We wrote last year about Atlanta’s phenomenal growth in Facebook users, which moved the area up to second, only behind New York. Now Chicago is experiencing similar growth, closely behind L.A. at No. 3. Chicago’s Facebook users have almost doubled in five months.

iStrategyLabs has been tracking Facebook use since 2007, using data from Facebook’s social ads platform. The agency’s CEO, Peter Corbett, correctly points out that concerns over privacy have not had an impact upon Facebook’s growth, with the U.S. user base growing 21.8% between Jan. 4 and June 8.

Which age group had the highest growth rate? That would be those over 55.

A quick note about our webinar…

OK, I’m going to depart from normal practice here to plug an upcoming webinar in which I’ll be participating. I’m partnering with good friends Tim Morrison and Brownell Landrum on a series of classes devoted to helping writers perfect their craft, build websites for themselves and their books, and market themselves and their writing through social media. Tim is a writing coach and Brownell helps people set up websites using the power of the WordPress platform. And, naturally, I’m the social media coach.

We’re having a free, one-hour webinar next Tuesday, July 13, at 8 p.m Eastern. You can find out more about our classes — and us — at our website. And you can sign up here.

When starting a three-part series on Twitter several months ago I vowed to prove that Twitter isn’t fading, it’s not just noise and that it is, in fact, good not just for big businesses, but smaller companies as well.

What happened? A bunch of people suddenly asked me to help them use Twitter to meet their business goals. I am now working with businesses, non-profits and professional associations every day, coaching them or tweeting on their behalf and achieving objectives. While a few months isn’t nearly enough time to provide thorough case studies, I can report immediate results through Twitter. Such as:

– A group supporting environmental causes wanting to add new chapters asked me to launch a Twitter campaign less than three months ago. In the first week, they received a request for a media interview. They are now quoted regularly in national publications, building their brand awareness. A new chapter is about to form in a coveted area because tweets about the group caught the interest of a Twitter follower there. More chapters are on the horizon — thanks to Twitter and the dedicated followers it can generate.

– A writing coach hoping to expand his business is now connected to a large number of young, inexperienced writers and is now connecting to his ideal client — executives of large companies interested in writing books.

– A start-up that is licensed to sell a safety product in Georgia wants to expand its market. In just two weeks, response to the company has been remarkable.

It’s too early to document the details and name these groups/companies, but that day will come soon enough. These clients — and others — are already convinced of the power of Twitter to target those they most want to reach. More important, they have learned that the road to success is through building relationships and sharing valuable information with their followers.

That’s a sound business strategy anywhere and Twitter is just the tool to help them make that happen.

Compete and comScore, Web analytics firms, both released figures showing a drop in average monthly Twitter visitors from July to December 2009. Imagine that? Fewer people used Twitter during December — a month with two big holidays (and plenty of days of downtime and travel surrounding them). Does that really surprise anyone?

Also, anyone who seriously follows Twitter knows that tracking site visitors requires going down the rabbit hole of all the third-party apps — from desktop to cellphone — that people use to connect with Twitter. Many critics question the reliability of numbers related to Twitter’s traffic because of the numerous ways to tweet without ever visiting the site.

When I read the word “peak,” I normally think a decline is around the corner. Curiously, some less prominent numbers in CNN’s article don’t suggest that at all. Web analysts HubSpot find average Twitter users now:
• Have more followers: From 70 in July to 300.
• Follow more feeds: From 45 in July to 170.
• Tweet more: From 120 tweets in July to 420.

HubSpot also found that Twitter is becoming more international. The U.S. represented under 51% of Twitter users in December, down from 61% in June. That number rings true personally as more and more overseas social media and marketing people are connecting with me.

So, let’s see, Twitter users are more engaged than ever. And people around the world are joining every day. Not exactly a “peaking” scenario, is it? Maybe Twitter is, gasp, maturing.

OK, business folks, you now know Twitter is neither a) all noise nor b) peaking. Next, we’ll show you how it can benefit your business, no matter the size.

They say it’s a bunch of noise. Some say they don’t want to know what folks had for breakfast (More about that in a minute). They don’t see any tangible business benefit from using it.

I understand some of their concerns. There are plenty of idiots on Twitter. I love the idiots who look at the Trending Topics and then try to fit as many as possible into 140 characters. I love the idiots who have 5,000 followers and have yet to post a single tweet. And I especially love the idiots who spam about such exciting things as all-natural teeth-whitening.

I could go on. But there are idiots everywhere online. Locally, all you have to do is check out some of the comments on ajc.com’s sports or political blogs to know there are plenty of people who need an outlet for whatever venom or half-truths they need to share.

