As I am writing in my latest article for www.designspongeonline.com, I am the biggest advocate of finding (and working with) connectors, trendsetters and influencers.

One of the best connectors I know is a former boss of mine, Cameron Herold (www.backpocketcoo.com). When he hired me as a marketing manager at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? back in 2004, he told me something that no one else had told me, which I think every boss should say to their employees working directly under them: “you’re not good at numbers or excel spreadsheets – you’re awesome at marketing, so stick to it. That’s why I hired you”. In a nutshell, my ego went up about 10 notches…and it was only my first week at the company! Here is the point I am trying to make: employers focus too much on trying to improve certain qualities in their employees they want them to have and do not highlight the qualities they are already awesome at. Finally, I knew someone understood me….professionally. Thanks Cameron (pat, pat on the shoulder). Oh and as a side note, every time I see Cameron, he ALWAYS reminds me of what I wore to my interview. The dude is smart and has a photographic memory.

So, where am I going with this? First off, you should follow him on Twitter (@cameronherold) because he is full of amazing (and sometimes) humorous information on how entrepreneurs can grows leaps and bounds (he coaches them). Second, I wanted to share his top tips on how to use Twitter tools. In the words of Cameron, “I will make you go from 500 followers to 5,000″. So lets put it to the test, shall we?

The Basics
1.  www.twitter.com – you sign up for the account here (but who isn’t on Twitter yet?).
2.  www.twitter.com/andreabaxter – you can follow me here if you’d like, but I highly recommend it:)
3.  http://twitter.grader.com/ – great place to see where you rank, to find others to follow etc. – Add some from the Twitter elite who interest you such as your favourite brands, influencers, newsworthy publications, politicians etc.  You can also search terms here and add people who rank highly on those terms as well.
4.  http://socialtoo.com/ – you can use this site to automatically follow people who follow you (this is the fastest way to start adding followers) but it’s not for everyone. If you choose to keep your follow list low, then this is not the app for you, but why wouldn’t you?

Searching & Tracking Stuff On Twitter
1.  http://search.twitter.com/ – you can use this to see what’s happening on Twitter – think Google for Tweets (messages people send out).
2.  http://www.twitscoop.com/ – another great way to see what’s buzzing on Twitter.
3.  http://www.twhirl.org/ – a good desktop client for Twitter – personally I use Seesmic Desktop but TweetDeck and Hootsuite are other great apps.
4.  http://www.twitterhawk.com/ – a great way to search for keywords – and send replies to people – i.e. those talking about your company or product. Great tracking tool!
5.  http://www.twibs.com/ – this is where you register your company – so people can find you if your twitter name is your personal name, you can also find companies to follow here too.
6.  http://live.tweetmeme.com/ – one of @cameronherold recent favs where you can see what’s hot on Twitter (think Digg for Twitter).

Advanced Stuff
1.  http://www.twitpic.com – you can upload photos to Twitter from here – great way to share your story…in images to add something extra to your tweets.
2.  http://tweetstats.com - for the advanced tweet-a-holic and if you really start getting into it, you can see tons of stats. Five years ago I wouldn’t have gone here, but now that I am better with numbers, I love it (thanks CH).
3.  http://tweetmic.com/ – how to upload an audio tweet. @smartcookies use this if we want to upload a recent radio interview we appeared on.
4.  http://www.adjix.com/WebObjects/Adjix.woa/ and www.tinyurl.com are both great ways to automatically a) shorten URLS and b) send them out as tweets. A MUST have tool to fit into the 140 character count. You should also have these features available on your desktop application (Hootsuite, Seesmic Desktop and TweetDeck).
5.  http://retweetist.com/users – see if people are re-tweeting your stuff – if you don’t have the reply feature on your desktop app, this is a great tool to use.
6.  http://twittercounter.com – basic stats

PR People on Twitter (from Cameron Herold)
1.  http://muckrack.com/ – journalists on Twitter if you’re a bit of a media junkie.
2.  http://www.mediaontwitter.com/
3.  https://twitteringjournalists.pbworks.com/Media+People+Using+Twitter

So, give me a bit to put these in action and see if I can increase my follow list by 5,000. Cameron, I’m holding you accountable:)

Thanks for sharing and I would love for you all to share and comment on some of your favourite Twitter tools with me as well.

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Tips & Tricks, bratface marketing, influencers by Andrea