As a Forrester analyst I get to work with a fantastic team of researchers – including Tom Cummings, who contributes some great work to our research on social media marketing and a wide range of other topics. Below, Tom discusses a piece of research we collaborated on, covering how marketers are using Twitter:

[Posted by Tom Cummings.]

We recently published WebTrack review of how major companies are using Twitter. Over a span of three days in
October, we tracked 30 marketers on Twitter to see how they named and branded
their accounts, how often they tweeted, how they interacted with other
Twitter users, and more. We didn't just study the most popular accounts on Twitter –
instead, we looked for a broad sample of accounts across key industries (including retail, travel, financial services, auto, and CPG).

For the most part, brands get the basics right. 
The large majority interact with followers (more than three-quarters of the brands we tracked reply and retweet). And most fill their streams with a steady flow of relevant content (80% tweet at least daily). We especially liked seeing companies go beyond traditional marketing messages – like when State Farm promotes fire alarm safety or when Ford gives behind-the-scenes perspective on their new engineering processes.

But while most get the basics right, many branded Twitter accounts still fall short
on some key points.  For instance, it’s surprisingly difficult to
find the appropriate account for many brands.  Neither Google nor Twitter search offer an ideal way to find a company's official account – and often, a company's official primary account isn't the most active or the most followed.

We were also surprised that only half of the accounts we
reviewed “validate” their Twitter page.  It's not enough to link from a Twitter account to a corporate page – those corporate pages must also link back to
the account to prove that the account is official.

We like how Whole Foods – which runs more than 100 official accounts – handles both of these problems: They keep their primary account name simple and searchable (@WholeFoods) and link from that account to a list of all their other accounts. Other marketers should follow suit – because it’s up to them to prove the authenticity of their account
(no matter how many followers they have) and to make it easy for fans to find the right account to follow.

Clients can read more examples and findings in the full report. In the meantime, we’d love to hear how your brand is using Twitter, how you let
fans know about the account, and what other tips you have for best leveraging the power of Twitter.

You may not know the name Michael Greene, but if you're a Forrester client or you read this blog regularly then you've certainly seen his work. As a researcher on our team, Michael produces some great research — most notably on the topics of sponsorships and video advertising. Below, Michael shares his thoughts on one of our latest research topics, sourcing video creative:

[Posted by Michael Greene.]

Earlier this week, AdAge reported
that PepsiCo is running a public contest (in conjunction with video sharing site 12seconds.tv) to source video ads for its Mountain
Dew product line. Pepsi invited fans to direct, shoot, and edit 12-second videos that
show off their skills and promote Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew fans will get the
opportunity to vote on 6 finalists, from which Pepsi will select 3 winners who will
receive funding to produce 15 second video ads.

Pepsi does a lot of smart things
here, including cross-promoting the contest through Facebook and Twitter and
providing a clear, concise creative brief that outlines Pepsi’s goals, video
formatting specifications, and project timelines.

Pepsi intends to put the winning ads from their contest on national TV. But
looking beyond traditional sources for video creative isn't just an option for TV advertisers — in fact, it can be even more applicable
for online video marketing efforts. Interactive marketers now have
more options than ever for sourcing online video creative, including video
contests, creative crowdsourcing, digital studios, and – of course – traditional
production methods.

Each of these sources has distinct advantages and
disadvantages which Nate Elliott and I detail in our recent report, Online Video
Ad Creative:Digital Studios, Crowdsourcing Vendors, And Video Contests Offer Marketers New Sources Of Creative Content.
But the main point is this: Rather than rely on only one source for ad creative, interactive marketers need
to take a portfolio approach with creative partners — aligning each source of creative with its respective strengths. For instance, contests are a great source of viral video because they naturally create deep
engagement with fans and generate viral buzz; while creative crowdsourcing vendors can offer a low-price alternative to traditional agencies when you need a TV ad or a product demo video. And marketers should consider more than just price when choosing creative sources: they also need to think about what rights they'll have to the videos that are created, and
which vendors can best integrate their videos with a marketers' other online marketing efforts.

So what do you think? Is your organization looking to new
sources for online video ad creative? How do you determine which source to
access?