In Should entrepreneurs twitter? uh yes Joel Comm argues that entrepreneurs should use Twitter... by attacking Steve Strauss's column/blog "Should Entrepreneur's Twitter?" Strauss answered the question with a definitive "No" and gave several reasons...
1) "You are in business"
2) "It offers just too much information"3) "It requires too much time"
4) "What can you say in 140 characters?"
Comm goes on "As a true expert on the subject, I wish to set the record straight and dissuade entrepreneurs from acting on Mr. Strauss' uninformed and faulty conclusions".
Comm provides "the correct answer... Should entrepreneurs use Twitter? Not only should they use it, but they should dive headfirst into social media in order to build relationship with their customers and prospects, enhance their brand by customizing a profile picture and background, and watch sales increase as proper use of this revolutionary tool that gets back to basics will draw people to their products and services like never before."I have to admit that Twitter doesn't over-excite me.
"According to a recent O2 survey, an estimated 700,000 small businesses are using ... Twitter, with 6,000 more joining every day. Small and medium-sized businesses are looking to Twitter as a way to cut marketing costs and directly communicate with clients and potential clients.
The poll of 500 small firms found that 17% are already using Twitter, with 25% of these SMEs signing up to the social networking site in the last month. Nearly a third of those surveyed said they had saved up to £1,000 since signing up and 16% claimed that they had been able to save up to £5,000. " For the full story go to: Fresh Business Thinking
I have to admit that Twitter doesn't over-excite me.
Convince me...
and I repeat the quote...
"watch sales increase as proper use of this revolutionary tool that gets back to basics will draw people to their products and services like never before"
RELEVANT LINKS
Should Entrepreneur's Twitter? - the original blog entry
Should entrepreneurs twitter? uh yes - the reply
Fresh Business Thinking - the press release
Twitter trips on its rapid growth - Wall St Journal
65 comments:
Hi Robert
It depends - as always - how you want to 'use' Twitter. Publishing news, like blog links, replying to questions/remarks of your followers or effectively searching for new prospects?
All is possible - the latter with help of Twitter search and RSS feed - but, as always, it depends on how much resources (time/people) you can afford for it.
Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)
There is a very good reason it was named "Twitter" by its developers - it is used mainly by "Twits."
RT
Most Twitterers are quitters (Wall St Journal):
"Users who sign up for the microblogging service don’t always come back.
A Nielsen survey reports that more than 60% of users who sign up for Twitter don’t return to the site the following month. So while Twitter’s traffic has catapulted to 6 million unique viewers each month, only 40% of new users actually stay to play."
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/04/29/most-twitterers-are-quitters/
TW
Is it not correct that with Twitter one gains "link value" i.e. if within the 140 characters there is a hyperlink Google counts this as a link? So, in less than 1 min, one can add a (inbound) link to one's site.
If this is true, since the quantity and quality (relevancy) of links are internet currency, and can ultimately convert into (actual) sales and revenue, does this not explain, in part, Twitter's popularity?
Robert, as you sell professional services to professionals, and not "Beanies" to Tweenies and Teens, I would have thought that the answer is obvious.
If we set aside the obviously flawed viewpoints of Joel Comm, the "Internet Guru" who sells such dross as the best seller that apparently helped no-one to success, and more recently/desperately "Iphart" the application which causes one's Iphone to simulate acute flatulence.
If we also set aside the quoted "research" conducted by o2, the very same o2 that as of March 2009 negotiated an exclusive deal with Twitter and now receives wholesale text revenues vastly superior to rival operators, for a vastly superior profit.
I know many C-Levels and Owners and not a single, solitary, one of them has the time or the inclination to receive "Twitters." In fact, they would probably rather go bankrupt rather than do so.
As for an alleged benefit in increased traffic/Internet "currency" one has to question what sort of traffic and from whom.
Twitter, maybe useful to some vendors, and apparently Stephen Fry, but I question the validity of such a platform for your purposes, and in order to reach your target clientele, the ones who are willing to spend a little to help themselves, and in return for a great ROI.
Finally, one has to question a professional who wants to be everywhere at once. There is something to be said for the old proverb usually reserved for the In-Laws; Familiarity often leads to contempt.
Andrew
My comments (and title) was meant to come across as sarcastic - maybe even facetious.
As I said in the blog, "convince me..." and no-one has succeeded yet.
