Twitter research - how Twitter drives growth for small and medium businesses

Buffer

This week Market Probe International, Inc., a global market research firm, and Twitter, published the result of research in which they sought to understand the ‘value of Twitter followers’ to small and medium sized businesses (SMB’s).

The research was undertaken in May of 2013 with consumers who follow SMB’s on Twitter.

Market Probe commented the “the study illustrates that consumers who follow SMBs feel more engaged with the business and therefore are more likely to purchase from, recommend, retweet from and share positive experiences about the business”.

500 Twitter followers of SMB’s in the US and UK (n=350 US; n=150 UK) took part in the research.

A Summary of the Twitter Research

72% of SMB followers are more likely to make a purchase from an SMB after following the company

82% are more likely to recommend an SMB they follow to friends / family than before they followed it

86% are more likely to visit a SMB if a friend recommends them

85% of SMB followers feel more connected with SMBs after following them

70% retweeted because they liked the content

64% mentioned SMB to share a positive experience

54% @replied to share a positive experience

Why Do People Follow Small and Medium Businesses on Twitter?

73% To get updates on future products

63% To show support for them

61% To interact with them (share ideas, provide Feedback)

What Do People Think of Twitter Promoted Products?

34% of SMB followers interacted with a small business after seeing an ad with their Twitter handle advertised

32% indicated they are more likely to visit an SMB if they saw a promoted tweet for that business which relates to their interest or needs

It is not clear of the demongraphics of the study or how people participated.

I am suprised that there was no mention in the reason that people follow companies was to hear of competitions or special offers. Typically in all other social media follower research that is the primary reason people follow brands on social media.

If you are going to use Twitter for your small and medium business, I recommend that you put in-place protocols including a Twitter policy, staff education and if you are in a regulated industry, ensure that your processes enable you to be compliant including the retaining of records.

You will also find this article of assistance about the importance of social customer service.

Twitter does offer an advertising credit of 50 USD the US if you have not used Twitter Ads previously – you can find the details here and explore if it applies to you.