Small firms all a-Twitter

New research from O2 reveals that almost one fifth of UK small businesses are now using Twitter for a variety of purposes.

Tuesday, 17 March 2009

The mobile operator polled more than 500 small firms and discovered that 17 per cent currently use Twitter as part of their business operations, with 28 per cent of these creating an account within the last month.

According to the survey, three quarters of small business Twitter users are harnessing the microblogging site for marketing purposes, with 42 per cent doing so to stay in contact with customers and suppliers.

Meanwhile, 34 per cent say they are using Twitter to monitor their competitors' activities.

Two fifths of Twitter users revealed that they are utilising the site more than LinkedIn or Facebook, while 68 per cent said they use Twitter more than their company blog.

Respondents cited a number of different benefits of using Twitter, including reduced costs and enhanced business confidence.

Simon Devonshire, head of small business marketing at O2, says: "The way small businesses are using Twitter is a great example of how the community is embracing new technologies in order to adapt and survive in the current economic climate."

Twitter became the 54th most visited UK website last week, compared with a ranking of 66 in the previous week, according to Hitwise.

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