Twitter introduced a new feature, called Twitter Places, that I think could be beneficial for B2B companies. It allows you to assign your location to a Tweet. It also gives each location a dedicated Twitter page where users can view recent Tweets and check-ins (integrated with Foursquare and Gowalla) associated with that place.

How can this benefit B2B companies?

If a customer or prospect comes across the Twitter Place page associated with your business, he or she can view the Tweets and check-ins listed on that page. If someone has never heard of your business before, that feed can have a huge impact on that person’s first impression of your business.

So, B2B companies, make sure your corporate Twitter account is associated with your office location before you Tweet, and inform co-workers who are on Twitter to associate their Tweets with your business’ location while they’re at work. This will enable your Twitter Place page visitors to connect with your employees. And, I think it’s important for employees to make a connection with customers and prospects that goes beyond the products or services a business sells.

Twitter Places is now available. Below your tweet box you will see “Add a location to your tweets.” Simply click on the “Turn it on” link.

Do you think this feature could benefit B2B companies?

If you’ve read my previous posts on B2B Fishbowl, you know that I’m a big advocate for social media. I think it’s a great addition to marketing and PR campaigns and I always want to learn more about this ever-changing field.

This week, while implementing a new social media plan for a client, I wondered, when it comes to Facebook, is there a way to determine how much a Facebook fan is actually worth? Of course, I have other success metrics in the plan including measuring the velocity of fans within the first 30 days, visits to the fan page and number of comments or “likes” each week, but I was still curious about the value of a fan.

Through research, I found an article titled “How Much Is a Facebook Fan Really Worth?” It outlines a strategy from a firm called Syncapse that puts an actual dollar value on a Facebook fan. According to them, an average Facebook fan is worth $136.38. This was determined by asking fans of top brands on Facebook why they were fans of those particular companies and about their past and future buying habits.

I’m not completely sure that this conclusion is entirely accurate but, it’s interesting to see that companies are trying to put a value on a fan.

Have you ever put a value on your Facebook fans? What methods have you used to do this?

Most of us are at our computers or hovering over our laptops everyday and even into the evening.  According to the National Safety Council, June is National Safety Month. The theme for this week is “Preventing Overexertion at Work and Home.” Granted it has more to do with jobs that require heaving lifting (sipping your latte doesn’t count), but it did inspire me to dig a little deeper into the subject matter to find something that us chair surfers could benefit from.

Check out these quick tips for ergonomic safety along with an entire checklist to ensure you’re working safely in front of your monitor:

• Top of the monitor at or just below eye level
• Head and neck balanced and in-line with torso
• Shoulders relaxed
• Elbows close to body and supported
• Lower back supported
• Wrists and hands in-line with forearms
• Adequate room for keyboard and mouse
• Feet flat on the floor

Did you have to adjust your posture or placement while reading through the list? I know I did.

Don’t you just love when you learn a new word that defines a concept you’re familiar with already? I recently found out that the formulation of a new word that blends two or more words or morphemes together is called a portmanteau (pronounced: port-man-too). Some everyday examples would be smog (smoke+fog) and brunch (breakfast+lunch). Corporate examples of B2B brand names include FedEx (Federal+Express) and NetApp (Network+Appliance).

Here at Canyon, we frequently use portmanteaus when developing new company names, product names, or even taglines to promote our clients’ businesses. In the B2B marketing space, where we are often charged with simplifying complex ideas, creating new words often helps avoid industry jargon and communicate multiple thoughts clearly to target audiences.

We even use this concept for our own business. Check out these portmanteaus that we’ve coined over the years based on the way we provide value to our clients:

1. Smartnerships (smart+partnerships): These are the relationships we have with our valued clients. Rather than a client/vendor arrangement, we forge intelligent, long-term partnerships with our clients.
2. Strategenomics (strategic+economics): This means, quite simply, developing marketing communications and branding strategies that result in tangible financial returns for clients.
3. Marketect (marketing+architect): This is the unofficial job title of all Canyonites, which speaks to their abilities to design and build integrated marketing communications programs that deliver measurable results.

Have you developed any new words to communicate complex B2B concepts? Can you wow me with a new Portmanteau word to describe your business? The best comment, as judged by me, wins a free ‘Buzzword Dictionary.’