The Big Money Twitter 12

Facebook isn’t the only place companies are turning to interact with their customers. Since Twitter was created, it has been a marketing haven for corporations and startups alike. Thus we present The Big Money Twitter 12, a list of the 12 companies that are using Twitter most efficiently. We have a whole methodology of how we came up with these 12 companies, which you can read here. The executive summary: These are the most popular, fastest growing, and most innovative companies in the Twitterverse. Click the arrow above to start the countdown.

A mix of special deals, customer service, and promotional links, Amazon’s (AMZN) music service updates its feed about three times a day. It’s been growing steadily, with a 42 percent spurt over the two months we tracked it.

Sample tweet: Good $5 Album: Yo Gabba Gabba - Music is Awesome. Sugg'd if you like the Shins, Chromeo, large fuzzy creatures:http://bit.ly/1nhgKk

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,340,390

The computer company has an overwhelming number of Twitter feeds, but its Outlet account is by far the most successful. Dell’s (DELL) account isn’t prolific—fewer than two tweets per day, on average—but it is effective. You don’t find these deals elsewhere, and the customer service has a personal slant.

Sample tweet: @CherylGeary Yes! Desktop coupon on http://bit.ly/22ZFyi will apply to Outlet XPS One all-in-one systems. Today is last day, though!

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,449,866

Not much to say about this feed, which is an automated list of every piece of content Silicon Alley Insider publishes, accompanied by a Twitter byline. Nothing handmade or innovative about it—just a straight list of links helping Twitter users follow the account in lieu of an RSS feed. It makes the list based on the brute frequency of its updates.

Sample tweet: Our Favorite Google Voice Screwups $GOOG by @nichcarlson http://bit.ly/12R7o1

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,249,653

The airline puts out another customer-service feed, but this one is a little more jovial than most. Interspersed with the @replies are twitpics of JetBlue (JBLU) flights and YouTube videos of dance parties in JetBlue terminals.

Sample tweet: @skiingrogge Your first checked bag free with JetBlue too... And you can watch those games at 30,000 feet ;)

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,479,647

Rather than act as an RSS feed for its own content, Health’s account is an aggregator. It’s an impressively wide-ranging sample, with links to news reports, scientific studies, etc. The Time Inc. title has the fewest followers of the Twitter 12, but they’re the fastest growing of all business accounts.

Sample tweet: Do you regularly sip diet soda? A new study says you may be damaging your kidneys http://bit.ly/tQ9St (via @fitsugar)

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,102,452

The online craft-dealer both answers its customers’ complaints and highlights its contributors’ wares in its feed. Like Health’s feed, its follower count is relatively low, but its growth curve is impressive. Not all links lead back to Etsy; some point to great handmade crafts elsewhere on the Web.

Sample tweet: @Straight_Stitch I would try asking the lovely people at @littlealouette http://bit.ly/4oMaxF if they can help. :)

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,116,364

BNO’s account owes it all to its common-sense username: @breakingnews. The name is so iconic that this month MSNBC took control of BNO’s Twitter feed as part of a larger deal between the two news organizations. When BNO ran the feed it had few links, instead offering headlines of international news. MSNBC may use it to drive more traffic to msnbc.com.

Sample tweet: BULLETIN -- FIVE BRITISH SOLDIERS SHOT DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN'S HELMAND PROVINCE.

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,458,048

The grocer’s feed is the equivalent of a digital call center, fielding queries from across the Twitterverse and answering them for all to see. The folks who run Whole Foods’ (WFMI) feed serve as both connectors—directing folks to their individual stores’ Twitter accounts—and customer-service reps.

Sample tweet: @attblake If you'd like to see something in particular at the hot bar, just let the folks in your store know and they can help you out.

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,619,330

The king of them all, CNN’s breaking news feed has the most followers of anyone on the Twitter 12. It doesn’t do anything fancy with the feed—just a bulletin, a few hashtags, and a link back to cnn.com. But its follower count is fourth among all Twitter users, trailing only three luminaries: Ellen DeGeneres, Britney Spears, and Ashton Kutcher.

Sample tweet: Death toll from massive #Peshawar car bomb up to at least 100. #cnn

Followers as of Dec. 1: 2,812,339

By far the most innovative of all the Twitter 12 honorees, the NBA’s feed is a haven for basketball fans. Every night it unleashes a torrent of updates on what’s happening across the league. During the day, while the games aren’t playing, it asks questions to fans, holding mini-contests about the previous night’s action. An RSS feed this is not.

Sample tweet: Great game in OKC w/ Lakers & Thunder tied at 90 with 2.7 sec to play..Lakers ball out of timeout. NBA TV right now!

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,634,613

The entertainment channel earned major points on our rubric for its crushing number of posts—29 a day—and its high follower count. The feed itself is nothing special, just an automated posting of eonline.com’s content.

Sample tweet: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Hug It Out http://bit.ly/1qZDki

Followers as of Dec. 1: 1,816,118