Business

Twitter will see $226 million in ad revenues in 2012, showing growth of 83 percent on last year’s total of $139.5 million, predicts market analytics firm eMarketer.

Over the next three years, eMarketer expects Twitter’s growth in ad revenue to remain solid, but slowly taper off, with the social networking platform targeting $399.5 million in revenue next year and $540 million in 2014.

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Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Michael Brito (Edelman Digital), and Tim Devane (bitly). Register now.

A new report from the Royal Bank Of Scotland (RBS) has revealed that medium to large-sized businesses are betting on social media to play a significant role in their marketing plans next year, with almost nine out of ten corporations saying that they will maintain or spend more on their social media budget for 2012.

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Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the Saudi Arabian businessman and investor, has acquired a $300 million “strategic stake” in Twitter, following several months of negotiations.

Alwaleed, the founder and CEO of Kingdom Holdings, has a net worth of US$19.6 billion, already holds stakes in Apple, Citigroup, News Corp and General Motors, and is considered a “savvy investor” by his peers.

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Location-based marketing is a big business that is only going to get bigger, and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare, and other online platforms like Skype and Gmail, are all using these tools to compete for your attention… and cash.

The right message served to the right person at the right time has tremendous value for local businesses, and while many of the ads we’re seeing today are limited to vouchers and special offers that are exchanged for check-ins and tweet-outs, we’re not a million years away from fully-fledged, Minority Report-style personalized marketing. And if that means an extra 25 percent off at your favourite store, who amongst us is really going to object?

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As social media becomes an important component of all of our lives, it’s essential that brands adopt a top down approach to the way that they use platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

CEOs simply cannot afford to leave the business of social media to their employees. As the public face of their organisation, it’s imperative that the CEO develops a thorough working knowledge of the ins and outs of social media – this not only sets a strong example, but shows customers (and shareholders) that the man in charge has his finger very firmly on the pulse.

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The branding and marketing benefits of social media are now well-established, and platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are being rapidly adopted by businesses of all shapes and sizes.

But are brands actively engaging with their communities, or simply using these tools for mass-broadcasting?

EML Wildfire looked at the social media activities of 50 of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies, and found that while 90 percent had a presence on one or more social networks, only a small number were actually being ‘social’.

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In recent weeks we’ve seen a lot of information analyzing how small businesses are using Twitter and Facebook, sometimes with conflicting results. For example, while some studies suggest that just 10 percent of small businesses are using Twitter, others are reporting that 60 percent are finding Twitter effective for marketing and customer engagement.

Well, brace yourselves, as this new study from SocialStrategy1 and OfficeArrow is going to make those waters even murkier, as it suggests that while 88 percent of small business owners believe that platforms such as Twitter and Facebook do or will impact their bottom line, a full two-thirds (67 percent) won’t be making additional investments in their social media marketing in 2012.

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Last week we reported on research that suggested that just 10% of small businesses use Twitter as part of their marketing strategy.

It goes without saying that this is a surprisingly low number, and even more so when you consider that some 60% of small businesses who do use Twitter find it effective for engaging with their customers.

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The business of social media is booming, and platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have allowed brands (and entrepreneurs) of all shapes and sizes to reach a wider audience to whom they can effectively market their products and services, irrespective of where they are in the world.

For consumers, these channels allow easy access to brands, but also help to research and guide product decisions and purchases, with the companies that provide the best customer support and highest engagement levels benefitting from consumer loyalty and ‘word of mouth’ recommendations, boosting awareness and sales.

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We’ve tracked Twitter’s staff roster pretty closely at AllTwitter over the past couple of years. Back in May 2009 the company’s employment count was just 69 (dude). By February of this year that number had jumped to almost 400, reached 500 in May and 600 in June, when the company hired more than 70 people in a month.

Things have slowed a little since then, and Twitter has let a few key people go, but the company is still picking up new bodies at a decent pace, and now boasts a staff of more than 700.

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