Dell’s recent announcement that it’s made over $1,000,000 in sales related to Twitter had the Twitterverse buzzing a couple days ago:
"Less altruistically, some businesses have discovered that Twitter is an effective way of communicating with consumers. Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) says Twitter has produced $1 million in revenue over the past year and a half through sale alerts. People who sign up to follow Dell on Twitter receive messages when discounted products are available the company’s Home Outlet Store. They can click over to purchase the product or forward the information to others."
Twitter's a Marketer's Dream
This example illustrates quite clearly the power of Twitter as a marketing and sales tool, and while an extra million to a behemoth like Dell may be pocket change, this announcement will be a topic of discussion at board meetings across the globe companies look to leverage their use of Twitter to drive sales.
It is only a matter of time before other big businesses join the party and dedicate someone from their marketing department to devise ways of milking sales from the Twitter outlet.
Twitter Will Grow Up
As Twitter matures, and corporate users figure out ways to best utilize the medium to drive sales, the $1,000,000 mark will look like a paltry sum once companies like Apple begin to monetize their Twitter presence.
Wait until Best Buy gets in the game and gives out a TV set to one lucky follower, or the Gap direct messages coupons to their faithful. Maybe lettuce is on sale at Whole Foods and they instantly tell their 11,000 followers about it only to see word of the event go viral and start a lettuce run like this country has never seen.
Just wait, it will happen, maybe not with lettuce but it will happen.
The possibilities are endless for big companies to use Twitter to fatten their bottom line. And as big businesses catch on you can expect to see what is now a novelty (Wow! Dell made a lot of money) become commonplace.
My Questions For You:
As big business adopts Twitter as a legitimate sales outlet, will this ruin your Twitter experience?
Will it taint our view of Twitter, which we’ve come to know and love as a somewhat altruistic, sometimes wacky place to connect with individuals on an individual level?
Will it change your experience for the better or worse?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
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Unless Twitter’s model completely changes, the answer is no: Big business entering the Twittersphere won’t ruin Twitter. Why? Simply because Twitter is 100% permission-based. We choose to follow or unfollow accounts at will. If a brand decides to spam (worst case) or simply fails to provide value on Twitter, we can opt out of their feed by un-following them.
Twitter will force brands to create valuable content and truly engage with Twitter users (consumers). Brands which accomplish this will do extremely well. Brands which don’t will fail.
Right now, just being on twitter can’t hurt.
Great question!
While I was reading the post I was thinking that I definitely would not want an advertisement every other tweet but like Olivier said, follow or unfollow so I don’t think it will matter. Not to me anyway.
Corporate Twittering is fine, just know how to do it. We all have the unfollow button, use it if you are not happy w/the stream you are getting.
If corporate America believes their Twitter is just another arm in their marketing mix to push Saturday’s sale, they will fail and cease to exist anymore in the Twittasphere.
The great thing about Twitter – it is what you make it. But the majority of customers are here for conversations & engagement with one another. The occasional Tweet about a sale or a product is MUCH better received when it doesn’t come from an auto generated tweet, but rather a human.
My best advice? Don’t sell.
Let your conversations, your personality, your links, your helpfulness and your thoughts sell your product. This has to equal success – it seems so natural for it to not.
I agree. The beauty of Twitter is the follow/unfollow function. If I get spam, CLICK. Cya later.
I don’t think that big businesses will “ruin” Twitter. I think that the user experience may be different for those who choose to follow the businesses who market their promotions via Twitter.
The twitter experience is what you make of it, and who’s to fault the big businesses for profiting from Twitter too? Isn’t that what the majority of bloggers use Twitter for? To self-promote? It’s fair game, I say!
I think it could even improve my experience on Twitter. Everyone likes hearing about deals and promotions at their favourite stores, especially now that we’re in a recession. I could see myself benefiting from the hypothetical scenarios you listed above – and for anyone who wouldn’t, like mentioned above, just don’t follow!
The question is a bit like asking will big business ruin the telephone? Yes, if it uses the phone to robot-call you with non-sense. No, if it uses the phone to quickly serve customers. Like others have said here, there is nothing invasive about a service that allows me to block or not-follow anyone I choose. – Rex Hammock (@smallbusiness)
I don’t think my view of twitter is changing now that more corporations are using it. Unlike other social media that has been ruined by big business (see myspace), the simplicity inherent in Twitter will keep it honest.
