Staples Gains Fans - and Sales - Via Twitter

In five short months, Staples has turned its Twitter account into a marketing insights and sales engine. Perhaps more importantly, the office supplies retailer has quickly learned the social site's benefits for customer relations. The brand has grown its follower base to 32,200 and increased its Twitter reps from a handful to 20. To encourage people to follow the Framingham, Mass.-based retailer, it's employed giveaway promotions for new-to-market technology products like netbooks. Consumers have typically had to follow the company to enter the contests.