Why should Twitter be any different? Yes, there’s a lot of noise. Yes, there are hucksters. Yes, there are annoying Justin Bieber fans compelled to make him a Trending Topic several times a week. (Note to Justin: Can’t you just take them with you back to MySpace? Please?)

But there are other qualities that make Twitter a necessity for me, and should make it essential for many, if not most, business people. We’ll keep it simple today and not go into all the specific ways Twitter can help your business.

First, you have complete control on Twitter over who you follow and — very important — who follows you (once you get them to follow you, that is.) Don’t want to read the idiot offering whiter teeth? Block them.

Second, no matter what your profession, you will get access to the most cutting-edge and current information through Twitter. I promise you, while there may still be a few good discussion groups on LinkedIn, you will find superior information on Twitter. Why? Because that’s where the best minds are. After reading Twitter, LinkedIn seems so . . . 2005. I subscribe to countless RSS feeds, so that I can keep current on different subjects, including, obviously, social media. Yet every day Twitter brings me a new, and timely, information source — a blogger I haven’t read or a point of view I hadn’t considered. I wouldn’t have the competitive edge in my business without the intelligence Twitter users provide each day.

Third, Twitter users are more receptive to business messages, far more than on other social platforms. Studies indicate that at least 20 percent of the messages on Twitter relate to branding. Think you could get away with 20 percent of your Facebook status updates related to your business? I think not.

Now about that tweeting about breakfast complaint. What have been the top topics on Twitter this week? President Obama’s State of the Union speech hit 9,000 tweets per minute, while the iPad launch reached 7,000 tweets per minute, according to Retrevo’s Tech Buzzmeter. By comparison, topics such as Britney Spears get about 10-20 tweets per minute.

So much for breakfast, or celebrity, tweets. Next, we’ll take a look at another Twitter misconception — that it is peaking. Then we’ll delve more into some not-so-well-known ways Twitter can help your business.

Hope you had a great week. Have questions about Twitter? Give us a shout.

Then came the punch line. The job was for two hours a day, $10-$12 an hour, depending on experience.

Evidently, this “cool” company doesn’t expect much ROI (Return on Investment) from social media.

A lot of business owners I’ve met in recent months are probably not that different than whoever runs this “cool” company. Small businesses and professionals are intrigued by social media, but a) don’t have the time to get involved or b) don’t see the ROI of hiring a professional to help.

So I’m going to give you not just one, but three simple examples of ROI in social media.

1. An Atlanta executive coach (Disclosure: a client who also happens to be my wife) who works with engineering firms was in a lull in signing new clients. However, the coach recognized that LinkedIn could help her open doors. She used the Advanced Search feature of LinkedIn to identify companies that were clearly doing well during the tough economy (e.g. hiring). Working through mutual connections on the business networking site, she was introduced to executives who then contracted to work with her.

2. Charles Nelson, president of Sprinkles Cupcakes, has a company that apparently makes great cupcakes. His cupcakes are so good that he has amassed 70,000 fans on a Facebook business page. The “Beverly Hills baker to the stars” announces a secret word each day, and the first 25 or 50 people to show up with that word at any of his five stores gets a free cupcake. The ROI: A booming business and highly effective word of mouth. Nelson has not spent a dime on any other advertising or marketing in five years.

OK, you say, that’s Atlanta and LA. Those are big, highly wired cities. Well, let’s turn to:

3. The New York Times In July featured mom-and-pop shops around the country making money through Twitter. Consider just one: Silver Barn Antiques in tiny Columbus, Texas. Even before launching a Web site, the owner was able to find both suppliers and customers nationwide. “Twitter has been a real valuable tool because it’s made us national instead of a little-bitty store in a little-bitty town,”  she told The Times.

So what is the value of social media to your business? Consider your goals. What is the value of a new customer or client? You know how many leads you generally need before you attract one customer. What is the value of generating a lead for your business?

My guess is it’s worth more than $20-$24 a day. Or even 25 cupcakes.

I never totally bought that argument. Newspaper sales staffs could have been more creative in educating advertisers on how to attract women and not just settle for male sports readers wanting a tire sale. And sports news staffs were too drenched in testosterone to recognize that a large number of those filling the stands are women and many can read a box score.

