Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, anyone in online marketing knows about Twitter. However, even with the variety of tools and websites to enhance our Twitter experience, there is still some frustration lingering amongst users like me. As a new user how do you decide who to follow? Where can I find people in the industry with compelling content and a fresh, honest voice?

I have compiled a list of my top 10 Twitter-ers in the performance marketing space who I deem truthful, informative, engaging, and worth a follow:

1. http://twitter.com/leeodden 

Lee Odden is the CEO of TopRankBlog.com. He is a great source of all things social media. For any newbies just starting out in this space, his twitter is a great starting place for connecting and learning.

2. http://twitter.com/econsultancy 

Based out of London, Econsultancy compiles information surrounding the digital marketer’s world in one place. In order to be frequently updated to what goes on concerning online marketing, Econsutancy is a key to follow. They also have a live Twitter feed on their homepage as well as a growing community of contributors.

3. http://twitter.com/affbuzz

Recently launched, affbuzz.com gathers well-known industry contact’s blog RSS feeds into one website and all updates are automatically updated on their Twitter account. It’s a great resource to know what industry leaders are blogging about and how it affects you as a company.

4. http://twitter.com/sugarrae 

Connecting with Rae Hoffman on Twitter an achievement, as she doesn’t follow many, but she knows what is going on in the industry. CEO of her own Internet marketing agency and owner of MFE Interactive and Outspoken Media, she is an avid Twitter-er and speaks at many affiliate conventions.

5. http://twitter.com/stephagresta 

Stephanie Agresta is EVP, Global Director of Digital Strategy/Social Media at Porter Novelli, blogs at InternetGeekGirl.com and Co-founded TechSet. She has a huge readership base and engages her followers in conversation. Connecting with people is something she’s good at and you can definitely learn from her expertise.

6. http://twitter.com/affiliatetip 

If you’re in the performance industry, you know the name Shawn Collins. Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, FeedFront magazine editor and GeekCast.fm podcaster, Shawn is an icon in this space. Aside from adding a personal touch to his Twitter, Shawn is the most helpful resource to have. Ask him anything, and he’ll have the answer.

7. http://twitter.com/thedukeofseo 

If you want to know anything about SEO, this Twitter is a great resource from SEO land. What I like about this Twitter is it connects search and social media in the best and most literal form.

8. http://twitter.com/andybeal 

Andy Beal is the founder of Trackur.com, author of Radically Transparent, editor of MarketingPilgrim.com and a marketing consultant. He’s a great resource to have on Twitter because of his experience and his engagement. He’s honest, entertaining, and well respected in this industry.

9. http://twitter.com/murraynewlands 

Murray is a Green Online Marketing Specialist and a blogger. He uses Twitter to drive traffic to his compelling blog and posts educational links. A leader in the online space, Murray RT more than others and gives credit to those who deserve it.

10. http://twitter.com/quityourdayjob 

Jeremy Palmer is a well-known super affiliate and he teaches others how to follow in his footsteps. Owner of Quityourdayjob.com, Jeremy uses Twitter effectively because he adds more to the conversation. His Tweets are informative and current with what’s going on in the industry.

If you think I missed someone important in this list, like yourself, please feel free to leave a comment with their Twitter and why you think they should be added.

The online community of bloggers has grown tremendously and more mom and pop businesses are catching the wave. Companies are creating a blog where not only can the public express their two cents, but businesses can also put a face to their brand, increase their credibility, and build a loyal community. On my last day at SES:NY I decided to take the blogging track and learn more about how to build the right brand awareness online as well as engage readers enough to act. If you’re new at blogging such as myself, what is the first concern? How do I grow my readership? The “Blogging for business” panel had some great tips and somewhat harsh realities on this subject. A great blog does not happen overnight; it takes time to gain trust in readers so that they don’t only return once, but they return again and again. Jennifer Evans, Director of Social Media at SiteLogic and Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Guide mentioned the importance of finding other successful blogs out there in your vertical, commenting, and engaging their readers so they may want to visit your blog. I wouldn’t say “stealing” is the right term for this, but I think it’s a great way to put your company out there via other blogs and also connect with fellow bloggers who have the same interests as you. Also, once you gain a strong readership, the cycle will reoccur and you’ll find newbies to the space commenting on your blog to do the exact same thing. Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing also said to make sure you’re leaving comments of value in order to spark interest. This is the audience you should be targeting for your readership.

Not only have bloggers taken over the Internet space, so has online communities. Barbara Coll, CEO of WebMama.com Inc. emphasized how search engines love niche online communities because it’s such a fast moving environment. I also sat in on Barbara’s solo panel “Online Communities: a bonanza of content for searchers and search engines,” which is one of the newly created discussions at SES. Using the example of Dell as one of the best online communities for business, Barbara mentioned how starting new threads can be good for keywords; however, multiple comments from one thread can be a search nightmare. Speaking of nightmares, there needs to be a transparent moderator involved, whether it’s the company itself or outsourced. And please make sure to retain those negative comments. Deleting them can only do more harm than good.

