Only two per cent of UK businesses use Twitter

Despite all the moves that Twitter has made to get into the business market, it seems Biz Stone and co may still have a long way to go.

A new survey released today, conducted by researchers Loudhouse and sponsored by web analytics specialist WebTrends, suggests that just two per cent of UK businesses use the micro-blogging site and only six per cent use blogging as a marketing tool.

E-direct email still made the top of the list with 46 per cent of respondents claiming they used it 'always' or 'often.'

"Twitter is undoubtedly the hottest thing on the web at the moment. It has been fully embraced by the mainstream"said Colette Wade, WebTrends' marketing director.

"However it comes as no surprise that the business world has been more circumspect. Many are simply not sure how to use it, and even if they could they wouldn't be sure of what to say, and who exactly they would be saying it to."

Wade also pointed out that issues could arise if individuals posted personal views that could be mistaken as representing the company, in addition to the general cynicism that exists in those who build such communities as a tool against big corporates.

Wade concluded: "The advice to any business that does want to jump onto the Twitter bandwagon is to think carefully about the message they want to convey, and whether or not Twitter is actually the correct vehicle for that message."