Robert
My apologies Robert, the wit was clearly wasted on me.
Makes two - I didn't understand the sarcasm either - thought it was a real consideration.
RT
Hi Robert,
Attended the Lets Talk at Taunton today - thank you very much for a superb event (I was the one who'd sacked a client!)
OK, Twitter. I've steadily built up a sizeable following (8,300 odd at last count) over the last few months and I can say without hesitation that it has substantially assisted my business and even impacted on my clients - and here is how:
1. Greatly increasing my businesses profile - not just to customers, but competitors, associates, and suppliers.
2. Lead directly to new and profitable business (with drastically reduced cost of sale).
3. Developing a new relationship that resulted in the individual coming on board to direct a new business venture.
4. Allowing me to promote my clients (a value added service to my clients).
5. Increased Google presence ('Tweets' are regularly spidered).
6. Enabled direct communication with existing clients which has in turn increased our profile (by them publicly recommending us) and lead to more business.
7. Allowed us to strengthen our reputation as online marketers by directly interacting with potential clients and delivering simple marketing tips and ideas.
8. Given us direct access to senior decision makers within key organisations that in turn have assisted our offline sales activities.
9. Allowed us valuable insights into the activities of our competitors.
10. Allowed us to shorten research and development time on key products by directly interacting with other experts and even end-users.
Hope this helps to convince you ;-)
Regards
Adam
www.rokkmedia.co.uk
Rokkster/Adam
8,300 Twitter connections over three months, this is quite an achievement! You state a lot of empirical evidence from this number though. So, naturally, this highlights a couple of questions;
1. What have you done to categorize the 8,300 connections into prospective clients, friends, lovers, pond-life etc? What was the percentage of real prospects?
2. What was your sales differential as of today, as a direct result of Twitter from the last 3 months activity?
3. What is your forecasted sales pipeline differential in qualified leads, from this 8,300?
4. How many man-hours did it take to qualify, measure, categorize and follow up on the 8,300 (@138 new leads per business day/17 per business hour)?
5. What was/will be the average purchase of the Twitter prospects? e.g. Your standard packages?
6. How did you cope with the sudden influx of 8300?
7. How did this affect your existing, established channels of sales leads, and account management?
8. Where are the conversions made into sales made, on Twitter, phone or email?
9. How did this increased and new form of activity actually decrease your cost per sale?
10. In your experience, how many key decision makers use Twitter for their buying mechanism?
11. Do you think that your existing clientele are well managed as accounts by using Twitter? What will stop them going elsewhere, to a real voice and real face?
12. How does Twitter give you valuable insight into your competitors activities? Is it good business to focus so much on your competition?
I'd be very interested to hear how wonderfully Twitter has impacted your bottom line. Thanks.
Rokkster
From my point of view I would be curious to know what kind of 'tweets' you have been sending out... what is it that you say and how often? And why should it be of interest to your 'listeners'.
Robert
PS Taunton was a great event today, if a little over-subscribed...!
Has anyone asked a panda?
Adam
I just looked at your website etc, and then viewed your presentation on "getting noticed on the web."
You gave some very good tips, which were well presented. I also liked the way that 2dot0 displays the presentation.
For any who would like to see it, it's at http://www.2dot0.co.uk/pages/bldc-f5
Hi Andrew - I heard great things from Adam about the event yesterday and will make an effort to attend the next in the south west.
Thanks for the kind words about our films.
Bill Wells
MD 2.0 Ltd
www.2dot0.co.uk
blah, blah, blah - all they do is tell you about 'buffalo dust'(your phrase, RC) but I don't see too many people telling you about business written, return on investment etc
TW
Agree 100% - TW
No one seems to know about ROI these days, just "fame" and "popularity" and "connections" on Twitter, Facebook etc.
Buffalo dust it is!
RE: ROI and Twitter
Adam at www.rokkmedia.co.uk gives us a list of 10 benefits of twitter but for some reason is unable/incapable/disinterested in trying to put a value to the benefit.
Talk to Robert about his 1:3 sales director story (as described at the Stratford event earlier this month). The deal was that the sales director could name his own salary but had to generate three times his salary in net profit. A terrific example of applying the ROI principle.
Cute
TW
Interesting story you mention TW, will you post it Robert?
The sales director in question is quite fortunate though, as my own ratio has always 1:10 in gross sales figures. I could do 1:3 in my sleep. He must have worked for Lehman Bros.
