We recognize the Twitter phenomenon has swept the social media world as a place where we can all inform others about what we’re doing, reading, retweeting, and thinking. We can even embrace Twitter as a social media marketing tool for celebrities, newsrooms, consumer products and so-called social media “gurus.” But what is its value in a B2B marketplace?

Can tweeting really be better than simple emails to your Blackberry®, iPhone®, or desktop? Can following, or being followed by, certain people (e.g., clients, vendors, sales reps, industry leaders) actually improve B2B business efficiency, bring in new business or add value to your marketing efforts?

We want to know what you think. Have you tweeted for business? Do you follow clients and ask clients to follow you? Do you read what other people tweet to you, or get comments on what you’re tweeting? A recent discussion in the Linkedin Facebook group asked its members, “Twitter…..a brilliant useful tool or a total waste of time???” To date, they’ve had 8 people make 14 comments. Some of the feelings expressed were:

“Love it for directing traffic to my web site, fan page, LinkedIn group and relevant current
events or topics! Oh, and to bitch about stupid crap on television…”
– Frank Gustafson, President/CEO at RenovoData Services

“I … am not a marketing guru, so I won’t talk about its effectiveness for driving traffic to wherever,
or its usefulness for talking about your service. I can however talk about its usefulness for disseminating
information and communications quickly, which is useful in the areas in which I do have expertise
such as disasters, emergencies, and business disruptions.”
– Keith Erwood, Principal at Continuity Corporation

And a couple of people commented that they are trying to use Twitter to find a job.

What if you and all your distributors followed each other on Twitter, would that help with product promotions? …increase sales leads? …lead to more, or less, efficient communications? And what about security concerns? Maybe Twitter can turn into a great B2B tool, if only we take the time to figure out exactly how to creatively apply it within our organizations.

We look forward to your comments.