The social media giant Twitter began five years ago this month.
Millions of people are using it to let their friends know about good places to go for lunch and what their kids are up to.
But what has been its impact on the business community?
“The value of Twitter really lies in its ability to get people talking,” says Sharon Cannon, PhD, lecturer of management communication at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis and director of the Olin Management Communication Lab.
“It’s all about word-of-mouth,” Cannon says. “And re-tweeting creates that activity. If you use Twitter like you use Facebook, you probably aren’t getting that much value out of it.”
In her undergraduate management communication courses, Cannon asks students to follow a business on Twitter and then write a paper evaluating how the effectively the business used Twitter over a period of months.
“In an increasingly mobile world, Twitter allows businesses to reach people where they are to get their messages out,” Cannon says. “If you want to find a food truck for lunch, you just click the Twitter mobile app and find one near your location. Those types of companies have done beautiful things for their business by tweeting.”
She says Twitter can be valuable for businesses by allowing them to connect with people in a more intimate way.
“Though Twitter certainly can be used for providing coupons to customers, it’s not really about traditional advertising,” Cannon says. “I believe the value is in establishing a connection that people seem to crave and want.”
Cannon thinks Twitter’s popularity with businesses will continue.
“As long as we continue to be attracted to concise messages, businesses will find value in Twitter,” she says.
Another attraction for businesses, says Cannon, is Twitter’s ease of linking to videos.
“As we increasingly move away from the printed word toward more multimedia forms of communication, Twitter’s ability to provide video links will continue to make it attractive to business and to advertisers,” Cannon says.