I'm still awaiting Adam/Rokkster's reply, and assumed he would be working on it over this weekend...
To quote Andy
"A Bullshit platfrom"
BB
I will tell the 1:3 story... but not right now.
RC
So, Robert, what is your verdict? BS or viable but don't quite know how?
SHORT ANSWER: No Twitter A/c at the moment.
LONG ANSWER
The Twitter debate pretty much mimicks the Great FB Debate...
FACT: Lots of people do it and they believe it is doing them good.
FACT: Some people seem to actually be benefiting in terms of ROI but fewer than one is led to believe
OPINION: it depends on what business you are in; it depends on the relationship you wish to create with your audience(leader-follow. parent-child, adult-adult, child-child, one-to-one, one-to-many).
QUESTION: Is it right for Robert Craven and The Directors' Centre? Will it help me grow my businesses?
ANSWER: Probably not. If someone can show me why I should be doing it then I might chhage my mind. I don't hear clients or prospects asking me to get a Twitter a/c ASAP (or rather only one or two twitter fans).
Some other speakers/writers have very active Twitter A/cs: "just going to the IOD.... meeting the Chief Exec of ABC Corp... see my latest article/book/research"
Some consultants also have Twitter A/cs: "going to the football, it is hot today, just read a great book... (The answer to most Twitter entries is: "Do I Care?")
QUESTION: Do the Twitter comments strengthen a relationship any more than a decent blog or website or actually talking to people?
Maybe I am blind or maybe I am old-fashioned but I worry about buffalo dust and do not wish to confuse activity with business.
CAVEAT: I think that a focused Twitter A/c may be a good thing eg where you have a one-to-many training product/service where there are regular updates - you could choose to use Twitter to communicate updates etc if this is what your target audience wants (or you could use email!!)
RC
So, where's Adam Rokkster then? Nothing to back up the Buffalo Dust?
SW
Thanks Robert,
There are some great comments here, one thing that ocurred to me is that I read that twitter is not yet sure of its Revenue model. I go to thinking that maybe they are not too sure, in the same way that nobody seems to sure about the value of the service. I was thinking along the lines of Value = Price !
I do use twitter and various other services to try and extend the reach of the information we have.
I also use follow people who have something of value to me, and I do get good information.
It needs to be disciplined though, it is a terrible potential obsession/timewaster for sure ! Luckily there are some good automated tools available, but with these I sometimes think that the real value of relationships built between one person and another cannot be achieved by an automated message and reply bot.
Phil
"FACT: Some people seem to actually be benefiting in terms of ROI but fewer than one is led to believe"
Same goes for: paper advertising, direct marketing, cold calling, email marketing, business networks (BNI), website banners, google Adwords.
Those who make money from it because they have a focussed strategy, will have you believe it mostly works for every type of business; those who tried and failed (for whatever reason, mostly lack of focus or even a overall strategy) will tell it doesn't work for any one.
That's life ;-)
Test, measure and decide.
Karin H.
Karin
Robert said
'As I said in the blog, "convince me..." and no-one has succeeded yet.' No-one has!
He does bang on about ROI but no-one has given him concrete proof or stories that confirm that Twitter works. Just lots of warm, fluffy, anecdotal 'stuff'.
If the medical evidence of the effectiveness of a heart op was as vague and non-specific then I don't think I'd sign up for it.
When the surgeon says 'I am sure this could work but I can't give you any guarantee or even find you an example of it working before...' then I might choose to go to a quack...
BB
Hi Robert
You should take a look at Nikki Pilkington if you have not already done so. She Tweets a lot - http://twitter.com/NikkiPilkington and uses it to reach a different and broader audience than some of her other routes may achieve.
She is aquiring new clients through her use of Twitter and talks about how she uses it
http://www.nikkipilkington.com/internet-marketing-articles/internet-marketing-article-how-i-use-twitter
She may be worth contacting to see whether she'll put any quantifiable numbers on how Twitter helps her business.
This blog's comments have failed to give me the 'scoop' story that I have been waiting for.
However, I am hearing (off-line) about non-anecdotal and factual examples of Twitter working (eg
one hour per week input - five key new contacts - 3 pieces of work directly as a result in a 6-week time period [PR company]; access to a new stream of clients that had been inaccessible [a private medical practitioner]). Hurray...some evidence of ROI.
