Twitter for Business

Prepared for
Shari Weiss
Business Communication for Professionals

Prepared by
Rebecca Schiffman
San Francisco State University

June 29, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS...iii
Figure 1......4
Figure 2....5
Figure 3....7
Figure 4.10
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.iv
INTRODUCTION.1
Background1
Problem or Purpose.1
Significance.1
Scope..1
Organization..1
FINDINGS.3
Dell3
Girl Scouts5
Jet Blue..6
SUMMARY..8
APPENDIX9
References..9
Additional Illustrations..10

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1: TO GET TWITTER FOLLOWERS AND EVEN MORE FACEBOOK FANS4
Figure 2: WHY YOU CANT IGNORE TWITTER..5
Figure 3: THE POWER OF TWITTER.7
Figure 4: TWITTER ANALYTICS10

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Starting a business isnt just about filing the paperwork. Its also defining your voice and sharing it with the
world. With the influx of the internet and mobile technology, business operations are becoming even more
transparent. While the decrease in privacy can be concerning, a lot of businesses are benefiting from a social
media presence, especially on Twitter. A recent study found that 65% of Fortune Global 100 companies has a
Twitter account. Twitter is full of free resources for businesses to help them create a Twitter presence, grow a
follower base, drive website clicks, increase Tweet engagements, drive app installs, and even find leads on
Twitter, one of their most notable blogs called LEAP, enlightens business users on branding, content and starting
your new business off right.

Social media has created a culture for customers to share and for businesses to grow. Though trend suggests
Twitter is more effective than e-mail and Facebook, for example 33% of Twitter followers are more likely to
recommend a brand as opposed to 21% of Facebook Likers. Social media recommendations are proving similar
in effectiveness as word of mouth recommendations, with Twitter this effectiveness reaches farther and faster
than in person.

Analysis of Twitter for business uncovered the essential benefits to business operations in three major areas:

Revenues. Dell reported $6.5 million in revenues through the use of Twitter. But also found Twitter
allowed them to increase their customer base and decrease their turnaround time in sales. Most
importantly negative feedback decreased by 30%.

Promotions. Girl Scouts used Twitter to promote a new mobile app to help customers find places to
buy their favorite cookies. Twitter facilitated over 19,500 downloads of the mobile app.

Customer relations. Jet Blue has built a strong Twitter presence and created a richer medium to
communicate to customers. One of the initial companies to promote through Twitter, they have
built a larger following than the White House.

On the basis of these findings, it is recommended to use Twitter and develop a Twitter strategy. Not only will
this help improve customer relations but improve business operations over all. Engaging and developing a
following of Twitter users will increase customer awareness and speed up business response time. Twitter
presence provides considerable business potential. Most importantly, when considering which social media
platform to use, Twitter users are three times more likely to follow brands than Facebook users.

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INTRODUCTION
Background
Having a strong social media presence is an essential aspect in todays customer oriented world. A lot of
traditional companies are reluctant to participate with social media, but Twitter can be a promising way to start.
Recent and historical data prove companies, big and small, can use Twitter effectively. With the use of simple
algorithms and a few new digital marketing techniques Twitter has taken the business world by storm.

Problem or Purpose
The purpose of this report is to encourage companies to use Twitter. Twitter is a broad reaching format that
uses a strict limited word count (140 characters maximum), maintaining customers attention span.

Significance
The significance of this report is that the use of Twitter for business positively correlates with improved brand
loyalty, increased sales, and increased awareness of new products. Research finds that 42% of monthly Twitter
users use the social media site to learn about products and services. And even more notable, 41% provide
opinions about products and services, while 31% ask for opinions about products and services. These statistics
along with further findings demonstrate the impact Twitter has on business processes.

Scope
Out of hundreds of companies that use Twitter, this report will focus on three companies and their experience
with Twitter. Dell utilizes Twitter to inform customers about promotions, therefore increasing brand loyalty. Girl
Scouts uses Twitter to promote its new mobile app. Jet Blue developed a new way to engage customers. I have
chosen these three substantial companies because of their use of Twitter and the nature of the industries they
are in.

Organization
This report is broken down into four sections: the introduction, the findings, the summary and
recommendations, and the appendix. The introduction covers the background, problem or purpose, significance,
and scope of this report. The findings cover the three companies Dell, Girl Scouts, and Jet Blue and how they
have utilized Twitters tools effectively to reach their goals. The summary and recommendations will review the

impact of these findings and present any recommendations provided from the research in this report. Finally,
the appendix will cover the works cited and any other supportive information.

FINDINGS
The results of this research indicate that Twitter is an easy and effective tool to reach your companies goals. The
impact of Twitter on companies goes well beyond the typical business-to-customer communications. Twitter is
an inexpensive but rich medium for companies to develop their brand or change their image. Other than using it
to notify customers of promotions, it empowers customers to seek out new products, communicate an
unsatisfying experience, and develop a rapport with companies. This report will cover how Dell, the Girl Scouts,
and Jet Blue made a mark through Twitter.

Increasing ROI through Twitter

Dell has successfully used Twitter to increase customer satisfaction and generate new leads. A few years ago,
Dell announced it made $6.5 million in revenue using Twitter. Previous to the use of the social media platform,
their approach to customer service was essentially call centers. Due to high rates of customer dissatisfaction,
Dell realized they needed to change their strategy. They hopped on the social media band wagon and have
made considerable headway since. Dell found that Twitter allows them to react faster to problems throughout
the company, whether they are technical or logistical which resulted in negative comments decreasing by 30%.
Furthermore, they developed a predictive model based on users Twitter feeds and were able to suggest new
products with up to 75% accuracy, shorten the sales cycle by 25%, and three times the normal close rate during
sales. Twitter has considerably improved Dells standing in the computer and technology industries an industry
notorious for bankrupting behemoths, such as RadioShack and CompUSA.

