Twitter Insights: Business Opportunity?

Twitter has been a social media darling for a while now and many don’t know what to make of it. Some think that it’s a giant “time suck,” others think it’s the marketing tool of the future and still others don’t know what to think. I recently stumbled across a great post that offers some really interesting insight into the use of Twitter: Twitter Data: An Investors Perspective .

Without getting into the specifics, the findings seemed to suggest that the use of Twitter may not be the panacea that many marketers and small businesses are looking for. Here are a couple quick stats:

• 50 Million Twitter Users as of September 1st
• 75% of Users are Inactive
• 14% of Users Have no Followers

So, on the surface this does not appear to represent a tsunami of new business. Right?

I’m not so sure… Twitter is certainly useful and while it may not provide a flood of new business immediately, its use to business will continue to grow. Looking more closely at the findings, there are some telling statistics that indicate that Twitter is still a productive tool for business:

< 40 %+ of Twitter Use Is Mobile – This suggests that most active users are online using web and desktop applications consistent with use at work. Maybe Twitter has more impact in the workplace that previously thought. Time suck at work? – Maybe not.

25 % of Users Are Active – Most businesses understand that they can’t be all things to everyone. A smaller, more tightly defined active user base is easier to target and can be more cost efficient to reach.

The Average Twitter User has 42 Followers – Granted this is an average; logically the number of Followers a User gathers increases over time. This suggests that use will only increase and businesses should establish themselves now.

Newer User Groups are Larger and More Active – Sure, Oprah and Ashton Kucher’s jump into the Twittersphere helped bring Twitter public recognition, but the tool appears to be at a tipping point. Now that newer user groups are finding more useful content, their use of the tool will continue to exceed that of older groups.

In conclusion, it’s easy to be blinded by a handful of findings (positive or negative), but smaller businesses must look more closely to identify opportunities. While Twitter may not be for everyone, it is certainly growing in popularity and offers a cost effective vehicle to engage clients and generate new business.

Bill Rowland