Good question. According to BtoB Magazine’s online survey of nearly 400 U.S. marketers, almost half of survey respondents expressed dissatisfaction with Twitter’s ability to generate quantifiable ROI. That being said, it’s important to note that a majority (approximately 70 percent) of survey participants acknowledged only devoting 30 minutes to their respective Twitter streams.

While Twitter is quick and easy to manage, it has not yet been directly linked to revenue increases. So, is Twitter, as a marketing tool, worth your time? Arketi Principal Mike Neumeier chimed in on the debate, “Twitter has proven to be an effective communications tool, but in all likelihood its relevance will fade over time. It is not a marketing strategy, but rather a single communications channel.”

But, as one would imagine, you get out what you put in. The more time and thought companies allocate to their Twitter engagement is directly correlated to the output they can expect to receive. As the survey suggests, “marketers who generate revenue via Twitter are more active and commit more of their time to using Twitter.”

To read the full article, visit http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100614/FREE/306149964/1445/FREE.

I recently attended a Hubspot webinar entitled “The Science of Retweets” that shed some light on a handful of factors that comprise a retweetable tweet (try saying that five time fast).

Some of the tips promised to help your retweetability rate included:

• Incorporate a link (preferably a bit.ly, which provides tracking and analytic capabilities)
• Politely ask to be retweeted
• Limit your tweets to around 115-120 characters
• Share interesting and compelling content

One of the more interesting tidbits of information shared in the webinar came in the form of a “Top 20 Most Retweetable Words” list. I know, try and contain your excitement. As most serious Twitterer’s know, a retweet (often denoted by an “RT”) is the sincerest form of flattery on the popular social media network.

However, getting retweeted also significantly increases your visibility, syndicating your tweet across a slew of various networks that you may never had access to before. So, without any further ado, here are the 20 Most Retweetable Words:

1) You 2) Twitter 3) Please 4) Retweet 5) Post 6) Blog 7) Social 8) Free 9) Media 10) Help 11) Please Retweet 12) Great 13) Social Media 14) 10 15) Follow 16) How to 17) Top 18) Blog post 19) Check out 20) New blog post

Happy Tweeting and Good Luck!

As B2B marketers, we’re always looking to adapt and modify existing strategies and tactics to better position ourselves in the market and provide us a competitive edge. Now is certainly no different.

Entries for the B2B Twitterer of the Year Awards are in full swing. Now in its second year, the awards were established to recognize innovative and outstanding use of the social media sensation by B2B companies.

The emergence of the popular micro-blogging social platform has given B2B companies an easier way to connect with customers and prospects. The collective B2B community has leveraged Twitter to bolster a slew of different initiatives – ranging from campaign communications, event marketing, engagement strategies and more.

“It’s not just about how many followers someone has, or how many times a person tweets in a given time. It’s about creating a community and the value a B2B entity brings to it,” says Joe Zuccaro, who oversees the operations of the B2B Twitterer of the Year Awards Program.

The last day to submit nominations is this Friday, December 18, 2009. Winners will be announced via Twitter in February 2010. For more information, visit http://www.b2boty.com/ or follow @B2BTOTY on Twitter.

Last week, a sizable contingent of excited young professionals filled the room at Front Page News in Atlanta for the inaugural YPCity Tweet Up. Serving as a co-host of the event along with Katie Wall, I was simply overwhelmed by the turnout, at times having to squeeze through flocks of people engaged in deep conversation.

According to a study by email marketing provider Vertical Response, U.S. small businesses say they plan to bolster their use of social media and email marketing in 2010.

“The survey of 831 respondents at businesses with fewer than 500 employees found that 74% plan increase email marketing and 68% will increase their use of social media marketing.”

Savvy companies have recognized the potential these cost-effective channels have in delivering value to their customers and prospects. Even more, they are great jumping-off points for companies looking to implement engagement strategies and establish ongoing dialogue with their constituents.

Additionally, public relations was identified as a top tool for businesses to use in 2010. Not very surprising as PR offers companies relatively cost-friendly avenues to build their brand, establish relationships with the media and engage in relevant industry conversations.

To read the full article and see the results, visit http://www.marketingvox.com/small-biz-to-bump-up-email-socnet-spend-045557/.

Arketi Group Creative Director, Rory Carlton, examines the premise of the recently launch Microsoft Bing campaign and assesses its effectiveness in converting loyal Google-ites.

Read the full article as featured in DMNews.

Arketi recently spoke with University of Georgia professor, Dr. Kaye Sweetser, APR, after her PRSA GA September pre-luncheon seminar titled “Creating Your Social Media Playbook: A Pre-Season Training Camp.”

Dr. Sweetser emphasized the importance of understanding the fundamentals of social media engagement and provided specific tips, tricks and tactics to consider when developing a social media strategy.

In addition to detailing components of an effective organizational Twitter account , Dr. Sweetser delved into Twitter best practices such as always providing a call-to-action, leaving space to be re-tweeted and using please & thank you.

http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv20.nonxt2.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D94c41a6e7358f7d6%26itag%3D5%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26app%3Dblogger%26et%3Dplay%26el%3DEMBEDDED%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1274020220%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D129E6425B4B627422797D540CBDE64A0332B42F6.5FD9601504B5E3DC5A4C647855A41A3CB7AB2CBD%26key%3Dck1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D94c41a6e7358f7d6%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DnZkQB2HFAhBXz5JG6RoBzXLV00A&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den&nogvlm=1

To see more video on Arketi Group TV, visit www.youtube.com/arketi.