How Powerful is a Little Tweeting Bird?

With all this hype about Lebron James finally joining the twitterverse, I feel obligated to remind you why a little tweeting bird is...or isn't so powerful.

Yes, it's true, on Tuesday Lebron James joined twitter under the verified name @kingjames. Will he tweet his decision before the press conference tonight? No one knows exactly his reasoning for joining twitter at such an anticipated moment in basketball. It's quite possible that James just wanted the added attention, and with almost 300,000 followers in two days (yes, I'm one of them) that is exactly what he got. However, with twitter being such a powerful marketing tool, could he have joined for the sake of his fan base? To market himself? I think both. With twitter, James can not only stay connected with his fans on a more personal level but also filter them through to his website lebronjames.com. Twitter is a community in which users expect to be linked to more information whether it be a website, a picture, a video, etc. 18-24 year olds want everything to be brief, clear, and to the point, which is exactly what a tweet is. Then, if it sparks their interest, they will click the link on the tweet or search the web to find out more.

Accroding to Edison Research, two-thirds of active twitter users have access through their mobile phones. Some say this means that companies who don't have a strong mobile presence won't benefit much by using twitter. However, in reality this means that if you have a strong twitter presence, by default, you have a strong mobile presence. Yes, of course a stong presence in both would reinforce your message, but by no means should you rule out a twitter account just because you don't have much of a mobile campaign.

Edison Research tells us that 51% of twitter users follow companies, brands, or products, 42% learn about products and services via twitter and 41% tweet their opinions about products and services. Yes, people are listening and people are tweeting. But do those who tweet their opinions actually have any influence? In fact, twitter users have an above average income and education level which does give them influencial power. This also means that those reading the tweets are just as influencial and can spread the word even further.