Top UK B2B twitter profiles

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 http://twitter.com/#!/Econsultancy 51,846
Retail Designs http://twitter.com/#!/retaildesigns 14,649
Microsoft http://twitter.com/#!/MicrosoftSB 8,091
Vodafone http://twitter.com/#!/Vodafone_Group 7,627
COI http://twitter.com/#!/COIgovuk 5,072
Total Merchandise http://twitter.com/#!/TM_LTD_UK 4,852
PwC http://twitter.com/#!/PwC_UK 4,816
Procurement http://twitter.com/#!/procurement 4,530
Screwfix http://twitter.com/#!/Screwfixdotcom 4,155
Intel http://twitter.com/#!/IntelUK 3,940
BT Trade Space http://twitter.com/#!/BTTradespace 3,690
BT Business http://twitter.com/#!/btbusiness 3,174
GSK http://twitter.com/#!/GSK 2,851
AXA http://twitter.com/#!/AXAPPPhealth 2,370
3M http://twitter.com/#!/3M_UK 2,021
Regus UK http://twitter.com/#!/Regus_UK 1,559
British Chambers of Commerce http://twitter.com/#!/britishchambers 1,537
Google B2B team http://twitter.com/#!/B2BUK 939
HP http://twitter.com/#!/HPBizAnswers 808
Sodexo http://twitter.com/#!/SodexoPrestige 774
Zurich Insurance http://twitter.com/#!/ZurichInsUK 686
Total Ltd http://twitter.com/#!/Total_ltd 583
Legal & General http://twitter.com/#!/LGIFA 523
RS Components http://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.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 16th, 2011 at 8:00 am by Katy and is filed under B2B social media, Social Media, with tags , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “Top UK B2B twitter profiles”

  1. Rebecca Caroe Says:
    June 16th, 2011 at 8:45 am

    Thanks for publishing such a good list. Will reblog it to our readers. Great Case Studies are hard to find.

  2. Katy Says:
    June 16th, 2011 at 8:49 am

    Thanks Rebecca,

    It would be fanstastic if you could encourage everyone to let us know who we have missed. Once we have a comprehensive list we will do some analysis and post as open research.

    And watch this blog tomorrow, there is more sharing to come….. ;-)

  3. Katie Moffat Says:
    June 16th, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    Good list. Not sure if you’d count them as B2B in the strictest sense but @bootlaw do a great job

  4. David Owen Says:
    June 16th, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    I think you’ll find @FarnellNews a big competitor of @RSOffers UK has 10 times their followers but doesn’t appear in the list.

    Rgerads,

    David Owen

  5. Katy Says:
    June 17th, 2011 at 8:22 am

    Hi David and Katie, Iwill add both your suggestions and republish the list next week with all the additions

  6. Social Media Toolbox Says:
    October 8th, 2011 at 9:50 pm

    Social Media Toolbox…

    [...]immediate future. » Blog Archive » Top UK B2B twitter profiles[...]…

  7. web design Says:
    October 31st, 2011 at 11:18 am

    Katerina Gklinou…

    [...]immediate future. » Blog Archive » Top UK B2B twitter profiles[...]…

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