Also the general feel for those that haven't dismissed it outright is that:
1) if people wish to follow
2) you have something specific and focused to give/show them and that this is a value-add
...then there may be a case for using Twitter like a mini-Blog bot to a slighly different audience.
So the argument would go (for many PSFs):
1) ask if there is a hunger in your constituency of clients/potential clients for you to start Twitter-ing. If NO then "do not pass go" etc
2) if "Yes" then don't waste your time or that of your audience - keep to your core values and don't dilute the brand/offering/brand.
3) be clear about what you are trying to achieve (a plan!) and test/measure/evaluate.
4) integrate it into your overall communication/marketing plan.
But still I have the burning questions:
- Will it do you more good or more harm?
- Is Twitter only for the wannabe/FB brigade?
Robert
More FB & Twitter rubbish? Blah! They are overloaded now and any impact you feel Twitter has is reduced the point of a whisper in a noisy Saturday night boozer. It hs been in the news that too many baby-boomers have become members and the apps cant handle it.
Andy is surprisingly open to twitter considering he's so vocal of Big Brother and surveillance on his blog.
Anyways - do it Robert, join Twitter, the you can communicate with all of the sad bastards with nothing intelligent to do with their time and who are desperate for company.
Bart
@Andy, I find Nikki talking from a point of too much experience, i.e. listing only how she uses it etc. Short burst of info, not truly helpful articles for those looking for the reasons why.
What I do find too is the number of 'quotes' and 'it had been in the news' negative thoughts (can I call it opinions?) by all those anonymous commentors. Everyone is entitle to his/her own opinion, but in my book it is common courtesy/practise to put your name where your mouth is.
Karin H.
KarinH
"in my book it is common courtesy/practise to put your name where your mouth is"
Not everyone has a blogger account, hence the anonymous header. Get your facts right before going postal on us!
Bart (Did I say my name - BART)
OK, it's official according to Karin, no comments will be considered unless they are accompanied by a blogger.com ID.
To merely say one's name is verboten!
Wish there was an option in blogger to add a screenshot in the comment:
Options:
Google Account
Open ID
Name/URL (where URL is optional!)
Anonymous
In relationship building it is common courtesy to mention your name (apologies to Bart). And there is absolutely no need to have a blog to leave a comment, a name would suffice. Initials isn't a name.
Karin H.
Karin,
You were so wrongly accused, please see correction below:
OK, it's official according to Karin, no comments will be considered unless they are accompanied by a name.
To merely use one's initials is verboten!
TW, SW, BB etc - you are warned that your comments have no legitimacy, and fly in the face of common decency, according to Karin "H"!
Luckily for her, "H" is apparently NOT an initial, so her comments are entirely valid...
C.O.N.F.U.S.E.D. A.B.O.U.T.
D.O.U.B.L.E. S.T.A.N.D.A.R.D.S.
OK, if that's the way it is.
Initials as sign-off on the option Anonymous versus Karin H. with link to one of my blogs.
I'm sure you're right.
Most anonymous initials repeat 'news items' or 'surveys'. Haven't read any essential contribution besides 'twitters is for twats, is for no-good-for-anything, don't believe anything anyone tells you about success stories without proof (Company House records anyone?)
I stick to my opinion on Twitter: could work when you have a focussed strategy and plenty of time to implements (and follow-up) on strategy and tactics.
But same goes for any other marketing strategy, be it on social media or 'old-fashion' media.
Karin H
Karin H
"Most anonymous initials....Haven't read any essential contribution.."
You are so inflexible to whittle so many valid contributions down to zero. I don't see any quantifiable evidence in your own posts, or your blog for that matter. You just seem to "twitter" on about things in an empirical way, and attack those contributors here who provide a more seasoned view in asking for evidence based validation.
It is illogical for you to attack any commenter who invokes the right given to them by the blog owner to remain anonymous.
For your education Karin, aside from anonymity of name, selecting the anonymous option hides the IP address of the poster from the blogger.com server and anyone who reads the post.
Your own IP address, (elicited from your last post) clearly shows that you reside in Ashford, Kent and your ISP and Domain administrators are both in in Bilsington, Kent. I could go on to provide details down to your NI number, all from your last posting here.
So, others here either wish to, or have to, remain anonymous for various reasons, but not, I put it to you, due to your falsely accused motive of hiding from the conviction of their views.
