Top UK B2B twitter profiles

June 16, 2011

It can be somewhat challenging to find examples of Twitter being used effectively in the business to business environment. And even more so when looking for UK examples (I am not advocating that Twitter is the only way B2B social media can support a company’s objective. However, it can add value and meet particular social media goals.)

I have compiled a list (below) of some of the leading UK B2B twitter profiles. If you are contemplating launching a Twitter stream to stay connected to your customers, then these examples might prove useful. You can analyse them to see what works or use them as examples if you need to prove a case.

Name Twitter address No of followers
Econsultancy https://twitter.com/#!/Econsultancy 51,846
Retail Designs https://twitter.com/#!/retaildesigns 14,649
Microsoft https://twitter.com/#!/MicrosoftSB 8,091
Vodafone https://twitter.com/#!/Vodafone_Group 7,627
COI https://twitter.com/#!/COIgovuk 5,072
Total Merchandise https://twitter.com/#!/TM_LTD_UK 4,852
PwC https://twitter.com/#!/PwC_UK 4,816
Procurement https://twitter.com/#!/procurement 4,530
Screwfix https://twitter.com/#!/Screwfixdotcom 4,155
Intel https://twitter.com/#!/IntelUK 3,940
BT Trade Space https://twitter.com/#!/BTTradespace 3,690
BT Business https://twitter.com/#!/btbusiness 3,174
GSK https://twitter.com/#!/GSK 2,851
AXA https://twitter.com/#!/AXAPPPhealth 2,370
3M https://twitter.com/#!/3M_UK 2,021
Regus UK https://twitter.com/#!/Regus_UK 1,559
British Chambers of Commerce https://twitter.com/#!/britishchambers 1,537
Google B2B team https://twitter.com/#!/B2BUK 939
HP https://twitter.com/#!/HPBizAnswers 808
Sodexo https://twitter.com/#!/SodexoPrestige 774
Zurich Insurance https://twitter.com/#!/ZurichInsUK 686
Total Ltd https://twitter.com/#!/Total_ltd 583
Legal & General https://twitter.com/#!/LGIFA 523
RS Components https://twitter.com/#!/RSOffersUK 349

Delighted to see our friends at econsultancy with such a lead on follower numbers. There is a fair spread of businesses from finance and merchants, to the (almost expected now) tech and telecoms companies.

A quick dive into the Twitter streams shows a variety of techniques being used to engage. Yes there are a few that are just broadcasting, but there are many more that have built a strong community around their conversations.

The primary reasons for launching a profile appear to be (in no particular order):

  • keeping connected to customers
  • building new connections
  • a little crowd sourcing around products/ services
  • promotions and discounts
  • thought leadership

Often there are knowledgeable and charismatic tweeters behind each profile. Even if they are not chattering under their own name (a couple of them do), you often see the personalities shine through. The more mature the Twitter profile is, the more you can see how pivotal the twitter host’s personality is to maintaining an active community.

We have just published a report in how you can empower your employees for B2B social media. Giving staff the knowledge and confidence, whilst clearly outlining the parameters, can make all the difference in getting your Twitter profile up and working fast.

So, have we missed any UK Tweeters in B2B? Comment below and we will add to the list. We will then do a deeper analysis of activity and share the insights on this blog.

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