Twitter to Move into Business Mainstream
More than eight in 10 Twitter users, most of whom represent small businesses, expect their company’s use of the popular microblogging tool to increase in the next six months, according to a recent, informal survey from MarketingProfs.
The survey revealed that Twitter is rapidly gaining acceptance among users as an important social media business tool. Not only do 84% of respondents say their company’s use of Twitter will increase, 46% say it will do so by a “significant” margin.
Currently, 66% of respondents consider Twitter either “somewhat important” or “extremely important” to their company’s business/marketing operations, compared with 29% who consider it “not very important.”
Delivering Value to Companies
Meanwhile, Twitter users say the microblogging tool now ranks second only to company blogs as a valuable social-media business tool, MarketingProfs said.
On a five-point scale, 41% of survey respondents say Twitter delivers “great value” to their company, ranking well ahead of LinkedIn (25%) and Facebook (17%). Corporate blogs rank at the top of the list with 52% saying the medium delivers great value.
“This data shows that Twitter users, typically early adopters, no longer think of Twitter as just a personal networking tool, but as something that can provide real value for their company or business,” said Ann Handley, chief content officer for MarketingProfs. “Much like Facebook, Twitter is now moving into the business mainstream.”
Additional Twitter research from MarketingProfs revealed that Twitter users are primarily motivated by the learning and immediacy components of the application.
About the survey: The informal survey of Twitter users was conducted between April 11-14, 2009. It included a total of 213 completed responses, 66% of which were filled out by people with fewer than 50 people in their company. The rest of the breakdown: 101-1000 employees - 14.6%; 1000+ employees - 11.3%; 51-100 employees - 8%. The survey results (pdf) are part of a new MarketingProfs case study collection available to MarketingProfs premium members.
May 31st, 2009 at 10:05 am
As a small business owner and entrepreneur, I will also be increasing my usage of Twitter to build my netwoork and grow my business through adding value to others.
May 31st, 2009 at 5:39 pm
We all knew this stat was coming, Twitter has a ton of real-time features that were bound to go business. I’m looking forward to the additions to their service that make it even more business friendly.
Maria Reyes-McDavis
June 1st, 2009 at 5:14 pm
These statistics are very relevant to my new understanding of how Twitter works. It is a relevancy based application. My company will also be expanding the deployment of Twitter in the near future.
June 1st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
A colleague shared this post and I was curious about the reference to the study as an “informal survey.” As a 30-year veteran of opinion research, I find the results interesting. However, I am always hesitant to trust any study results until I know what methodology was used.
Did the study use a convenience sample or a random probability sample? Was an actual database of Twitter subscribers used or did respondents’ self-report their Twitter use?
While I don’t doubt that the use of Twitter is increasing as a business tool, I need to know more about this study’s approach to determine how to interpret these findings.
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:18 am
Doug — I do not believe that this study used any sort of probability sample or anything projectable to the population. I think it was an informal, opt-in poll of Twitter users who follow MarketingProfs. I would use these results for directional guidance only. Other (projectable)studies have shown that very small percetages of the population at large actually use Twitter. -victoria@marketingcharts.com
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:44 am
Our business opened its doors in March with the launch of a unique product called AquaNotes. It also opened a Twitter account the same day. This has been our primarly means of marketing. Sales increase daily and we are shipping internationally. The benefits for a new company like ours have been too numerous to explain in this short space.