Such an inflexibility in defiance of rationale is not usually very successful in business. As is an ill informed knowledge of technology and it's hidden pitfalls.
Can we please get back to the Twitter issue... this should be a debate about ideas; please try to not make it personal. Call a truce.
I am loathe to start policing all the comments.
Cheers
Robert
I think Karin came on a bit strong with her solipsism.
Still, re the Twitter, I think it obviously depends upon whether or not you are narcissistic. If so, then Twitter till your heart is content. It won't make you money, but your world will be filled with that which you value most.
That much is clear.
Right! That's it! I'm calling in the Pandas!
Hmmm! Should I call them, or would it be quicker to Twitter them?
Anonymously Yours,
RT
Should entrepreneurs Twitter, you ask? No! There are way better things to do with the time.
Why's this question still being asked?
This blog's become Dull Marketing.
"- Is Twitter only for the wannabe/FB brigade?"
Don't think so. Completely different use IMHO. In FB you can "dress" your profile with almost unlimited apps, twitter only lets you 'dress' the background.
Twitter is more for 'content' - whatever you can call content, many online wannabe businesses tweet the same over and over again with links to their landing apges - where FB is 'social' interaction - whatever you want to call social interaction.
Over the last 1 -2 months FB is turning into a kind of 'twitter echo' with all the available twitter applications: tweet and the 'mini-blog' appears on your wall. All tweets or just some - depends on the app.
Think FB might (if it's not already happening) start to lose 'ground' on actual visitors (and see a reducement in ads revenue.
Both should be used IF you can see an advantage in it for your business and/or customer care interaction with your prospect/clients. Don't jump on the band wagon because everyone else does.
Karin H (In the lovely village of Charing, near Ashord, Kent)
To Twitter or not to Twitter...
I would say it's probably a good idea to least register one or two preferred @names - just in case ;)
@Robert_Craven is still available at http://twitter.com/signup
Regards
Brian
@keyplus
Wow Robert, so you've certainly got a debate going here! For me it's more about Social Media and Social Networking or not... there's certainly no doubt that Web 2.0 has the potential to drastically change the way business is done. To what extent? I don't think anybody truly knows yet.
I see the social networking platforms, of which Twitter is just one, as just further opportunities to broaden your audience and get the word out about who you are and what your business does, and it needs to be aligned with your business strategy. As do all your other marketing and promotion activities. With many of the other tools that have popped up alongside Facebook and Twitter etc, you can essentially post once and get it to proliferate to all of your networks, and set up plug-ins so your blog posts etc are uploaded and sent out to your network automatically. Dramatically reducing the time required to use these mediums.
The strongest argument I've heard so far was at a talk by Matthew Fraser, author of "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom". He believes that Social Networking has already, and will continue to, even the playing field between small and large business whereby it doesn't require large sums of money and resources to access a wide audience. You just need to me smart and understand how to best capitalise on the new opportunites that Web 2.0 open up. Food for thought definately...
For me the questions becomes more about how do we learn to filter the vast array of information that will be made available as a result of the Web 2.0 revolution and how do we avoid information overload.
Kyle
Move Beyond
www.movebeyond.net
Thanks for the prompt to post here Richard, I'll try and be brief as I know we're all busy.
Should you have a Twitter account? I don't know enough about you to know whether you should or not. Will you use it if you get one? Or will you decry it as 'not working' when you haven't generated any results in a short time frame? (I'm not saying that you will, I don't know you from Adam, so have no way of kowing whether you would give Twitter a 'fair' go).
Does Twitter work for business? For some, yes. For others, no. The same as blogging works for some, Facebook works for others, yet others make most of their money from SEO, and another lot of people swear by Adwords. Then there are people who say that offline advertising works for them, the direct mail faction, need I go on?
From my point of view, yes, I have made money from Twitter. I am currently working on a contract that is worth 5 figures in a year, because the person contacted me via Twitter. I also have a number of 3 and 4 figure contracts that I can trace back to leads from Twitter.
In my case, as well as the above deals, I have gained other clients that have seen me in numerous places, so Twitter is just a small part of the overall presence I have, and can't be given as the one focal point that generated a lead. Someone may know me from my days at Ecademy, have seen me on Free Index, read my blog posts, seen me on facebook, seen me mentioned, and then found me on Twitter too. All of these are small parts of a whole.
Of course, my business is marketing, so it should figure that I would do well in these types of places.
