EQUTE — Twitter said it will soon offer big brands premium accounts that include enhanced features and analytics tools.

The announcement comes after many big brands jumped to be a part of Twitter analytics services and other news that Fortune 100 companies really didn’t use Twitter much.

A Weber Shandwick study shows that Fortune 100 companies are lagging far behind 15-year-old girls when it comes to Twitter.

The Weber Shandwick study showed that 73 percent of Fortune 100 companies registered a total of 540 Twitter accounts. However, about three-quarters (76 percent) of those accounts did not post tweets very often, and more than half (52 percent) were not actively engaged.(This was measured by engagement metrics such as numbers of links, hashtags, references and retweets.)

In addition, 50 percent of the Fortune 100 accounts had fewer than 500 followers, a small number in relation to the size and reach of a major corporation. Another 15 percent were inactive; of those, 11 percent were merely placeholder accounts — unused accounts to protect corporate names against so-called brand-jacking on Twitter — and 4 percent were abandoned after being used for a specific event.

In response, Biz Stone said that the site would charge for the new premium accounts.

“We want to present to [businesses] a layer of features to help make them better at Twitter, and share some of the analytics,” he said.

EQUTE — A pair of new studies shows that e-mail marketing is still an incredibly viable way to connect with consumers even with everybody clamoring to pave new avenues with social media and viral marketing.

Most online consumers (92 percent) have opted-in to an e-mail list, but half say they don’t want unsolicited e-mails from preferred businesses.

The information comes from a new study done by ExactTarget. The numbers show that e-mail marketing and lists are still a crucial part of any marketing campaign, but only if buyers want it.

It’s no secret that spam is annoying and can tarnish a brand faster than just about anything. And that next e-mail is going straight to the trash, even if it contains a great deal that they would love.

Marketers have already taken note of the affinity toward getting updates via e-mail, especially in this lovely economic time. According to another e-mail marketing study by EMarketer,a whopping 40 percent of marketers said they increased e-mail marketing while only 10 percent of them said they decreased their e-mail efforts.

It’s no wonder why people turned away from the high-cost, low-conversion tactics such as direct mailing. Perhaps it took a recession to get advertisers thinking about what actually works and easy ways to connect with their base.

Social media is novel and fun, but for most people marketing through Facebook, MySpace and Twitter is a futile exercise in feline herding. People pop on read a few tweets or status updates then bounce back to whatever they were doing. But when people see an e-mail from their favorite store, they’re apt to read it. And if they’re caught with a bit of money burning a hole in their pocket, it’s a low-impact way for them to feel like they’ve found a deal without leaving the office.

It’s not to say don’t play with social media marketing and viral sites and all the things that bring people in — but don’t forget your subscribing base and take care to take care of them.

EQUTE — Despite the fact that they are much more active than men, a new survey shows that women are not too keen on social media advertising on sites such as Facebook.

The folks at WebProNews had a good write up of the study that showed some pretty interesting numbers.

Some findings from the study:
- 75% of women are “more active” in social networking than last year

- More than half (54%) visit social networking sites at least once per day

- 75% share that social networking sites “not really” or “not at all” influence what they buy

- 52% of women surveyed have “befriended” or “become a fan of” at least one brand

- 83% feel “neutral” or “negative” when they see a brand on a social networking site

- 10% of women engage in product / brand-related activities (”get product information, including coupons and savings” and “writing reviews about products”) most on social networking sites - above common activities like “send private messages to friends” and “share photos”

The fact that over half of women surveyed befriended a brand does say a lot about what women are prepared to do. The study suggests that women who are active in social media don’t want to be talked at by the run-of-the-mill Facebook ads, they want to talk with the brand like they would any other friend. Keeping up to snuff on their Facebook page could be a great — and cheap — way for a company to break through to women.

While the study only included 1,000 women, it gives the basic idea about how women use social media and how brands should interact with them.

EQUTE — Every writer needs fresh ideas at some point, bloggers are no different. If you’re running out of ideas and need a quick blog entry to keep the brand blog going, try one of these out.

Show your readers one of your tricks or how you use a tool. A cake maker could give a demonstration on the best frosting techniques or the best way to color icing. A SEO expert could show readers how they analyze and use a keyword density tool or analytics software. Any pro blogger will tell you, giving away free information lets you show off your skills and expertise in a field. This freebie might also attract new clients, peers or just new friends in the industry.

Write a detailed blog entry about pros and cons of a current industry trend or news item. A doughnut maker could write about the trend of hole-less doughnuts. And what it does to the classic shape of the doughnut. Or a public relations expert could talk about the good and the bad of free press release services and what it does to the industry. Every industry has confusing topics and highly opinionated subjects — look at what people are arguing about and start from there.

Controversial people can bring a lot of traffic to a blog, just their name will help a blog show up on searches, news aggregators and other sites. An interview with a controversial person in any industry will bring traffic from new and old users alike. An interview with a big name is easy traffic, but not an easy task — especially for smaller bloggers. A random music blog, for example, isn’t going to have the clout to interview Bob Dylan, but it can still capitalize on his name. A profile of a famous person can do just as well sometimes as the person themselves. Profiling Bob Dylan’s career or how he inspired people at the time a new album release could bring a lot of happenstance traffic and people newly interested in his biography or discography. Every industry has a controversial person, pick one and start writing.

