So what’s a tweet from one of the biggest tweeters on the planet worth? Last week Stephen Fry sent a tweet recommending Pownum, a new service (set up by a good friend of mine), that allows you to rate and review organisations. The tweet sent traffic through the roof, affirming the power that one person can have online.

Stephen Fry has over 1.5 million followers, and that’s not a number to be sniffed at. And it’s interesting to see how that actually translates. Do you just have a lot of people reading what you say, or are they more engaged than that? The numbers show the power that one person can have online, to set opinion. The original tweet from Stephen Fry was retweeted over 100 times, and had a significant and immediate impact on the traffic. Pownum registered an increase of traffic after the tweet, of over 1,100% The site was also receiving ratings every few seconds, tracked as referral traffic from Stephen Fry’s tweet.

So what can a tweet from Stephen Fry do for your business? The answer is, clearly, a lot! But a word of warning though, for anyone that thinks a tweet from a Twitter celebrity is going to do all the hard work for them. Karl Havard, co-founder at Pownum said that it was a great spike in traffic, but this isn’t consistent and they recognise that there will be more triggers needed, for real word of mouth to set in. It’s also interesting to note how the traffic performed. While on average 20% of visits will be ‘active’ i.e. leaving reviews and opinions, for the referral traffic from Stephen Fry, this was lower at 15%. This is perhaps a reflection on the engagement level of Twitter traffic. You may be in a position to click through to a site, but the likelihood is that you have Twitter running in the background and don’t have time to register or leave a review.

The conclusion? A tweet is great for a quick spike in traffic, but don’t expect it to transform your site overnight.

About Pownum

Pownum is an exciting new service that combines reviews of organisations with, surprisingly, charity! Organistions on the site are given the power of the right to reply, in return for an annual subscription of £5,000 (or $8,000). Though this might seem a little on the pricey side, Pownum donates half of this fee to a charity of the subscriber’s choice. It’s an interesting approach that’s not really been done before, and I’m sure it’s something that would only resonate well with users and organisations alike.

Pownum is also available as an iphone app, allowing instant access to review or complain! Live right to reply?

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