Twitter has power when it comes to information dissemination: President Obama uses it to keep up with supporters. Public relations professionals use it to post links to news stories. Bloggers use it as an awareness tool. And emergency response folks use it as another channel to get critical information out.
But can Twitter go commercial? Signs point to yes. A range of companies, from ailing General Motors to Starbucks, have begun using the 140-character one-line microblogging service as a promotional tool. And the latest to have success on the Tweet-wagon is Dell Computer.
The PC-maker has a new program that offers special deals to Twitter users. The program involved giving the Twitterati the equivalent of coupons for the Dell Outlet store: The special offers crop up for a special time period, and then expire.
Dell has been embracing the service for a while; it maintains more than 20 Twitter channels, and tweets along in other languages as well, including Chinese, Japanese, German and Spanish. People who sign up to follow Dell on Twitter receive messages when discounted products are available the company’s Home Outlet Store. They can then click into the store, or forward the information on. Dell claims Twitter is responsible for adding $100 million in revenue to its books, but that seems dubious.
Another goal for Twitter use seems to be building viral awareness for new products. For instance, when Dell launched its latest netbook, the Mini 10, Twitter users were encouraged to discuss the Mini 10 on Twitter by following www.twitter.com/hashtags, typing in a comment, and ending the tweet with “#mini10.”
It’s a growing phenomenon, and one that might answer those industry watchers’ questions about how Twitter can make money. About 56 percent of Twitter users say they use it for business. That’s according to Rodney Rumford, social media researcher, speaking at a conference this week. "Twitter is a goldmine," Rumford said, adding that even small businesses can leverage the utility for advertising.
