4 Ways B2B Marketers Are Using Twitter…
B2B marketers are adding Twitter to their integrated marcom programs.
Who’s adding Twitter and Why?
Here’s a list of early B2B Twitter adopters. I broke it down into four categories based on what I’ve observed on Twitter. Let’s keep the list going. If you or someone you know is using Twitter in a B2B marketing application, tell us by commenting on this post.
Note: If you plan to tweet, then become familiar with TinyURL.com. It’s a free service that takes long URLs and makes them much shorter and more usable for Twitter and other applications.
And now the list…
1. Sell products and services; drive buyers to your online store.
Several B2B and B2C companies are using Twitter to offer special prices to followers.
| Company | Followers |
|---|---|
| Dell Outlet | 1,958 |
| Direct2Dell | 16 |
| Direct2Dell (China) | 34 |
| Studio Dell | 129 |
| Woot | 14,548 |
| Apple | 4,828 |
2. Build brands via knowledge sharing and user groups
This is also a great way to share product reviews and information from real world customers.
| Company | Followers |
|---|---|
| Accenture | 375 |
| BT | 154 |
| IBM System Z | 31 |
| IBM Tivoli Systems | 98 |
| Direct2Dell (China) | 34 |
| Q1 Labs (Infor) | 109 |
| Engadget | 2,729 |
| General Motors | 881 |
| Intuit | 53 |
| SAP | 496 |
| SaaS On Demand | 211 |
| MZinga | 509 |
| Yammer | 819 |
3. Build relevant website traffic.
I call these posts “signposts” because they guide followers to more in depth content. They’re popular among media companies for headline news including:
| Company | Followers |
|---|---|
| Reuters | 1,822 |
| CNN | 43,284 |
| BBC (Off-site list links to BBC) | 300-5,000 |
| New York Times | 8,614 |
| WHP (CBS affiliate) | 97 |
| NPR | 6,248 |
| ZDNet | 167 |
| Conde Nast Portfolio | 385 |
| CNET News | 7,104 |
| Revision 3 | 8,504 |
| CBC News | 1,669 |
| Techmeme | 4,505 |
4. Event marketing
This not only lets your followers know at what events to find you, but also lets them meet up with you while you’re at the event. Twitter lets you send instantaneous feedback on speaker highlights, event information and more during the event…
| Company | Followers |
|---|---|
| IBM Smart SOA | 111 |
| Forrester Research | 2,771 |
Give Twitter a try. Follow me on Twitter
Download a free pdf of this post.
Special thanks to my LinkedIn Colleagues for their input:
Bill Baithurst
Steven Cadley
Dave Greves
Tom O’Brien
David Peck
Sebastian Porta
Patsy Stewart
As for “Tweetiquette,” read Jeff Woelker’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective Twitterers. (Jeff is someone I follow on Twitter… Follow Jeff too.)
Related Posts:
» Infographics: The Newest Essential for the B2B Marcom Mix» How should B2B Companies Handle Twitter "Handles"?
» B2B Social Media Integral to Marcom Mix
» Do B2B Industrial Companies Really Need Social Media?
» Is Your B2B Industrial Company Invisible on the Internet?
Hey Joan,
Thanks so much for the link! Also – great article. If I come across any other’s I’ll pass them along. Tweetiquette – love it!
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff. Please pass along any other B2B Twitterers. Yes… you can have a lot of fun with words that relate to Twitter: Tweeple – people who use Twitter
Halloween is a good time for Twick or Tweet…
Excellent article Joan and very relevant. I just had a client ask me today what B2B companies are using Twitter.
For the record we are a B2B and we are building a decent following.
Here you go Imulus Thanks again!
Got another for you. Accenture.
http://twitter.com/Accenture
Thanks, analytics… nice B2B site (Imulus)!
My company has just begun B2B tweeting in the contact center industry. (www.twitter.com/psshelp) So far we’ve pursued a “fly on the wall/get to know us” approach. Early feedback from our customers and prospects: A few dozen good tweets tell you a whole lot more about a company than a glossy marketing overview. They’re more authentic too… I’d love to get anyone else’s thoughts or comments on how we could improve our twitter timeline for B2B.