However, I also know of the following cases of business being secured on Twitter:
- a courier company that gets delivery contracts because of it
- a journalist who has gained a book deal and speaking engagements
- a telemarketing company that launched a new product on the back of Twitter and gained new clients
- various gift companies that can trace sales back to Twitter.
It goes without saying that figures and claims have no real meaning without knowing the amount of time that a person spends on Twitter generating these results - after all, everyone's time has a value, and if you spend all day on Twitter to generate a sale worth £100, have you really gained anything?
From my side, using Rescue Time, I track my time spent on Tweetdeck (for my own account, @nikkipilkington), and the time spent on Hootsuite (where I manage client accounts and run accounts that are not to do with my main busness). In the last 30 days, I have spent an average of 22 minutes per day on Tweetdeck, and 16 minutes per day on Hootsuite.
The time spent on Tweetdeck is more than worth it, as it has resulted in clients large and small, as well as being a part of my overall online presence.
The time spent on Hootsuite is mostly paid for by clients and the income generated from my non NikkiP accounts.
So, at the end of all that, I guess I've still not answered the question of whether you should get a Twitter account.
So here goes: yes, I think you should, if you're willing to give it a proper go and it fits in with the rest of your marketing 'strategy'.
(I've deliberately not counted the money I've made from the 100+ people signed up to Tweetmentor in these figures, as I think it sways the results a bit LOL)
My suggestion that 'links' may be the driving force underpinning the prolific and meteoric rise of Twitter (and others?) has been seemingly ignored.
However there is another reason that has been suggested to me why Twitter is good for business, and I haven't seen it spelt out clearly in this blog (forgive me if I've missed it), and that is: Twitter is a powerful tool to communicate with customers, and prospective customers - something Robert C spends money and time doing via his blog, website and marketing activities.
Why is it more popular in the US? Is it not because they seem further advanced in skills, understanding and capacity to harness the power of the net for business and wealth creation?
What are we missing? Answer: one thing for sure - the vast scale of US online earnings.
Does not the net make the playing field more level? Yet at the same time (www.fokm.co.uk) I have assured that the UK is AHEAD of the US in the areas such as SEO. Why are there not more UK based internet success stories? (Over to you, Robert)...
Kyle, Nikki, Julian
Thanks for your sensible comments.
Thank you Nikki for putting some meat on the bones.
Robert
PS
Interestingly enough I met a lady (life coach) this week who is convinced that she was found by two new local clients (value 1k and 2k pounds)who would not have found her without Twitter.
Very interesting. I'd say it depends on your business and your clients and potential clients. Twitter clearly works for businesses whose products or services are appropriate - Wiggly Wigglers the composting and gardening company use it but I would guess gardeners love to discuss how to do it with other gardeners. It clearly also works for people who are selling expertise in social media and Twitter…
But there is a clue in the name as well - it's "social" networking so to imagine that this can be used solely as marketing channel is wrong - it's not too dissimilar to networking in a pub or at a sports event. You can't always make a direct sale and you have to take care but it helps build a profile.
But beware being the person walking into the restaurant with a rose to sell - some people won't want to know.
All sizzle. No steak.
P V E
All sizzle. No steak.
P V E
Thanks for the prompt to post here Richard, I'll try and be brief as I know we're all busy.
Should you have a Twitter account? I don't know enough about you to know whether you should or not. Will you use it if you get one? Or will you decry it as 'not working' when you haven't generated any results in a short time frame? (I'm not saying that you will, I don't know you from Adam, so have no way of kowing whether you would give Twitter a 'fair' go).
Does Twitter work for business? For some, yes. For others, no. The same as blogging works for some, Facebook works for others, yet others make most of their money from SEO, and another lot of people swear by Adwords. Then there are people who say that offline advertising works for them, the direct mail faction, need I go on?
From my point of view, yes, I have made money from Twitter. I am currently working on a contract that is worth 5 figures in a year, because the person contacted me via Twitter. I also have a number of 3 and 4 figure contracts that I can trace back to leads from Twitter.
In my case, as well as the above deals, I have gained other clients that have seen me in numerous places, so Twitter is just a small part of the overall presence I have, and can't be given as the one focal point that generated a lead. Someone may know me from my days at Ecademy, have seen me on Free Index, read my blog posts, seen me on facebook, seen me mentioned, and then found me on Twitter too. All of these are small parts of a whole.
