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Twitter, a marketing fool’s hype

Written on
May 20, 2009 
Author
Edward Barrera  |
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Twitter, a marketing fool’s hype

marketing_small.jpgADOTAS — – Marketers might be flocking to social network sites, like the microblogging service, but it doesn’t mean it’s prompted purchases.

In a survey of mostly small businesses, 84 percent of respondents said they expect their company’s use of Twitter to increase over the next six months — 46 percent by a “significant” margin. According to MarketingProfs, 66 percent consider Twitter either “somewhat important” or “extremely important” to their company’s business/marketing operations.

As for users, in another survey, while 83% of the Internet population, ages 13 to 54, participates in social media, less than 5% of social networking users regularly turn to these sites for guidance on purchase decisions. According to Knowledge Networks, only 16% of social media users say they are more likely to buy from companies that advertise on social sites.

And despite Twitters explosive growth, just 1% of the total online population – and the same proportion of social media participants – use it once a week or more.

“Our findings show that marketers need to be prudent and people-centric in how they approach social media,” David Tice, Vice President and Group Account Director, Knowledge Networks, said in a statement “Social media users do not have a strong association between these sites and purchase decisions; they see them as being more about personal connection – so finding ways to embrace that powerful function is key.”





Reader Comments.

it’s hype, but only for the marketers that think that social media is a one-size fits all, off the shelf solution. A simple plug and play if you will. You don’t just show up and watch the cash register start to ring. You need to engage, add value, participate, etc etc…

For those marketers willing to put the time in, social media can actually add revenue. Consumers aren’t going there with the intention of making a purchase, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Just because you aren’t at a site looking for guidance, doesn’t mean you won’t accept it if relevant/meaningful guidance is offered. I’m not on twitter to get 50% off a muffin at starbucks, but if a friend retweets that promotion… well, I may stop by starbucks at on my break.

Also, your stats are about advertising on social media sites… what about brands that use social media sites to engage consumers?

Finally, here’s a recent Ad Age article regarding Naked Pizza’s success. A twitter promotion brought in 15% of their revenue one day.
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=136662

Posted by jack | 2:31 pm on May 20, 2009.

It’s just like anything….if you don’t work it you will receive no results! It’s called NetWORKing….you don;t just show up to a Chamber meeting and get flooded with business.
With Twitter, you must work it, 3-5 relevant Tweets a day, attract TARGETED followers….but all too many times business owners set it up and stop within a week and say “Well that didn’t work”
I added a service to my Marketing Consulting called Twitter Magic that solves this.
Let me know if I can help.
http://www.MarketingHuddleCoaching.com/twittermagic

Posted by Mike Saunders | 7:43 am on May 21, 2009.

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