Consulting companies need to be much more active on Twitter, according to a new White Space report.
The research found @Deloitte, @Accenture and @KPMG lead the way in terms of volume of tweets, collectively tweeting more than 20,000 tweets over the five month period. However, only @IBMbigdata – with an average of 20 tweets per day – came close to what the research uncovered was the optimal number of tweets per day, while the average firm tweeted just 3.5 times per day.
Rather than focusing on building a large following, consulting firms should aim to increase the volume of retweets. On the surface, the report found that from the 59 accounts analysed, nearly 78,000 retweets were generated over the five month period. However, when this was broken down, the data became less impressive. For instance, just 11 accounts (19 per cent) accumulated 2,000 retweets or more, and only nine accounts (15 per cent) succeeded in having an individual tweet reach 100 retweets or more.
With, on average, 16 retweets per 100 followers over the five month period, the report found that sector-specific accounts score best on follower engagement. However, very few consulting firms have sector-specific accounts. Based on Source’s knowledge of how clients consume thought leadership, developing and disseminating sector-specific material is a real opportunity for consulting firms.
Rachel Ainsworth, senior research manager of Source said: “For consulting firms Twitter offers a chance not only to get your content into the hands of people who want it, but to gain an understanding about what engages people and what doesn’t. It’s like attaching a tiny camera and microphone to every hard copy of a report you send out, and then being able monitor where it went and what people are saying about it.”