What’s the Value of a Tweet

The surge of Twitter’s popularity has made it almost a formality for every business to have at least one Twitter account.

Paradoxically, not much time is spent thinking about the ROI of tweeting even though it's become such a large portion of most businesses marketing strategies. After doing extensive research on the affect of tweeting on revenue, we found that there is in fact a correlation between tweets made and dollars earned – and while it won’t make people chirp – it does prove how powerful Twitter is when it comes to engaging with your audience and getting your brand more noticed. 

When comparing Twitter vs Instagram, we found that one Instagram follower is worth 10 Twitter followers. Makes you rethink how your business is growing its audience on the photo-sharing service, doesn't it?

Although, if you successfully integrate Twitter into your digital marketing efforts, we saw a 1–2% increase in total revenue. 

When looking at businesses before they started using Twitter and then after they sent out their first tweet, we found that initial tweet was worth $25.62. A single retweet was then valued at $20.37. This figure is notably variable from business to business. Based on SumAll user data, the number of impressions is worth less than a penny, far lower than the impact of direct e-mail campaigns yet a bit higher than an AdWords impression. To put it in perspective, the value of Twitter to business falls between e-mail marketing and pay-for-click digital advertising. 

Additionally, we found six tweets per day to be the optimal number but don’t expect that more tweeting will equal more money. A rapid decline in value occurred after the first tweet  and it’s nearly impossible to triple revenue from tweeting alone.

Comparatively, other businesses have found incredible success in leveraging Twitter. One of our users, Loop Loft, has more than 4,400 followers and has reached upwards of 400,000 people by tweeting and estimates that each tweet is worth $29.34. Other businesses will find that tweeting for them isn’t worth nearly as much. 

Overall, the impact Twitter makes varies greatly from business to business. Each social platform will work differently for each company based on its industry, product and marketing tactic, making the understanding of which specific digital marketing efforts drive results even more valuable.