But that was yesteryear and the media landscape has changed. Newspapers now struggle to keep readers of any gender — and advertisers — in the advancing digital age. However, the advertising truism still exists — in sales, women are still the coveted audience

Where are businesses looking for female customers going to find them these days? Social media, of course. A new study by the IT firm Royal Pingdom finds that 84% of the 19 social networking sites have more female than male users (53% females, 47% male). If Digg, Reddit and Slashdot were removed from the study, ALL 16 major social sites would have a majority of female users on them. Even LinkedIn, which has reportedly been the only site with a larger male audience, now is more predominantly female, according to the study.

This finding follows on another study last year by online research firm Rapleaf which found that women have more friends in social networks than men.

The newest study provides yet more evidence of how social media can help meet business goals. Most of your customers are using social media. They increasingly expect to be interacting with businesses while on their favorite social sites. If your business strategy especially targets women and you’re not interacting with them through social media, then hopefully this study will serve as a wake-up call.

You can thank me later.

One post described the flawed attempt by college football’s Bowl Championship Series to start a Twitter account, ostensibly to communicate with fans, answer questions and spruce up the image of the much-maligned bowl system. Heck, fans, most coaches and even the president want a playoff system to crown a football national champion. (Me, too.)

The result? A PR nightmare, according to Social Media Today, as @InsideThe BCS tweeted about 30 times (now up to 57) while screenload after screenload of critics weighed in with negative comments. And SMT wrote whoever was tweeting (they suspect a PR firm) misquoted Florida coach Urban Meyer as being a supporter of the BCS system. He’s not.

While I salute the BCS folks for attempting to enter the social space, it’s clear they needed to think through a strategy and prepare in advance. They should have known they would face an onslaught. Now that the bus has hit them, it’ll be interesting to see how they respond.

The second post focused on a conference where discussion centered on how companies are turning to Gen Y employees to handle their social media marketing.

My take: As we previously wrote, age is no longer a factor in social media. Facebook is gaining more Boomers; Twitter is now attracting Gen Yers. In a bad economy, people of all ages are turning to LinkedIn. So why would companies look to Gen Yers only to handle their social media responsibilities? It’s not like they all have a special gene that makes them marketers.

Whoever handles your company’s social media profiles reflects upon your company. If that employee, intern, contractor, consultant or PR/marketing firm doesn’t know what they’re doing, they can do harm. Many companies have already been burned by well-meaning, low-paid and inexperienced people representing their brand.

I’m reminded of the large Atlanta law firm who advertised earlier this year for someone to manage their social media identity. These lawyers, who spend their days carefully crafting legal arguments for large amounts of money, were paying a miniscule salary and clearly wanted a recent college grad. Nothing against recent college grads — I have two children graduating in the next year — but it was clear this firm wanted the benefits of social media without a seasoned professional. Why would a group of lawyers open themselves to such risk? Let’s hope they were lucky.

If you own a business and you need help in launching — and sustaining — your social media profiles, you should think through who you put in that role. Do you really leave it to an intern? Or the IT guy/Webmaster who can code great things, but can’t spell or write a comprehensible sentence?

Updating Twitter or a Facebook business page doesn’t require technical skills. Anyone of any age can do it. If you don’t have time to do it yourself, the challenge is finding someone with a mature-enough marketing and business sense to meet your needs.

There is great value for businesses to gain through social media. Don’t underestimate that value if you need help. Hiring or contracting someone on the cheap could end up being very costly.

That sentence jumped out at me while reading a post titled “The Future of Marketing” by Todd Defren on his great blog, PR Squared. It states simply — and memorably — what many Web 2.0 thought leaders have been suggesting about the future of the social Web.

Defren writes:

“When we surf and when we search, beyond the Social Network sites, we’re going to be taking our Friends with us; we’re taking our known online activities with us.  Sites and search engines will re-orient themselves dynamically to match our identities.  The entire Web experience will re-architect itself on-the-fly based on where we’ve been, what device we’re using, what we’ve looked at or purchased in the past, who we are friends with, what offers and content our contacts have been sharing and purchasing, etc.”

What does this mean for small businesses, organizations and professionals? We’ll avoid a protracted discussion of Facebook Connect, Google Friend Connect, Open ID and what they all mean for the future of creating online identities. Read Defren’s full piece for his insights. My take:

First, it means businesses and professionals better be investing time in their social capital. Your business not on social media? The time is rapidly approaching when a company’s social identity online will far outweigh its Web site messages. Without a history of interacting with your customers online, your online identity will slip and customers will go elsewhere.

Second, it means targeted marketing will enter a whole new realm. How will companies reach specific audience segments? By trying to influence their influencers. Or, as Defren writes:

“We’ll become more sophisticated: we’ll be able to identify micro-influencers and influencers-of-influencers.”