Writing about a client’s question is an easy way to keep readers reading. No matter how mundane or inessential a question is, if one person asked it, there are likely many others who are thinking about it too. A straw manufacturer could, for example, take a few pictures and write a blog post about how they get the paper around their straws — magic probably. It’s not a crucial piece of information or anything, but it could grow interest in your company and if it’s an interesting answer to a novel question, the entry could burn up Digg or Twitter and bring a lot of readers and possibly clients to your blog.

Write your own views about something that has you delighted or disturbed — even if it’s not in your industry. Writing a post about the a current topic in the news is a great way to show your customers and clients your values and your personality. This can, however, be tricky, you want to show who you are, but you don’t want to alienate your base. While politics and religion can really stir up the pot and get traffic comments and like-minded readers, businesses should think hard about what kind rhetoric is hosted on their blog. If a yogurt maker starts railing on presidential politics they could turn off potential yogurt fans. The gamble could pay off though, see Ben & Jerry’s; their politics bring attention to the brand and make earth-conscious consumers feel even better about that Chubby Hubby.

The fact that you’re not the only blogger out there isn’t even worth saying, but many bloggers act like they are. In the mad dash for more readers and better traffic, bloggers sometimes forget that people read blogs because they like reading blogs — simple as that. Giving out some good information or a link to a great blog might sound like a farewell wave to some bloggers, but showing readers where you find inspiration or information isn’t a bad thing. Any good information, even if it’s from another site, is good information and your readers will appreciate your desire to show them something new and great. Don’t get jealous , just because your reader is looking at another blog, they’ll probably bounce back to the great blogger that pointed them there.

Everyone needed novice information at one point — from lumberjacks to web site designers. Teaching the very basics might not educate your regular readers much, but it can be a wonderful way to bring new traffic. Pose a very basic question, then answer it. A good one for marketing might be “What Is Affiliate Marketing?” It might be an obvious to hardened marketers, but the industry is always growing, and fresh faces might not know the answer. Give those greenhorns the Wikipedia rundown with a few tips or insider information scattered through. It’s a fast and easy post, but one that could mean big traffic gains from new readers.

It might sound mundane, but telling people what you saw, what inspired you and what you did throughout the day could be a great post. Throw up a few interesting, funny or educational links or pictures you saw throughout the day. With so much news out there, many are looking for collections and lists to point direct them onward. Showing your readers what you look at throughout the day can bring your personality into the blog while giving good information. Tell your readers what you were doing when you stumbled upon this great image or precious nugget of information, then tell them what you did with it. For instance, a designer showing their inspiration can give clients a taste of how their mind works.

Jumping on a Twitter trend or popular Facebook posting can really propel a blog into realtime especially if you’re blogging at odd times. Expanding on an extremely current topic is a good way to bring new readers and help current blog readers stay abreast of trending topics without seeking a more general site like Wikipedia. If a topic is burning through social media, it’s likely a talker or it will be soon. Jumping into the global conversation about the next Macintosh product and how it could affect your industry is easy bait for readers — it’s just a matter of timing. In a blog entry like this is, timing is crucial, you don’t want to be the blogger coming in two days late on the iPhone — you’ve already been beat by the tech savvy crowd and the Twitter spammers. A marketer could even jump in on a movie discussion, a quick article about how the movie District 9 crafted its ads will insert your expertise into an extremely popular conversation. Try these out if you run out of creative juices, they can be a great starting point on a slow day and keep your blog rolling.

As smart phones become smarter and smarter and the internet becomes more available from anywhere, the line between Google’s domain and cell phones is blurring.

Though it remains to be seen what exactly this means for either telephones or the internet, there are near endless possibilities for the future of both mediums.

With 3G already a common feature in cell phones, the internet is always sitting in our pockets, ready for a quick Google search or e-mail. And now with Google Voice, telephone service is at our fingertips in front of a computer. Users can send SMS messages as easily as they send e-mail and make calls without picking up the phone. Google Voice has also effectively turned voicemail into e-mail, allowing users to listen and even read their messages right in their inbox.

The ability for Google Voice users to choose their own numbers in most any area code also does away with the opulence of area codes such as New York’s 212 or Los Angeles’ 818, allowing any John Doe from Kansas to take a swanky number.

But what does this really mean, will it radically change the way people do things, or is it just the pace of progress?

Only time will tell, but it could mean drastic changes to how people do things online and on their phones.

Social networking, for example, has already reached cell phone users with Twitter, but as convergence continues getting a “poke” on Facebook could have cell phones vibrating. Say someone is at a party, hypothetically they could bring up Facebook or MySpace and see who is at the party with phone-based GPS or triangulation (or even Bluetooth) and break the ice with the cute girl or guy across the room.

Social networking could turn from a nightly routine to a constant connection.

Marketing and commerce could change radically as well. Window shoppers could soon search that fancy camera in the window comparison shop and buy right outside.

Mobile marketing will only get more complicated and more targeted. Say that window shopper goes to search for that camera on their smartphone and sees a coupon advertisement for the store or a competitor across the street. The convergence could mean turning online shoppers into brick and mortar traffic. It’s just a matter of marketers finding their way into the cell phone user’s pocket.

Branding could also change quite a bit with the convergence. Already, Google Voice users are inserting their brand into their telephone numbers — (347) 6-EQUTE-9 — for an example close to home. No longer do businesses need to invest in a 1-800 number.

Only time will tell what the confluence of the internet and phones will mean, and Verizon is set to turn the tide with the much talked about 700 MHz band or “C Block.” We may soon see mobile media and advertising turned on its head.