Dell makes $3 million from Twitter sales

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 12 Jun 2009 at 14:17

Dell has admitted to raking in over $3 million from advertising its products on Twitter.

The PC maker has been using Twitter for two years, and employs proprietary software to track sales from users clicking through from Twitter links.

Startlingly, of that $3 million the company claims $1 million was made in the past six months following an explosion in Twitter's popularity. The number of people using the social-networking site has grown by over 1,000% in the past year, according to analysis firm Nielsen. The firm suggests it now has around 24 million users worldwide.

The majority of sales have come through the @DellOutlet account which posts six to ten special offers a week - with at least half of these being Twitter exclusives.

Though the $3 million sounds like a drop in the ocean given the $12.3 billion of revenue the company earned during the first quarter of this year, it further bolsters Twitter's case for charging businesses.

The social-networking site has floated this possibility in the past, but was immediately shot down by Dell which claimed "if it becomes complicated and costly, our instinct would be to move elsewhere."

However, a posting on the Direct2Dell blog suggests this may not be quite as simple as the company first imagined: "Deal-hunters are especially attracted to Dell's Twitter presence... inventories fluctuate, making it difficult to know when products are available or on sale. Dell Outlet uses Twitter as a way to message out coupons, clearance events and new arrival information to those looking for Dell technology at a discounted price."

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