Neowin.net

In a blog post by Dell last Thursday, it was revealed that the computer manufacturer has made $3 million from overall sales (since 2007) as a result of their Twitter usage. Since using the service in 2007, @DellOutlet has been providing exclusive deals to its followers, as well as answering questions from users.

Whilst only $2 million of revenue has been brought in as a direct result of @DellOutlet's Twitter activity, the blog states that $1 million was brought in as a result of users going to Dell Outlet (by following the Twitter links) and then buying a new Dell system from elsewhere on the Dell site, bringing overall sales to $3 million.

At the time of writing, @DellOutlet had over 640,000 followers, an amount which has steadily increased since the company began using Twitter to promote its products.

"Deal-hunters are especially attracted to Dell's Twitter presence. Dell Outlet sells refurbished Dell products at great prices, but inventories fluctuate, making it difficult to know when products are available or on sale," Stefanie Nelson wrote in her blog post. "Dell Outlet uses Twitter as a way to message out coupons, clearance events and new arrival information to those looking for Dell technology at a discounted price."

For a company that describes its business model as being "in a research phase", Twitter has had numerous opportunities to bring in revenue. However, they currently do not charge companies for the usage of their service. With a growing amount of companies embracing the web (and more specifically, Twitter) in order to reach out to customers and promote their products, this could be one of the better opportunities for Twitter to make money, should they decide to take this one up.