Topics Include: Hodgson on the Road, Hodgson Launches New Web Master Services Team, Twitter Analysis, Hodgson Launches Blue Ridge Partners

Hodgson on the Road

hodgsonConsulting will be exhibiting at the Ektron Synergy 2009 conference November 1-4, at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The Synergy Conference brings together technical, administrative and marketing users of Ektron's Content Management System for two days of networking, showcasing of best practices, customer case studies and one-on-one best practices consultations. Hodgson has participated in this conference since 2007, and each year we return with numerous recommendations on how to enhance our clients' Ektron implementations, so the pressure is on for Garry and I to do the same this year. I'll fill you in on what I learn in the November newsletter.

Since 1998, Ektron's content management solution, CMS400 .NET, has empowered non-technical business users by providing an intuitive user interface for managing their Web site's content and messaging. Hodgson is an Ektron Premier Partner, and has been helping our clients implement customized Ektron solutions since 2006. We are dedicated to continuing this partnership and to ensuring that we are at the forefront of best practices in CMS implementation.

Hodgson Launches New Web Master Services Team

Long known for our custom website and application development work, due to recent client requests, Hodgson is launching a new Web Master Service. While we've offered web master and maintenance services for clients in the past on an as-requested basis, we've now developed the service into a comprehensive program. The scalable service allows companies to take advantage of Hodgson's seasoned development team, its project management process and its version control and production technology, all at incremental levels of service and price. If you're interested in learning more, contact Garry, or complete the assessment tool to determine your website maintenance needs.

Twitter Analysis

I read an article in this morning's Washington Post about 20-30 year olds who refuse to use Facebook or Twitter. The articles' author made them sound like some type of anomaly, but then I came across another article today written by Robert J. Moore, CEO of RJMetrics, an on-demand database and business analytics firm that analyzed Twitter usage, which made me wonder if there was something to the lack of interest in Twitter.

Highlights from Moore's analysis included:

• Twitter's user growth is no longer accelerating. The rate of new user acquisition has plateaued at around 8 million new users per month.
• Over 14 percent of users don't have a single follower, and over 75 percent of users have 10 or fewer followers.
• Thirty eight percent of users have never sent a single tweet, and over 75 percent of users have sent fewer than 10 tweets.
• Only 1 in 4 registered users tweets in any given month.

But, diving deeper into Moore's analysis points out an interesting trend. While the average Twitter user may not be tweeting very often, users who do become active in their first week, tend to stick around.

• Once a user tweets once, there is a 65 percent chance they will tweet again. After the second tweet, the chance of a third tweet goes up to 81 percent.
• If someone is still tweeting in their second week, it is extremely likely that they will remain on Twitter as a longer term user.

The analysis also found that users who joined Twitter recently tend to be more loyal users. Users who joined in 2009 are more likely to be tweeting after their first month than those that joined in the same month in 2008.

So, it looks like Twitter may have staying power and that late adapters are learning how to use Twitter effectively for their needs. Hodgson has recently helped several clients customize their Twitter pages to reflect their brand. If you are interested in learning more about how we can help you use Twitter to increase your marketing effectiveness, contact me.