Marketing gurus and entrepreneurs have not been slow to spot the potential for business development in Twitter, the free-to-join microblogging service with over  500 million users worldwide.

However, whilst many internet experts are only too happy to talk for England on the pros of business tweeting, the concrete benefits are not always made clear. Here then are some of the practical benefits, with examples, of setting up a business Twitter account.

Drive up sales

A carefully planned campaign can boost sales, as PC manufacturer Lenovo recently found out. By targeting user groups attending the UK’s Gadget Show Live, the Twitter handle @Lenovo_UK generated, according to Twitter UK:

“17,250 pounds in direct revenue representing an impressive 4:1 sales to spend ratio.”

Product launch driver

Product launches can be boosted by Twitter, as, according to business.twitter.com, the Taxi app Hailo found out during its Dublin launch:

“During a Promoted Tweets campaign targeted to iOS users, @HailoDublin saw a 20% increase in downloads per day and a cost per download 80% lower than other marketing channels.”

Increase brand awareness

A business Twitter account can help educate your target audience about your offers, and what makes your business special compared to the competition. The online music magazine Prefixmag, for instance, saw a surge in readers following a Twitter brand awareness exercise.

Mobile friendly

Millions use Twitter on their mobile devices, meaning there are increased opportunities for catching the interest of your target audience.

These are just some of the benefits of maintaining a content-driven business Twitter account.

Others include, for instance, SEO benefits; you can potentially increase your search engine rankings by linking to your own site in informative Twitter posts.

All in all, Twitter is well worth considering if you are looking for new ways of developing your business.

Richard Bell

Richard has a First in English Literature and Creative Writing, and has experience writing fiction and short stories (which he has published both online and in magazines).