Like the answer to most questions like this: It depends.
Mostly, it depends on how you use it. It depends what you consider success, and how seriously you incorporate this powerful tool into your marketing plan.
I read an article in USA Today by Steve Strauss, in which Strauss says, “Bottom line: For many small businesses, Twitter can work, but for just as many, it is not worth the effort.” So maybe he was just talking about the local cleaners or coffee shop.
I disagree with Mr. Strauss – here’s why. People are engaging with Twitter and Facebook at ever-increasing rates. A June 2009 analysis of the top-10 social media properties by Nielsen (click to download) reveals that Twitter was again the fastest growing site, increasing 1,928% year-over-year, from one million unique visitors in June 2008 to 21 million unique visitors in June 2009.
Nielson also reports that Americans have nearly tripled the amount of time they spend on social networking and blog sites from a year ago. In August 2009, 17 percent of all time spent on the Internet was at social networking sites, up from 6 percent in August 2008.
So, can Twitter help your business? Well if you had a room full of people, and you could walk in and tell them about your business, would that be helpful to your business? Again, it depends. It depends on who they are and what you tell them. Fortunately, there are a ton of great research tools out there to give you an edge when it comes to finding your audience and speaking to them appropriately.
Tags: facebook, social media rankings, Twitter
