Twitter-bilge from Huffington. Two weaknesses to avoid if you want a hope in hell of integrating your marketing

Today my friend Michael Rhodes sent me something interesting from Huffington Post.

This suggested that twitter is a more effective marketing tool than email.

You will only agree if you are cursed with two costly and career-ending weaknesses.

1. You always believe what research tells you
2. You have difficulty with basic arithmetic

Otherwise the piece is pure moonshine, as one of my more numerate colleagues pointed out:

"If I read it right only 7% of those questioned said they'd followed a business on Twitter.

Of those 32% would then buy.

Email got 93% saying they'd opt in with 21% then buying.

So with a mythical 1000 people:

22.4 would be Twitter buyers.

195.3 would be email buyers.

So that makes email the clear winner to me."

The Hufflepuffs admit that what people say and what they do are two different things. That is why the overwhelming majority of product launches fail despite billions spent on research.

People often rely on research for the wrong reasons, as David Ogilvy said a good fifty years ago:

He said too many "rely on research for support rather than illumination, as the drunk clutches a lamp-post".

However, in my view research is immensely important - equal second in my list of the four most important factors that determine success in your business. (The least important is the one many firms spend most time on, by the way).

Research is one of the nine essential disciplines I will examine in my one day How to Integrate Your Marketing seminar in Bristol on May 31st.

I feel qualified as, believe it or not, I once helped set up and even named a research company - besides corresponding over the years with some eminent figures in the field and spending an evening with David Ogilvy at Chateau Touffou talking about his experiences with Gallup.

If this seminar interests you, can reply now and get a favourable rate, saving £100, before you actually book.

I will give you this because I want to get an idea of numbers.

Just email me Drayton@Draytonbird.com saying "I want to integrate my marketing".

Just copy that sentence and send it to me if you are genuinely interested.

You are not committed by doing so.

Here is the piece in question: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/twitter-business-shopping_n_1397799.html?view=print.

As the Duke of Wellington - then the most famous man in Europe - said to a man who asked him if his name was John Smith, "If you believe that, you will believe anything."

Research is vitally important because it gives you an idea of whether you are on the right lines or not. But very often not much more.

If you want to know all about the other disciplines I discuss - advertising, PR, guerrilla marketing and others - just remember to let me know with that email saying "I want to integrate my marketing".

Why not do it now? To Drayton@draytonbird.com.

When you do I will tell you more about the price and so on.

Or maybe you would prefer to put your faith in twitter.

Thanks