As powerful as social media is perceived to be there’s still quite a bit of mystery that surrounds it. Brands recognize that they need to be involved, but they’re struggling with assigning a dollar-value on social media exposure and how it equates to revenue. Because there aren’t any tools or systems in place that can spit out data on a company’s return on investment (ROI) for increasing its Twitter followers many businesses find themselves wondering if they’re just spinning their profit wheels in a social media mudslide.

It should come as no surprise that brands small and large share common concerns regarding social media. Even though concerns may be similar brands should be aware that they’ll need to exercise different strategies depending upon whether they’re B2C or B2B. Aside from defining goals and strategies, here are some of the social media obstacles that may confront brands.

1. Choosing the right social media channels.

Brands that know who their target market is and what communities they belong to can integrate those niche social sites into their strategies. Using a blend of social media dominators like Facebook and Twitter with other focused social sites might be a good launch point for some brands. The truth is that the right social channels are the ones where your audience engages itself and that are also right for your brand.

2. Converting fans and followers into customers.

You might be surprised to find out that most of your brand’s supporters are already customers. These people have interacted with your brand on some level and they’re proudly supporting it by liking, following or subscribing to the news that you share. Make it worthwhile for your brand loyalists to enjoy special perks, discounts and sneak previews that others might not be privvy to. Preferential treatment isn’t a bad thing in the land of social media. When word leaks out that your brand awards BOGO offers to Facebook fans each month you can bet that it will be taken advantage of.

3. Creating impactful social media campaigns.

Often brands will find themselves in a creative rut and unable to pull together a meaningful social media campaign. No matter who you are take comfort in knowing that we’ve all been there and this is a challenge that will probably surface from time to time. When you plan a campaign try to build it with your audience in mind, not for yourself. Remember that a campaign isn’t a press release or a widget – it’s an actual strategy. Position, objectives, strategy, tactics and key messages are the core campaign components. Layer in video, blogs, newsletters, PPC and other elements to make your campaign memorable, and sustainable.

4. Managing social media productivity.

One of the most commonly quoted challenges from brands is not being able to budget time and productiveness for social media. Without a plan in place, social media activity can be a major time suck. Execute each social media action with an objective in mind and keep your focus on the task at hand. If you’re responding to customer inquiries on Twitter, only respond to customer inquiries. Avoid jumping over to LinkedIn to see what your groups are buzzing about.

5. Increasing subscribers and fans.

Hands down this is one of the biggest challenges for all brands. Unless you’re a brand that’s been arounds for decades or who has a national presence like Starbucks or McDonald’s, you’re not going to have millions upon millions of fans. Keep scalability in mind and don’t get caught up in what other international brands are doing. Next, remember to share information that your audience would like to know and would appreciate having. This doesn’t mean an endless barrage of details about your brand. It means pulling good, credible data from other sources and funneling it down to your loyalists.

There are plenty of other challenges that brands are facing and will continue to face. This is just a handful to get your wheels turning and to think constructively about how to overcome them.

Let us know what some of your brand challenges are and share with us below.

The best place to start is probably the most obvious. What exactly is a Twitter list? A Twitter list is a feature that allows you to organize your followers into lists, or groups. It’s a great way to organize fellow tweeters into manageable categories for easy access. Getting started with building a list is very simple. There are a few helpful things that are worth knowing before you begin creating your lists. Once you’ve got some of the basics down, you’ll be ready to use them as promotional tools to expand your marketing efforts.

Let’s start with some ground rules:

1. 1. Lists can be private or public.
2. 2. Twitter users can have up to 20 lists.
3. 3. Each list can have a maximum of 500 listees.
4. 4. List names can’t begin with a numerical character.
5. 5. You don’t have to follow someone to include them in a list.

Pretty straightforward. Making a list is a snap too. Click on your Twitter profile sidebar, select ‘New List’ and start adding. Look for the ‘lists’ button next to any profile, click and you’re done. A new listee has been integrated. Pretty simple. Now on to the purpose of this post!

Spy Games

Well, maybe it’s not quite spying – more like monitoring, or secretly listening. By creating a list that includes your competition, or similar brands, products and services, you can keep tab on trending topics and discussions. Tracking other tweeters is a great way to learn more about industry challenges and how others are facing them, as well as gain insight and a few tips on customer and client care. All of this is easily accomplished with a private list (remember, you don’t have to follow someone to add them to a list).

List Optimization

SEO is everywhere, including Twitter lists. Giving your public Twitter lists appropriate and optimized names can position them at the top of the search engine results pages. So, put some careful thought behind what you’d like to name your Twitter list. Make absolutely certain that once you’ve decided on a delightful keyword combo you don’t change your mind. Reason being is that once you change the name of your list, the URL of the Twitter list changes too. If that happens, you’ll lose the tweeters following that list.