Of course, my business is marketing, so it should figure that I would do well in these types of places.
However, I also know of the following cases of business being secured on Twitter:
- a courier company that gets delivery contracts because of it
- a journalist who has gained a book deal and speaking engagements
- a telemarketing company that launched a new product on the back of Twitter and gained new clients
- various gift companies that can trace sales back to Twitter.
It goes without saying that figures and claims have no real meaning without knowing the amount of time that a person spends on Twitter generating these results - after all, everyone's time has a value, and if you spend all day on Twitter to generate a sale worth £100, have you really gained anything?
From my side, using Rescue Time, I track my time spent on Tweetdeck (for my own account, @nikkipilkington), and the time spent on Hootsuite (where I manage client accounts and run accounts that are not to do with my main busness). In the last 30 days, I have spent an average of 22 minutes per day on Tweetdeck, and 16 minutes per day on Hootsuite.
The time spent on Tweetdeck is more than worth it, as it has resulted in clients large and small, as well as being a part of my overall online presence.
The time spent on Hootsuite is mostly paid for by clients and the income generated from my non NikkiP accounts.
So, at the end of all that, I guess I've still not answered the question of whether you should get a Twitter account.
So here goes: yes, I think you should, if you're willing to give it a proper go and it fits in with the rest of your marketing 'strategy'.
(I've deliberately not counted the money I've made from the 100+ people signed up to Tweetmentor in these figures, as I think it sways the results a bit LOL)
Wow Robert, so you've certainly got a debate going here! For me it's more about Social Media and Social Networking or not... there's certainly no doubt that Web 2.0 has the potential to drastically change the way business is done. To what extent? I don't think anybody truly knows yet.
I see the social networking platforms, of which Twitter is just one, as just further opportunities to broaden your audience and get the word out about who you are and what your business does, and it needs to be aligned with your business strategy. As do all your other marketing and promotion activities. With many of the other tools that have popped up alongside Facebook and Twitter etc, you can essentially post once and get it to proliferate to all of your networks, and set up plug-ins so your blog posts etc are uploaded and sent out to your network automatically. Dramatically reducing the time required to use these mediums.
The strongest argument I've heard so far was at a talk by Matthew Fraser, author of "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom". He believes that Social Networking has already, and will continue to, even the playing field between small and large business whereby it doesn't require large sums of money and resources to access a wide audience. You just need to me smart and understand how to best capitalise on the new opportunites that Web 2.0 open up. Food for thought definately...
For me the questions becomes more about how do we learn to filter the vast array of information that will be made available as a result of the Web 2.0 revolution and how do we avoid information overload.
Kyle
Move Beyond
www.movebeyond.net
Thanks Robert,
There are some great comments here, one thing that ocurred to me is that I read that twitter is not yet sure of its Revenue model. I go to thinking that maybe they are not too sure, in the same way that nobody seems to sure about the value of the service. I was thinking along the lines of Value = Price !
I do use twitter and various other services to try and extend the reach of the information we have.
I also use follow people who have something of value to me, and I do get good information.
It needs to be disciplined though, it is a terrible potential obsession/timewaster for sure ! Luckily there are some good automated tools available, but with these I sometimes think that the real value of relationships built between one person and another cannot be achieved by an automated message and reply bot.
Phil
SHORT ANSWER: No Twitter A/c at the moment.
LONG ANSWER
The Twitter debate pretty much mimicks the Great FB Debate...
FACT: Lots of people do it and they believe it is doing them good.
FACT: Some people seem to actually be benefiting in terms of ROI but fewer than one is led to believe
OPINION: it depends on what business you are in; it depends on the relationship you wish to create with your audience(leader-follow. parent-child, adult-adult, child-child, one-to-one, one-to-many).
QUESTION: Is it right for Robert Craven and The Directors' Centre? Will it help me grow my businesses?
ANSWER: Probably not. If someone can show me why I should be doing it then I might chhage my mind. I don't hear clients or prospects asking me to get a Twitter a/c ASAP (or rather only one or two twitter fans).
Some other speakers/writers have very active Twitter A/cs: "just going to the IOD.... meeting the Chief Exec of ABC Corp... see my latest article/book/research"
Some consultants also have Twitter A/cs: "going to the football, it is hot today, just read a great book... (The answer to most Twitter entries is: "Do I Care?")
QUESTION: Do the Twitter comments strengthen a relationship any more than a decent blog or website or actually talking to people?
