Businesses on Twitter Double Their Leads

A recent eMarketer post showed evidence from HubSpot that small businesses on Twitter can double their monthly lead generation figures. The "Twitter effect" was consistent whether businesses generated 1-10, 11-50, or more than 51 leads per month, and also held across company size. The Twitter effect was stronger for businesses targeting consumers (B2C companies) than business to business (B2B) organizations.

The amount of Twitter followers is critical to increased lead generation. Companies with a Twitter reach between 100-500 followers generated 146% more median monthly leads than those with 21-100 followers. Interestingly, companies with more than 500 followers did not show any increased gains, suggesting that the quality of interactions, as opposed to quantity of followers, should the backbone for a good Twitter strategy.

Blogging also increased lead generation for small businesses. Unlike Twitter, the effect was similar for both B2C as well as B2B companies. For blogs, the crucial component for increased lead generation was the amount of content produced. According to eMarketer, 24-51 posts are the minimum "tipping point" at which increased lead generation occurs.

Additional benefits of Twitter usage and blogging include better search engine visibility. Blogs increase the number of indexed pages for a business, and every 50-100 incremental indexed pages on Google can lead to significant growth. Twitter, which is now being crawled by Google and included in their results, can also impact search engine visibility.

Burberry to Launch Social Networking Site

According to the Financial Times, luxury brand Burberry is planning to launch a social networking website next month. The site, Artofthetrench.com, will primarily feature users who send in pictures of themselves wearing or using Burberry.

Angela Ahrendts, Burberry's chief executive, said about the site: “These might not even be customers yet. Or they may be a customer for a bottle of fragrance or for eyewear. But these are the customers who need the brand experience, who need to feel the brand. That word-of-mouth spreads through their social networks and continues to be a positive conversation [about Burberry] . . . that is so powerful.”

Artofthetrench is just one of the social media initiatives Burberry is planning. Their Facebook page has over 670,000 fans, and provides frequently updated photo and video footage. Burberry also has Twitter and YouTube pages, and will be live streaming their Spring/Summer 2010 Prorsum womenswear show tomorrow, September 22nd, at 6:30 PM London time. Check out a video below interviewing Harry Potter star and Burberry model Emma Watson.

More Women than Men Use Twitter

Social media analytics provider Sysomos recently released a report on Twitter entitled “An In-Depth Look Inside the Twitter World." The report revealed some interesting, and surprising, data about the microblogging site.

Twitter has seen impressive growth this past year. According to the report, 72.5% of all users joined Twitter between January and May of this year. 53% are women, and 81% are under 30 years old.

And although it seems like most Twitter users are constantly microblogging, approximately 85% of users are a silent majority, updating 0 times each day. 6.48% tweet daily and 2.8% update twice a day. The percentage of users tweeting 3, 4, 5, etc. times a day continues to decrease until 9 daily updates, with only 0.18% updating. However, over 1% of the Twitter population tweets 10 or more timex per day. That essentially equates to 75% of all Twitter activity coming from just 5% of users.

Similarly, 92.4% of users follow less than 100 people, and 93.68% are followed by 1-100 individuals. One's "audience" impacts a person's activity. According to the Sysomos report, the average number of daily updates rises from three to six among users with more than 1,000 followers. However, that increase impacts a tiny percentage of Twitter users, with 0.68% reaching the thousand-follower mark.

Unsurprisingly, marketers on Twitter are more active. They are more likely to update than the average Twitter user, with 35% posting at least daily. Also, 15% of marketers follow more than 2,000 people.

Kathy Ireland Sees Correlation Between Twitter and Sales

Personal branding guru Dan Schawbel recently wrote a Business Week article about leveraging social media for marketing purposes. Although the article focused on personal branding, Schwabel highlighted points that could be used for professional brands as well.

Some of his key points (revised for corporations) to leveraging social media are:

• Create a goal-based strategy


• Connect with passionate consumers who are interested


• Consistently provide added value

Schawbel stresses that each interaction, such as a Facebook status update or a Tweet, is a marketing message. He uses the example of Kathy Ireland, the former model who currently has her own enterprise of clothing, jewelry, and home goods, and recently authored a book, "Real Solutions for Busy Moms." Ireland has profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn, in addition to connecting with fans on Twitter.

Ireland has seen a correlation between her Twitter usage and sales. "Twitter has informed us of issues, unauthorized sales, media opportunities, and new exposure to people," she says. She also lauds the importance of participation in social media, and claims that absence makes a statement as well: "Even if you elect not to be involved in these media platforms, your absence is a statement and therefore a form of participation."