The word Tweeple is very simply defined as people who use Twitter. Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms are a proven way to reach your customers quickly and create deeper relationships. But just like anything else there is a flip side to these online tools and complaints can be shared on your page for the entire world to see. So what do you do when the world sees negative things being said about your brand? You deal with it.

Facebook has hit the 200 Million mark on its mobile app. That means that 200 Million people are using their phones to keep in touch, socialize with their friends and gather info via Facebook. You may ask yourself Why should I care about Facebooks usage stats? The answer is: You should care about how consumers view and gather information if you intend on reaching them. But I suppose that this should only be a concern if you plan on having these mobile users as your customers.

The marketing firm Flowtown has recently re-created a map of online communities that has gotten some raves from social media experts. It visually depicts these countries and their current populations including rising nations, the Land of Defunct Social Networks and the Former Kingdom of MySpace. With some guidance this depiction can also be used as a map to help safely navigate a business through this virtual world.

During a conversation one day with an old mentor of mine, he pointed at his ears then pointed at his mouth stating: you were given two of these (ears) and only one of these (mouth), which means that you should listen twice as much as you speak. If you take the time to listen, your customer will tell you everything you need to know in order to maintain a great long-term relationship with them.

Not only have I found this to be true but now we have the tools to reach this golden goal to with the masses.

With the economy as it is today businesses of all types are looking to maximize their marketing dollar and weed out what may now be ineffective. In order to do that we must look at the cultural trends in America and decide if what worked before is still viable today. Are print ads as effective as they were even ten short years ago? Are television commercials paid the same amount of attention as they were before the advent of TiVo when you can fast forward past them? Are radio spots listened to with any serious cognition by the target audience or listened to at all? (Sirius Radio pun intended). If you haven't yet, it is time for you to get real about your e initiatives.

Where does your target audience gather to talk about the great lunch they just had or to catch up with their co-workers, friends and relatives? This is a question that many executives from leading restaurant companies are asking themselves.