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More than 100 Twitter Followers Boost B2C Leads »
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More than 100 Twitter Followers Boost B2C Leads
Once a B2C company has more than 100 followers on the Twitter social network, its median monthly lead generation dramatically improves, according to research by internet marketing firm Hubspot.
101-500 Followers is Median Lead ‘Sweet Spot’
A B2C company with one to 20 Twitter followers will generate a median of 11 leads per month. When the number of Twitter followers increases to 21-100, this median grows about 27% to 14.
However, the most significant boost in median lead generation from a B2C corporate Twitter account occurs when a company’s number of Twitter followers enters the 100 to 500 range. At that point, the median number of monthly leads generated jumps 146% to 35.
Interestingly, this growth does not occur after 500 followers. In fact, B2C companies with 501 or more Twitter followers report an 8.6% decrease in median followers to 32. Hubspot analysts suggest this is due to the challenge of growing engaged followers. These more engaged individuals are those who will retweet content to their own followers, visit the company web site when enticed to do so, and/or post updates on topics related to the customer’s areas of interest. Leads are more likely to come directly and indirectly through these more engaged individuals.
B2C Twitter Users Generate Double the Leads of Non-users
B2C customers who use Twitter generate two times more leads than B2C customers without a Twitter account. These results are consistent across company size. B2C companies with a Twitter account generate a median of 10 monthly leads, compared to five monthly leads for B2C companies of this size without a Twitter account. Twitter-using B2C companies with 11-50 employees generate a median of 31 monthly leads, compared to 15 for non-users. Twitter-using B2C companies with 51 or employees generate a median of 86 monthly leads, compared to 43 for non-users.
Twitter Enhances Individual Relationships
Hubspot recommends that B2C marketers use Twitter to build relationships with individuals who prefer shorter-format content and consider building their Twitter reach by following companies and individuals related to their industry. These individuals are likely to follow a company and share its Twitter updates as retweets.
In addition, Hubspot advises marketers to enhance relationships with individuals who are already blog subscribers by serving them blog content in a shorter, more digestible format that they can consume “on the go” through mobile devices. Furthermore, tweets are now searchable in real time via Google.
Top US Companies Need ‘Twittervention’
Top US companies are missing out on a large portion of the potential Twitter holds for their businesses, according to a study from PR firm Weber Shandwick. Do Fortune 100 Companies Need a Twittervention (pdf) indicates that while Corporate America is familiar with Twitter, it is not taking advantage of the full range of Twitter’s business capabilities.
According to the paper, while 73% of Fortune 100 companies registered a total of 540 Twitter accounts, 76% of those accounts do not post tweets often, and 52% are not considered actively engaged as measured by engagement metrics such as numbers of links, hashtags, references and retweets.