Creative Juices Are Sticky

Developing a list for your profile doesn’t mean that it has to specifically relate to your business in every aspect. Why not spice things up by developing lists with a twist. First of all, it’s unexpected and second, you’re allowing yourself the opportunity to expand and engage with new tweeters. Building a list that sticks with tweeters and that’s shared with others drives traffic to you.

For instance, Jacob Cass’ Twitter profile, @justcreative, is aimed at graphic designers. His list, No Blab Just Design Links, is in the Top 140 Twitter lists followed. It ranks as number 51 with 1,025 followers. It’s a fun list and the name of it states exactly what it does.

Keep It Relevant

Think of your Twitter lists as extensions of who you are. Use them to build out and express what you can’t say in less than 140 characters. As your follower base grows, so do their interests in discovering more about you. Compiling meaningful and purposeful lists that continue to keep followers engaged and that are related to their interests will position you as a credible and respected resource.

Share On Your Web & Blog

Put your list in the limelight with a Twitter widget. Go to the Goodie stash on Twitter and customize your List Widget. Choose the colors, size, featured list and a title and catchy caption. You can do a test run to see how the widget will appear to users before you grab the code to install on your website. Place the List Widget in a conspicuous place and start promoting.

Shameless Promotion

There’s no reason why you shouldn’t broadcast your newly created list directly to your fellow followers. After all, they’re following you because they connect with who you are and what you’re sharing. Schedule a tweet or two and share your list for others to follow and enjoy. Just send out your tweet using the following format: @<username>/<listname>

Get Listed

Don’t forget to visit Listorious and add your lists to their directory. Listorious was created by Sawhorse Media to keep track of the growing number of Twitter lists that have been created and that are being created. This is also a great place to explore for ideas on assembling your own lists. When you add your list make sure to make use of the ‘tags’ feature so that Listorious users can find your list by subject and follow you through Twitter.

Toot Your Own Horn

Depending on what your list is about, when you build it, don’t forget to include yourself.

Added Exposure

When you’re added to someone’s list, it’s flattering. You’re being recognized as someone that’s sharing good information and it brands you as a resource. In turn, that makes you more credible, which is always a good thing. Starting a list of your own and adding specific people to follow has the same effect on them. It expands your circle of influence and builds up your network.

What lists are you currently following? What makes them standout? Share your thoughts and comments below.

Recently, Burger King has been riding the publicity wave for its ’404 error page’ campaign that it’s launched with social media news site, Digg. Simply put, when users enter something that can’t be found on the site, a customized 404 error page appears that is promoting Burger King’s $1 double cheeseburger. Crowns off to Burger King for coming up with an innovative way to expand its marketing efforts. Clearly, this corporation has an open mind when it comes to toeing new advertising waters.

After learning about Burger King’s endeavor, the search was on to locate creative spins through other website’s customized 404 pages. Surprisingly, there’s a vast selection of fresh examples that show how other businesses incorporate their personalities and some fun into these pages.

You might be asking yourself why anyone would want to have a customized 404 error page. It’s just one more way that you can keep visitors on your site. Most visitors who encounter a 404 File Not Found error on your site head for the hills. When you’re searching for something, be it internally on a site or through a search engine, if your target is M.I.A. it can be a bit of a buzzkill. You want your site audience to stick around and creating a custom 404 error page allows you to do just that.

Here’s a collection of some of the unique 404 pages that have been discovered. Hopefully they offer some inspiration so that you can develop your own.

Hasbro

Lileks

Chris Jennings

Apartment Home Living

Craigslist

Slonky

British Mac

The North Face

Rare View

Frye Wiles

To most people branding conjures up images of logos and corporate colors, but it’s actually much more than that. By business definition, branding is simply the creation of an identifiable entity that makes a promise of value. Let’s face it, today’s marketplace is a crowded place and being able to distinguish and stand out is no easy feat. Understanding what the right and wrong way to carry out brand management will make a big difference in the success of your business and  its image.

1. Logo Misconceptions

Too often, businesses focus solely on the graphic design and creative elements of a logo instead of positioning, buyer psychology and alignment with company objectives. Start thinking about your logo analytically and establish a plan on how to connect customer insights with your brand promise.

2. Being Everything to Everyone

It is impossible to appeal to every individual. Instead, focus on a niche market that you can tailor your brand to. Gaining the trust of a targeted audience will help strengthen your brand appeal and reputation.

3. Trying to Be Different

Differentiating your brand just for the sake of being different isn’t going to increase sales. Don’t use gimmicks to make the brand stand out, promote actual benefits for your customers that the competition can’t offer.

4. Lack of Commitment

Some companies place brand management in the hands of a marketing department so that they can concentrate on other operational aspects. Branding is an integral part of all departments within a company and preserving brand uniformity and integrity prevents it from becoming diluted.

5. Missing a Marketing Plan

Failure to plan is planning to fail. Traditional marketing isn’t delivering results like it used to. The game has changed and if you want to promote your brand you need to do it online. Slapping a profile up on Facebook and calling it good isn’t marketing. Consider hiring a professional who is adept at providing social media marketing services.

6. Customer Disconnect

Not knowing who your brand’s customers are can lead to disaster. Engage in customer dialogue, learn their wants, uncover their needs and continually evolve to meet the changing demands of the market place and become a better company overall.

7. Unconscious Neglect

Ultimately, businesses want their brands to succeed, but they aren’t necessarily doing much to strengthen or enhance them. Awareness of brand perception is critical to its longevity. Sometimes this requires coordinating with a third-party market research firm to investigate what consumers really think. Use the feedback to refocus your brand direction.

8. Too Much Change Too Often

Brands should evolve, not change. Businesses that are continually shifting their position may end up causing more harm than they realize. Spending the time to conduct solid research will help get things right the first time.

9. Not Tracking the Brand

If someone reaches out to your business for assistance, whether it’s through email or phone call, finding out how they learned about the brand and why they’ve contacted you will help drive future brand marketing efforts.Perhaps you have a TV commercials that’s driving customers your way. That’s important to know so that you can expand and continue reproducing good results.

10. Forgetting to Research

This really ties in to a majority of the branding mistakes that have been listed above. Research the competition, your customer, your market place and your business model carefully. Knowing what your brand is up against and how to properly position it can save you from headache and frustration down the road. Knowledge is power and the more that you understand about your market, the easier it will be be to succeed when you enter it.

When it comes right down to it, logos are used to identify. They represent products, businesses, services and so much more, but ultimately they are used to create, describe and signify what something is all about. Logos are like poetry. Where poets use select words in a small sentence to convey large meaning, logos share volumes of information about what they represent. From quirky to conservative and edgy to punchy, developing a logo takes some consideration and planning. So here’s a few tips to make your logo successful and few more to avoid using.

Logo Don’ts

1. Font only logos. Stay away from a font-only logo or one that uses to many fonts. Text just isn’t going to leave a lasting impression. It’s easily forgettable and it doesn’t make a visual impact that people can connect with.

2. Clipart. Keep your artwork original. Have images designed to fulfill the scope of your branding project. Using a pre-made art doesn’t look cohesive and comes across unfinished. Good design should connect to the purpose of your logo and its overall intent.

3. Scale. Logos should be built to with the ability to adjust in size without losing quality in the design. This also means don’t use rasterized images for your logos. Rasterized images can provide inconsistencies in reproduction and appear pixelated.

4. Trendy. A logo should have longevity and be around for awhile. Using trends means you’re not making your logo timeless. Without a unique approach to logo development it can appear like a copy-cat or outdated within a small amount of time.

5. Selfish Design. Build a logo for your customer, not for the designer’s ego or your own. Your logo needs to reach and appeal to your target audience and anxious graphic artists that see your logo as an opportunity to stamp with their own personalities aren’t going to produce what you need.

A good approach to logo design is working with a professional who takes the time to consult with you and learn about your needs, wants and goals. Getting a sense of who will be purchasing, subscribing or using the offer behind the logo will make a big difference in the logo’s design and final outcome. A solid logo should follow a few basic principles.

Logo Do’s

1. Clear. Too much detail can be overkill for a logo. Cramming in too many elements can cause it to appear cluttered and distracting. Simple design makes a logo recognizable and customers will remember it.

2. Versatility. Think about how the logo will be used and where it will be used. Your logo should look and work well in color and as a black in white image. It should also be flexible enough to use on the Internet or on an outdoor board. The color palette should be simple. Too many colors can potentially cost quite a bit down the road for promotional items and printed pieces.

3. Image. A good logo doesn’t have to describe what a company does or is. Consider the star-emblem that Macy’s uses – it doesn’t sell stars, or the Mercedes Benz icon – they sell cars, but you don’t see a miniature-auto for a logo.

4. Format. Using vector images will give your logo greater flexibility and preserve its basic structure. This is important when it comes to sizing for different media products, marketing outlets and any other situation that features your logo.

5. Feedback. Definitely keep communication transparent with your designer. It will help keep your logo project on the right path. Be cautious when sharing your logo designs with others. It’s ok to get an opinion from someone, but involving parents, friends, colleagues and partners may hinder the design progress of the logo and derail the logo from meeting it’s objectives.

Hopefully these basic tips will get your logo design moving in the right direction. There’s a million great resources available online for additional logo design tips and tricks. Take a look around and you’re bound to find some excellent information.