For those who use Twitter, you understand the power that it can have on building and expanding your brand. For those still on the fence as to whether or not Twitter can be used for business purposes, I will share 2 quick examples that we just recently experienced.

One of the advantages of Twitter is that your brand can very quickly and easily be promoted to other, larger networks. In both examples, this was certainly the case.

In our first example, I received an email from a former colleague who launched a new website. He was looking for some general feedback - and also wanted to let me know the website was live for my viewing pleasure. I checked out the site and was very impressed, so I tweeted about it to our 600+ followers (certainly not a huge following) and encouraged them to check out the site because I truly felt it was of value to them.

What happened next illustrates the power of twitter for brand exposure. One of our followers retweeted (RT) my original tweet to his network of 5,500 followers. And then another one of our followers retweeted it to their network of 450+ followers. So, in a very short time over 6,000 people were exposed to this new website. Certainly not a bad thing for a start-up site looking for increased exposure.

The results of these efforts (which took no real effort at all) was an 80% increase in website traffic. Admittedly, it didn’t send millions of viewers to his site but I don’t think any business would complain about that type of return on their marketing effort.

The other benefit was that my former colleague had the opportunity to post a “thank you” reply to those who mentioned his site, which creates goodwill amongst all parties and opens the door for future engagement. You can see how over time each of these small touch points can have a positive effect for a brand. After all, isn’t it the little things that make the big difference?

Tomorrow I will share our second example of how Twitter can increase your brand exposure. Do any of you have examples of Twitter success? If so, please share them in the comments section below.

Here's four podcasts (video and audio) that I try to listen to each week through iTunes to keep up with everything going on with online marketing and the evolving digital landscape. Each one tends to stay with the formula of interviewing other marketers or experts in the marketing industry as well as discussing trends and case studies. If you have any other favorite podcasts please share and leave a comment below.

1. HubSpot TV - Inbound Marketing
Hosted by Karen Rubin & Mike Volpe.

Hubspot is a software development company that's product features Closed Loop Marketing, Social Media Monitoring, Lead Nurturing and Content Management System. HubSpot TV is their weekly video podcast covering all the inbound marketing news of the week. The show is hosted by Karen Rubin & Mike Volpe and many times involves a guest of the week (someone in the industry doing it right in terms of inbound marketing practices ). It's a live show and you can tweet in questions/comments during the show at #HubSpotTV . They also have all of the shows archived on the site.
http://www.hubspot.tv

2. Duct Tape Marketing Radio
Hosted by John Jantsch

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing has developed a small business marketing system and Authorized Coach Network and he is a marketing coach, social media publisher and author. The weekly podcast features interviews that provide information on small business marketing tips and resources. The podcast is mixed in with blog posts and can be found on the Duct Tape web site.
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/podcast.php

We recently started a campaign project with a local school to promote their annual benefit gala. As we brainstormed ideas with their marketing committee months ago the team came up with some great concepts that wrapped around the students of the school and the idea that donors and volunteers involved with the gala (coming up this November) will have a crucial role in helping students “build their futures”.