Maybe I am blind or maybe I am old-fashioned but I worry about buffalo dust and do not wish to confuse activity with business.
CAVEAT: I think that a focused Twitter A/c may be a good thing eg where you have a one-to-many training product/service where there are regular updates - you could choose to use Twitter to communicate updates etc if this is what your target audience wants (or you could use email!!)
RC
To quote Andy
"A Bullshit platfrom"
BB
Agree 100% - TW
No one seems to know about ROI these days, just "fame" and "popularity" and "connections" on Twitter, Facebook etc.
Buffalo dust it is!
Adam
I just looked at your website etc, and then viewed your presentation on "getting noticed on the web."
You gave some very good tips, which were well presented. I also liked the way that 2dot0 displays the presentation.
For any who would like to see it, it's at http://www.2dot0.co.uk/pages/bldc-f5
Rokkster/Adam
8,300 Twitter connections over three months, this is quite an achievement! You state a lot of empirical evidence from this number though. So, naturally, this highlights a couple of questions;
1. What have you done to categorize the 8,300 connections into prospective clients, friends, lovers, pond-life etc? What was the percentage of real prospects?
2. What was your sales differential as of today, as a direct result of Twitter from the last 3 months activity?
3. What is your forecasted sales pipeline differential in qualified leads, from this 8,300?
4. How many man-hours did it take to qualify, measure, categorize and follow up on the 8,300 (@138 new leads per business day/17 per business hour)?
5. What was/will be the average purchase of the Twitter prospects? e.g. Your standard packages?
6. How did you cope with the sudden influx of 8300?
7. How did this affect your existing, established channels of sales leads, and account management?
8. Where are the conversions made into sales made, on Twitter, phone or email?
9. How did this increased and new form of activity actually decrease your cost per sale?
10. In your experience, how many key decision makers use Twitter for their buying mechanism?
11. Do you think that your existing clientele are well managed as accounts by using Twitter? What will stop them going elsewhere, to a real voice and real face?
12. How does Twitter give you valuable insight into your competitors activities? Is it good business to focus so much on your competition?
I'd be very interested to hear how wonderfully Twitter has impacted your bottom line. Thanks.
Hi Robert,
Attended the Lets Talk at Taunton today - thank you very much for a superb event (I was the one who'd sacked a client!)
OK, Twitter. I've steadily built up a sizeable following (8,300 odd at last count) over the last few months and I can say without hesitation that it has substantially assisted my business and even impacted on my clients - and here is how:
1. Greatly increasing my businesses profile - not just to customers, but competitors, associates, and suppliers.
2. Lead directly to new and profitable business (with drastically reduced cost of sale).
3. Developing a new relationship that resulted in the individual coming on board to direct a new business venture.
4. Allowing me to promote my clients (a value added service to my clients).
5. Increased Google presence ('Tweets' are regularly spidered).
6. Enabled direct communication with existing clients which has in turn increased our profile (by them publicly recommending us) and lead to more business.
7. Allowed us to strengthen our reputation as online marketers by directly interacting with potential clients and delivering simple marketing tips and ideas.
8. Given us direct access to senior decision makers within key organisations that in turn have assisted our offline sales activities.
9. Allowed us valuable insights into the activities of our competitors.
10. Allowed us to shorten research and development time on key products by directly interacting with other experts and even end-users.
Hope this helps to convince you ;-)
Regards
Adam
www.rokkmedia.co.uk
My apologies Robert, the wit was clearly wasted on me.
Is it not correct that with Twitter one gains "link value" i.e. if within the 140 characters there is a hyperlink Google counts this as a link? So, in less than 1 min, one can add a (inbound) link to one's site.
If this is true, since the quantity and quality (relevancy) of links are internet currency, and can ultimately convert into (actual) sales and revenue, does this not explain, in part, Twitter's popularity?
Excellent article! RT @Telegraph Why every company needs a 'Twitter Tsar' bit.ly/epVUQD
Should professional service firm business owners be using Twitter? - Answer here....http://bit.ly/ePKwmF
'Should I have a Twitter account?' is probably the wrong question and I would ask 'Should I consider social media as part of my marketing strategy?'
See
http://www.sfmconsulting.co.uk/blog/entry/unravelling_social_media
and http://www.sfmconsulting.co.uk/blog/entry/i_told_you_so
Yes - a better question...
RC
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