Figure 1 displays the types of content companies can use to increase Twitter follower base.

FIGURE 1

Source: https://econsultancy.com

Promoting like a Girl Scout

Traditional businesses -- such as the Girl Scouts -- have used Twitter successfully for promotions. The Girl Scouts
had a problem Twitter could solve. They realized customers were having a difficult time finding places to buy
their favorite Girl Scout cookies during the cookie sales season. In response, they created a new Girl Scout
Cookie Finder mobile app, which they promoted on Twitter. Twitter generated over 19,500 app installs. The Girl
Scouts took advantage of the App Card images to showcase their products which allows users to directly
download the app from tweets by the @girlscouts. A study done by the internet marketing firm Hubspot, found
data that supports this phenomenon. In a B2C company with one to twenty Twitter followers will generate a
median of 11 leads per month. When the number of Twitter followers increase to 100 to 500, lead generation
jumps to 35 per month, a 146% increase. Figures like this, reveal Twitters prowess is not one to be ignored.

Figure 2 provides us with the percent of monthly Twitter users interacting with businesses in several ways.
FIGURE 2

Jet Blue Makes Flying Customer Friendly

Another industry giant that is no longer fighting to maintain positive customer relations. In the era of customer
satisfaction, Jet Blue has developed a strategy for winning customer service. The company identifies itself as a
customer service company that happens to fly planes and was one of the initial companies to use Twitter as a
business tool. Jet Blue is able to respond to customer service requests faster and more personally. In the case of
Alex Silberman, a customer of Jet Blue, he asked for clarification on the extra charge for opting in for stand by
for an earlier flight via Jet Blues Twitter. The company was able to reply within three minutes, while the
response did not illicit a refund, the customer was appreciative of the alertness of Jet Blues customer service
team. Furthermore, a Jet Blue employee in Salt Lake City, who responded to the original tweet followed through
to the Jet Blue folks at Logan Airport in Boston. The folks at Logan Airport used Alexs Twitter to find him in the
airport terminal and deliver him a special gift. This resulted in Alex posting to Twitter the positive experience he
had with Jet Blue.

Figure 3 covers how Twitter users engage with brands and compare its effectiveness to other forms of digital
communication.
FIGURE 3

SUMMARY
Twitter has helped a variety of businesses, from computers to cookies to customers. The world is changing at an
alarming rate and attention spans are shrinking, too. Twitter limits word count, which enforces users, both
businesses and customers alike, to keep the message clear and concise. This format allows for people to learn
faster and share faster.

Summary of Problems and Procedures

To summarize, Twitter is an essential tool for businesses. Not only as a way of promotional tool but also as a way
to increase sales and improve customer relations. The purpose of this report is to enlighten businesses to
Twitters potential benefits. This report also shows the innovation that comes from Twitter success.

Summary of Findings
Out of all social media sites available, Twitter provides better customer engagement, customer sharing, and
attracts new customers. In its minimal word format, it makes it easier to maintain customer attention.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Analysis of Twitter for business reveals the following conclusions and recommendations:
1. With the use of predictive models analyzing text, Twitter can promote faster response time and
increase revenue.
2. App Card images allow businesses to showcase images of their products and have a hyperlink to
download a mobile app.
3. Twitter followers pages can reveal the opportunity for delighting a customer.
There are a myriad of social media sites, but Twitter has the greatest potential for growth. With its
inconspicuous and broadly used platform, expanding and established businesses can effectively reach their
goals. To follow up with importance of having a social media presence, Twitter is an engaging experience and
shows promising data that will assist in business growth.

APPENDIX

References
Amplifying Perceptions: HOW JETBLUE USES TWITTER TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT AND SATISFACTION. (2010, June
6). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/aaker/pages/documents/Jet_Blue.pdf
Bunz, M. (2009, December 8). Dell makes $6.5m from Twitter sales. Retrieved June 30, 2015, from
http://www.theguardian.com/media/pda/2009/dec/08/socialnetworking-digital-media
Charlton, G. (2012, July 3). The ROI of Facebook and Twitter [infographic]. Retrieved June 30, 2015, from
https://econsultancy.com/blog/10248-the-roi-of-facebook-and-twitter-infographic/
Fletcher, H. (2015, February 1). Nuts & Bolts - Case Study: Dell Uses Data to Improve Social ROI. Retrieved June
30, 2015, from http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/dell-uses-data-improve-social-roi/2/
Girl Scouts. (2015). Retrieved June 30, 2015, from https://business.twitter.com/success-stories/girl-scouts
Horn, L. (2011, March 7). How to Win Friends and Influence People on Twitter (#maybe). Retrieved July 1, 2015,
from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380391,00.asp
Kerby, J. (2015, June 12). Taking Social Media Advice From The Girl Scouts. Retrieved July 1, 2015, from
http://cavesocial.com/look-to-the-girl-scouts-for-advice-on-social-media/
Kolowich, L. (2014, July 28). Delighting People in 140 Characters: An Inside Look at Jet Blue's Customer Service
Success. Retrieved June 30, 2015, from http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/Jet Blue-customerservice-twitter
OVSYANNIKOV, M. (2010, July 13). Twitter for Business. Retrieved June 30, 2015, from
https://www.zendesk.com/blog/twitter-for-business/
Story of a Tweet. (2015). Retrieved June 30, 2015, from https://about.twitter.com/what-is-twitter/story-of-atweet

Additional Illustrations
Figure 4 illustrates the top three businesses for Twitter analytics. This provides extra references for businesses
that would like to have concrete data on the impact Twitter has.

FIGURE 4

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/

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