Digital Expression

The number of followers you have doesn't matter.  Their devotion to you does.  build networks of interesting and powerful people. Large numbers are excellent for promoting the perception of influence. Engagement is a far better metric to measuring the value of social media to your business. How is this measured? Benchmark with Klout.com, Twitter.grader.com, Tweetreach.com,Twitalyzer (thanks Tim) and here's a mention for socialmediahuh's Facebook Page Valuation Tool. And there's a lot more tools you may find useful here.

• Check your influence in a particular city like Auckland
• Consider how many clickthroughs (publicity) you attract to your website & how many conversions result. This is trackable using tools like Hootsuite or Bit.ly
• Mentions like @justinflitter are like tagging people on Facebook photos or backlinking to blogs.  It cuts through the noise and commands an individuals attention.  It's a great way to engage key influencers who can dramatically increase the visibility of your message.

A short saying often contains much wisdom. - Sophocles

How I've been using Twitter:

• Use Geofollow to find people to connect with in a particual location.
• Use Twubs to connect with people associated with a specific #.  Also great for post-conference connections.
• Find followers who may be interested in your thought leadership by following followers of subject matter experts in your niche.
• Use TweetML to find easily follow people on Twitter Lists.

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Teresa......And since everything on the internet is forever archived, this quote holds true in more ways than one.

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak - Epictetus

• Retweet generously, but QA any link behind the headline first.  A good headline needs to be backed up by good content.
• #ff generously and give a reason for your recommendation.  This is as much for the followees ego than anything else.
• Ask peers for their opinion on your blog posts.  These comments feed back into Twitter and can work to widen the number of participants in the discussion you initiate.  Email them, or simply give them a mention a related tweet.
• Leave enough free characters for retweet accreditation - ideally 3 or 4 times.  This means the shorter your username, the better.  My username: @kunalkripalani is a classic case of what not to do!