Also food for thought: would you want searchers to click on your company domain or online community/blog first? Personally, I would want them to click on their main site above any community – after all we are trying to sell a service before a rating.

My final thought on SES:NY is this. If users trust your content, so will Google.

Many affiliates have wondered if search engine marketing will continue to grow or if search has become an exhausted, time-consuming, risky way to promote an advertiser. Today at SES:NY I sat in on the Orion Panel “The state of search: maturing marketing place or poised for more growth,” which consisted of search engine professionals. Many agreed that there are many areas of search that have potential to grow and develop, however it all depends on how innovative we can be as marketers. They referred to a heavy reliance on traditional media and other forms of offline advertising to drive people back to search. The panel stressed how important it was for internet marketers to look towards television advertising to find trends to use in keywords. And the road splits two ways. Television can also use search as an advertising experiment to see how their message resonates online before launching. Advertisers can look to search as an immediate online survey for their brand or service and give them the proper direction to lead with. With a hurting economy, advertisers and affiliates are getting smarter and going beyond conversion to maximize their ROI. The search audience is also becoming more sophisticated and they are using better keywords. The panel emphasized how there are pools of new words to bid on that have never been touched and that Google is now working on making these categories more accessible. Their panel left the audience very hopeful that the SEM industry was not going anywhere; in fact it’s always evolving.

Speaking of innovation, I also got a chance to check out the Facebook workshop on “Harnessing the social graph.” Many affiliates have taken advantage of advertising on Facebook and have come away with a quick profit. So how do they do it? Here are some tips on how to best optimize your affiliate campaign in order to drive high conversions.

1. Creative Best Practices – Most Facebook users are engaged with what’s going on in the space, so it’s imperative to make your creatives stand out.

2. Writing a Relevant Ad – Make sure your ad copy matches your audience and objective.
3. Creating multiple ads – It’s important to understand what ad formula works for you, so try testing your creatives and change one variable.

4. Refreshing Your Creative – Building brand awareness generates demand over time so make sure your audience is seeing something new every time they login.

5. Metrics for Optimization – Analyze your results. What has the highest CTR?

Connecting the two panels together, I sat in on “Dealing with affiliates: a roadmap to success” to end my second day at SES. What I took from this discussion and I cannot stress it enough, is the importance of open communication, especially in the affiliate marketing space. I think paid search and affiliates marinate well together and if the right specs are shared, the possibilities are endless.

Is Twitter the most powerful marketing tool since television? My first day at SES NY answered just that. Attending Guy Kawasaki’s “Nobodies are the new somebodies” keynote this morning opened my eyes to one of the newest social media aspects of target marketing: a tweet. So what is the buzz about? Twitter can be used as a versatile website to measure, monitor, and promote your brand or service. Guy made a great point by mentioning that not only is Twitter free to sign up and you’re able to reach your audience with just one click, but it doesn’t matter if you are Bill Gates or Joe living down the street, you still get only the same 140 characters to update your status. Guy also gave some interesting yet controversial Twitter tips such as auto follow everyone who follows you and to use TwitterHawk.com, which is a tool that auto messages fellow tweeters who have a certain keyword in their tweet. Laughing, Guy considered himself not a spammer, but more of a marketer. He said to take advantage of Twitter tools such as TweetDeck, which may not be limited to one account in the near future and ReTweetist.com, which ranks retweets (RT) by number in a single interface. Guy ended with a tip on “taking the heat” which I thought was right on target. Not everyone is going to agree with what you tweet, and I think that’s where the most interesting aspect comes into play on Twitter – whether it’s good or bad feedback it can only improve your company’s brand.

The Twitter buzz was also mentioned today in SearchAppalooza, which was sponsored by Chitika. One of the newest search engine websites: NearByTweets.com localizes twitter, which is almost making it too easy for marketers to reach their target audience. NearByTweets.com allows people to search for keywords in any tweet from fellow tweeters in a specific area. I encourage you all to check it out and let us know what you think.

Tonight 20/20 is covering “get rich quick” schemes that many consumers are recently falling subject to and the relationship with performance marketing. The segment will feature specifically 3 programs that promise big bucks masked in the affiliate marketing space. ABC News connected with Performance Marketing Alliance (PMA), who is a group of professionals in the performance marketing space to get the scoop on the validity of these claims. The PMA took this opportunity to give affiliate marketing the proper representation and expressed the value it has not only as an industry, but also as a profession. Please tune in tonight and let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment.