USA: a small, informal survey showed Twitter is rapidly gaining acceptance among users as an important social media business tool

[Marketwire] - MarketingProfs, a trusted online resource for more than 320,000 professional marketers, today announced the results of a small, informal survey that shows Twitter is rapidly gaining acceptance among users as an important social media business tool.

According to the survey of mostly small businesses, 84 percent of respondents said they expect their company's use of Twitter to increase over the next six months -- 46 percent by a "significant" margin. The survey results are part of a new MarketingProfs case study collection, an exclusive resource prepared for MarketingProfs Premium Members.

Currently, 66 percent consider Twitter either "somewhat important" or "extremely important" to their company's business/marketing operations, compared to 29 percent who consider it "not very important."

Meanwhile, perhaps not surprisingly, Twitter users say the red-hot social media tool now ranks second only to blogs as the No. 1 social media business tool.

On a five-point scale, 41 percent of respondents said Twitter delivers "great value" to their company, ranking well ahead of LinkedIn, which garnered 25 percent of that category, and Facebook, which had 17 percent. Corporate blogs ranked at the top of the list with 52 percent saying it delivered great value, according to the small survey, which included more than 200 Twitter users.

"This data shows that Twitter users, typically early adopters, no longer think of Twitter as just a personal networking tool, but as something that can provide real value for their company or business," Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs. "Much like Facebook, Twitter is now moving into the business mainstream."

MarketingProfs' survey results are part of a new case study collection Twitter Success Stories: How 11 companies are achieving their marketing objectives -- 140 characters at a time. The 32-page report describes how 11 diverse businesses are using Twitter to achieve different business objectives.

Readers will learn how:

Disney leveraged one of the industry's first Twitter sponsorships to promote its 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition "Pinocchio" Blu-Ray and DVD launch
Souplantation, a salad buffet restaurant, is using the micro-blogging service to drive in-store traffic through promotions, contests and "quick engagements"
The Coffee Groundz, a Houston-area coffee shop, built a vibrant customer community and increased sales by almost a third

The report includes new information on Twitter usage by Zappos, Comcast and Dell, while profiling entirely new success stories from Techrigy, Kogi Korean BBQ, 12for12K.org, Decho (Mozy), and NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal.

"These 11 case studies provide a quick, yet detailed, look at how businesses are using Twitter today to drive tangible results," said Erik Bratt, a former business journalist, now President of Engage Social Media, who authored the report. "Once they are finished, readers will have a very clear picture of how Twitter can be used to achieve multiple marketing objectives."

In addition to the case studies and the exclusive survey data, the report also recommends the best Twitter business tools -- from measurement services to account management -- as well as presents tips for getting started on Twitter.