While we already know that Twitter can be a killer business tool when used effectively, it’s always good to have a survey to back it up.

The latest research comes from AIIM, which in a survey of nearly 800 people found that over one quarter of 18-30 year-olds thought that Twitter was an important rapid feedback tool for business use. By comparison, just seven per cent of over-45s thought so.

Twitter was seen as being useful for getting access to expert answers, running mini-polls and sharing opinions during conferences and events, and making contacts while travelling.

Although over half of users thought it gave them a useful insight into the lives and businesses of other professionals, the concern that Twitter could become all-consuming was also very real, with three-quarters only using it during work time (only for work purposes? We can’t tell.)

Just over one-third of those surveyed had their own Twitter accounts. It would be interesting to see a survey conducted only with active Twitter users.