In other words, as people increasingly turn to their friends and trusted online sources for recommendations on products or services, companies wanting to reach certain people will target . . . their friends and trusted online sources.

While we’re talking the near-future of marketing, it’s really a logical extension of what’s already happening in social networking. If you’re a professional trying to expand your reach, you can use LinkedIn or other social media to identify new leads and seek introductions through people you know.

Business has always been social, about connections with people. Business 2.0 is about using social media strategically to build digital connections, which in turn lead to personal relationships. And better business.

With apologies to Dale Carnegie, it’s no longer “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” In marketing, it’s becoming How to Influence People Through Their Friends.

I try to show them that people of all ages are adopters of social media. Facebook alone has had dramatic growth this year at nearly all age levels, none more pronounced than women over 50.

Now there are new numbers available on social media users. The median age of a Facebook user has now risen to 33, seven years older than in May 2008. That’s not far behind LinkedIn, the business networking site whose 50 million-plus users have a median age of 39. The median age of a Twitter user has dropped to 31, which shows that Generation Y, which was not an early adopter, is now turning to the microblogging service. There had been numerous articles earlier in the year that Gen Y thought Twitter was pointless. Apparently, that’s changing.

Facebook getting older? Twitter getting younger? What does this mean? It means the old adage is no longer true that only the young are the early adopters of technology. And new social sites designed to attract the young away from Facebook and Twitter are reportedly not having an impact. The young are willing to use the same social media now used by their parents.

So much for age creating a digital divide in social media. (Yes, MySpace remains decidedly young — a median age of 26 — but its focus has shifted to mostly music and entertainment. And it’s certainly not the dominant influence it once was.)

While we’re debunking myths, let’s burst another bubble. Remember the study which found people were becoming more socially isolated because of technology, especially mobile phones and the Internet? Not so fast, according to a new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Pew found that these technologies do not have a harmful social impact upon people.

In fact, Pew found social networking sites provide an outlet for “discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds.” In other words, people have digital contact with a more diverse group of people.

Boomer business owners, isn’t that one of your company goals? Don’t you want to expand your reach to new people, new contacts outside your regular sphere?

Can’t wait for the next business owner to bring up age, or dismiss the merits of social networking. I’ve got some new research to share.

First, let’s be clear. I wasn’t anywhere near Facebook HQ when they recently shared their six-month product roadmap. I’m depending on trusted, reliable social media strategists, such as Altimeter Group’s Jeremiah Owyang (formerly of Forrester Research), for details. Second, some of the major Facebook changes will really be more suited to bigger companies with large budgets for marketing and developers who can create customized apps for them.

So let’s get that news out of the way. Developers creating Facebook apps will be able to ask Facebook users for their email addresses. And so companies who create such apps will have a whole bunch of potential new data to work with. They’ll be able to socialize their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems with real contact information from social media and distinguish between existing customers and new prospects. So companies can further integrate their social media data into e-mail marketing.

But that’s the world of big-volume products and services. What do these changes mean for small businesses and professional service firms? And how should they be preparing for the changes?

As we wrote Wednesday, sites will be able to choose the types of Facebook functionality they want on their sites. For example, Facebook users can become “fans” of your Web site while visiting there. So that means their friends learn about your site from these new fans. A business can create a news stream visible on their site which would also appear on the Facebook pages of their fans — and also be visible to the fans’ friends.

If you have a small business that depends upon a Web site for business (and that’s a large percentage of them), you should:

• Be thinking about what Facebook features you’d like to have on your site.

• Be setting aside some money for your Webmaster to make sure you’re ready when it’s possible to integrate that functionality on your site

• Be thinking ahead on what types of creative ways you can interact with new users coming to your sites. Special deals? Coupons? What can you do to get users to come back to your site? And bring their friends with them?

• Be thinking about ways to harness the Facebook news stream. For example, if I want to promote this blog, I now use a Facebook page giving a short summary of what I’ve written and a link back to here. In 2010, I’ll be able to simply flag Facebook friends or site fans that my latest post is done. It’ll show up in their live feeds. Bloggers can expect increased comments because people are more likely to comment through Facebook functionality than traditional blog commenting. (I get far more comments about this blog through Facebook than I do here.)

So business sites with active updates and content will be in the best position to take advantage of the Facebook functionality. If you can share compelling content and helpful information with your site visitors, you can use the tools to drive more eyeballs and repeat visitors to your site.

Small businesses, this is a great opportunity. Facebook is bringing the social Web to you. Be prepared to take advantage of it.