge)
• Change.gov provided “your seat at the table” which allowed everyone to see which lobbying groups were meeting with the transition team and what they talked about. All searchable and categorized.
• The Citizen’s Briefing Book explained Obama’s position on topics and had over 800 people providing feedback. Andrew wonders what was done with this feedback, as do I
• A common theme was “connect…inspire”. Very appropriate for social media.

Having this kind of reach translated to record-breaking fundraising from individual donors. 3 million donors giving an average of $95 each. They didn’t stop at virtual networking though; they also created synergy in person by fostering the idea of having house parties in your neighborhood around campaign ideas. Volunteer supporters could get a phone list in their state and make calls for support on behalf of the campaign.
Some things to remember:

1. The “product” was good. President Obama was/is a great brand with a lot of natural personal magnetism
2. The topic was hot. Not only was the election the talk-of–the-town in America, but the world was watching too.
3. The message was clear. Change.
4. Online communication tools were an integral part of the dialogue. Visit the site to show your support…twitter your thoughts as we’re talking…txt HOPE to ###.