You have to voluntarily FOLLOW a twitter user in order to see their updates. It’s completely up to you if you want to keep your twitter experience personal among friends or use it as your window to a corporate product. I think this important aspect will keep Twitter from being ruined.
However, if twitter decides to change it’s model and starts serving ads or other things that the user is not asking for, then that will definitely spell it’s ruin in my mind, as a valuable communication tool among individuals.
It shouldn’t ruin Twitter. It can only enhance it since we’re able to directly engage with big corporations directly.
All I have to say is oh mai gawd!
You bring up a great point. Right now Twitter is pure. Well you have some small time idiot spammers but they are easy to deal with just don’t’ follow when they start to act spammy. But the bigger name brand a lot of people will follow them because of the name. Right now Twitter is an entrepreneurial playground. If big business gets involved it will become a war zone and I will be on the front lines baby!
@Matt, I agree with you. The only thing that could “ruin” Twitter is if they change their model to start serving ads involuntarily. I don’t think corporations on Twitter is necessarily dangerous.
Someone tell Guy Kawasaki to stop spamming!
He is already rich etc. Why would a successful person want to be associated with spam?
Big business will never ruin Twitter. Twitter is the top level and big business uses twitter.
Just like facebook become a medium for big business. Everyone still loves Facebook. In fact, it’s grown to be even bigger and better than it ever was.
Like many are already saying. The Follow/UnFollow feature is the key to keeping users happy.
I hadn’t thought about the possible repercussions and, although it won’t affect those of us who are partying unless we start tweeting the big businesses, what it may well do is kill off the affiliate sales industry which would do me a personal harm since I have spent years building up online departments stores based on my affiliations, and harm a great many other people from those who simply support their blogging and website costs out of affiliate income to those whose entire income is made that way.
On the other hand, a company that puts all it’s eggs in one basket would be running the risk of doing itself a terrible damage if anything went wrong and people tweeted about it angrily…
One of the companies I work with is using Twitter in what I consider a really good way. It locks the tweets so that no outsider can read them and affiliates are invited to follow and get instant updates on coupons, offers and new items to place on their websites. That makes a lot of sense to me. They are looking after their affiliates rather than greedily steam-rolling over them. I wonder how many companies will follow suit and how many will ‘do a Dell’.
It was quite irritating to receive those advertisement tweets. Kinda spoils the experience for here..
As others have said. Unlike email, the only Spam you get in Twitter is the Spam you ask for by following someone. It’s completely Opt-In.
Anthony Russo
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Great America Networks Conferencing
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Twitter: @AnthonyRusso
I can’t wait for twitter to become big in Ireland, I’ve recently set the company I work for up on Twitter and within a week we have over 100 followers, but it doesn’t do much for sales because we’re in Ireland and most of our followers are in the US.
Its a great way to send out information to people though.
Hey Everyone-
Thanks for the great comments and discussion, I tried to stay out of it because I wanted to see what you all had to say before I interjected my opinion.
I completely agree that the follow/unfollow feature of Twitter is what will keep it relevant.
That really is the beauty of Twitter from both a marketer and “common user” perspective. As a marketer I know that anybody who follows me is interested in my products/services/deals/etc., which makes it uniquely targeted.
And as a user my experience doesn’t have to be tarnished by constant ads if I don’t want it to be. I can just choose not to follow.
I also agree with a couple of the comments that if Twitter were to change that model, and force me to receive ads, then I would have to reconsider my involvement.
With all that said I still think there is unlimited potential in Twitter for both small and big business and it will shape the way we market, whether it be on Twitter or through similar mediums. The individual connection is the priceless component.
Thanks again all,
Matt
I don’t think that big businesses will ruin Twitter. It can be irritating and quite annoying to receive advertisement tweets but if so just don’t follow! Isn’t it why the follow/unfollow function there for?
@Salwa
My thoughts exactly. I can opt in/out for the kind of content I want to see by using the follow/unfollow function. But if they were to change that, I’d have to really think about how my involvement with Twitter would change.
Matt
Congradulations! This post has been picked to feature in the Spotlight on SpotlightBlogger.com!!!
@Spotlight Blogger
Very cool!
Thanks a lot,
Matt