By now most of you might have read about Dell’s announcement that they have made $6.5 million on Twitter. It was a very good case study for most of us because now we have a blueprint to follow when marketing on Twitter.

For those who do not know about the story, you can read it here, here and here. Basically, Dell said that since entering the social media space 3 years ago they have grown and learn about the space. They now have about 1.5 million members in their @DellOutlet account and more that 3 million followers across all social media platforms (cool). Previously, we have written about Dell when they announced they made $3 million on Twitter and how they did it, but making a total of $6.5 million in such a short space of time is no mean feat.

How did they do it?

Many will think maybe it is because Dell itself is a global brand, therefore they will have an edge over other small businesses when it comes to social media marketing. But Let me assure you, on the social web, big brandsdon’t necessary guarantee success. So how did Dell make so much on Twitter while others are struggling to figure out how Twitter works?

The key of their success is their ability to listen. Yes, Dell actually listen to customers product feedback on Twitter and here is the proof.

In a NY Times Bits Blog article, it was reported Dell heard on Twitter that customers thought the apostrophe and return keys were too close together on the Dell Mini 9 laptop and fixed the problem on the Dell Mini 10. As a result, the Dell Mini product development team is asking around on Twitter for new ideas for the next generation of the computer.

To 99% of the people, someone complaining about keypads being too close is a trivia matter. But not to Dell. To them, this ‘trivia’ matter is very important, they listen and acted on what their customers are saying on Twitter. Now we know how Dell really made $6.5 million online.

For small businesses, there is a lesson to be learn here. In the past, we might not be able to know what our customers are thinking. However, with the invention of Twitter, we now know how our customers see our brand and how we can take advantage of that information. So start listening to your customers and who knows, you might be next to claim to have make money on Twitter.

Have you had any success in making money using Twitter? Share them in the comments.

Photo credit: s_falkow