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Just 2% of British businesses using Twitter, 6% blogging, web stats show

Just 2% of British businesses using Twitter, 6% blogging, web stats show

Micro-blogging service Twitter may be the latest rage with celebrities and their followers but it has yet to catch on as a marketing tool for British businesses.

According to the latest web analysis from WebTrends, just two per cent (one in fifty) businesses in the UK are using Twitter for marketing, while six per cent are blogging or podcasting.

Only the likes of direct email marketing, detailed web analytics, traditional online advertising and search optimisation really made the grade, with at least one-third of companies using always or often.

“Twitter is undoubtedly the hottest thing on the web at the moment. It has been fully embraced by the mainstream, and millions of people are now receiving blow-by-blow updates on the lives of their friends and even celebs,” said WebTrends’ (EMEA) marketing director, Colette Wade.

“It has also impacted greatly on the media – publications are now tweeting headlines and journalists are using Twitter to share stories, appeal for information and post their own scoops before anyone else.

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“However it comes as no surprise that the business world has been more circumspect. Many are simply not sure how to use it, and even if they could they wouldn’t be sure of what to say, and who exactly they would be saying it to. Some are also concerned about the implications of individuals posting personal views that could be misconstrued as representative of the companies they work for. Businesses also don’t want to be perceived as ruining something that has taken-off organically and is essentially a fun communication tool for individuals. The people that built these communities can be very cynical of clumsy corporate involvement.”

Of course, tweeting isn’t for every business, just as for blogging, and it’s possible to end up doing more harm than good with an ill thought out strategy. It will be interesting to see if more UK businesses loosen the reins a little in future and engage with consumers and customers via Twitter and similar services.

View Comments (2)
  • For clarification:

    “Findings from the WebTrends Analysis & Action Research are based on 300 interviews with online marketing managers in businesses with more than 250 employees. 50 interviews were conducted by telephone in each of UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Australia.”

    In other words, it would seem that this is based on the responses of 50 UK companies each having over 250 employees. Smaller companies may well blog and use Twitter more – equally, the sample may not be wholly representative of the proportion of >250employee UK companies using these technologies.

    “All respondents in the survey rely upon internet marketing to either sell directly to customer via e-commerce (40%) or engage them with sales and marketing activity.”

  • I think part of the problem with businesses adapting to the use of Twitter is the fact that people continually call it a Micro-Blogging service when it is more akin to the old AOL Chat. Just bigger.
    Some businesses may think that if they already have a Blog, they don’t need a “Micro-Blog”.
    Just a thought, a misnomer by any other name is still a misnomer.

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