A new report from LinkedIn Research Network and Harris Interactive paints a worrisome picture for Twitter. While the research found that 83% of advertisers were familiar with Twitter (and you have to question who the other 17% are!), only 8% of advertisers and consumers think it is a “very effective” promotion tool.
In addition to the 8% of advertisers who said Twitter was very effective for promotion, 50% said it was somewhat effective. More than three in 10 (34%) said it was not very effective and 8% felt it was not effective at all.
Among consumers the numbers are just as bleak. Only 8% of consumers said that Twiiter was an effective platform for promoting products and ideas, 42% believed it to be somewhat effective, 31% said it was not very effective and 19% felt it was not at all effective.
Twitter has got a lot of mainstream media attention in the last year, but success stories from companies who are using Twitter to increase sales are few and far between.
I believe that this is because users view Twitter as a place to keep in touch with friends, which I blogged about last week, and not a site to be introduced to new products or services.
Until this consumer expectation changes, Twitter cannot be be considered an effective marketing tool.
I think it all depends on what you’re “selling.” If your customer base relies on the strength of your social networks then yes Twitter can be quite effective. But if your business is more traditional then I can see how Twitter may not be as effective.
I think it really depends on who is following you. Just because you have thousands of followers if they are not your demographic than your approach will not be that effective.