Who’s Using Twitter, Why,

and What You Should Do

About It
A strategic analysis of Twitter users--and how to reach them

Anne Zieger & Christa Bradney

1
Anne Zieger & Christa Bradney

Introduction
Over the last two years, Twitter has gone from being yet another obscure Internet technology to a
formidable platform used by millions to socialize, share information, do business, collect business
intelligence and more.

As happened with old-school blogs over the mid- to late 1990s, first Twitter was an insider hobby, then a
well-known form of self-expression, and now it’s become an extremely powerful medium capable of
exerting broad influence offline (see the “Motrin moms” case in our appendix).

Today, not only are individuals conducting important business and personal activities online, major
companies are using Twitter to reach out as well. Increasingly, such corporate Twitterers as
@ComcastCares, @HRBlock, @DunkinDonuts, @JetBlue and @Dell have established strong voices on
Twitter, each with their own take on what the medium offers and how they can use it to establish stronger
bonds with customers.

Despite the growing popularity of Twitter, however, far too little is known about the nature of its users.
Most of the statistics currently available focus largely on Twitter as a whole—or picayune details about
users that don’t offer much actionable information.

For example, there’s data from Quancast from mid-April 2008 which concluded 200,000 people
currently used the service per week, sending a collective 3 million tweets. (Given Twitter’s exponential
growth, we seriously doubt these statistics still apply as of early 2009, but they’re still worth noting.)

Regardless, general network stats aren’t good enough, nor are generalities about their user profiles. As
Twitter comes into its maturity, it’s critical to develop a better understanding of individual Twitter users,
not only their demographics but also their usage habits, attitudes and offline behavior and interests.
More importantly, it’s critical to start making some distinctions as to how marketers can
and should interact with this critically important population.

Right now, many businesses are sticking their toe in the Twitter waters by establishing a corporate ID and
limiting themselves to basically saying “hi,” to this very sophisticated and demanding audience.
(Typically, they’re linking this to a listless Facebook fan page or perhaps a poorly-thought-out Ning or
LinkedIn group.) As you can imagine, we don’t think that approach offers much value.

Only by developing a fuller picture of the Twitter user can marketers, PR professionals and other
communicators truly leverage the amazing power of the tweet. That’s what we’re offering you today, not
only data, but strategic recommendations that can move your Twitter strategy to the next level.

In this report, we will deliver the following data and analysis:

* A portrait of the typical Twitter user, with detailed demographics and projections as to future directions
for growth
* A description of Twitter usage patterns, broken out by major user segments, and what that says about
their styles of Twitter usage

2
 * A discussion of Twitter users’ offline preferences and behavior, and how that should affect your
planning
* A list of the top 10 takeaways (including action steps) you can derive from this report

This being a report about Twitter, we’d be remiss if we didn’t encourage you to tweet us along the way if
you have questions or comments. Drop us a note anytime at @annezieger or @rumford and we’ll respond
as soon as we can.

We also encourage you to comment on the blog entries which will accompany this report. While statistics
are fixed, the community is fluid, and we’re eager to get your responses as you absorb what you read here.

Thank you for reading this report. Please retweet!

- Anne Zieger, Editor

Portrait of the Typical Twitter User

First, the basics. Our quantative research involved two surveys looking at Twitter users and, their usage
patterns and their preferences (both on- and off-line). The
participants were self-selected based on several tweets and a large
Gen der number of retweets that got reasonable exposure in the
Twitterverse.
M ale
Who Took The Survey?
Fe m a le
Out of the 317 people surveyed, 161 of them were female and 156
of them were male. Since the survey was announced by a male, it
may have become slightly more
tweaked toward males. So we can
say that our Age Range “typical” user is female.
The survey 49 5 7 also showed a variety of ages, with
69 13-19
the most predominant age range being 30-
20-29
39. It is 86 101 interesting to note, however, that
30-39
the 40-49 age range actually outnumbered
the 20-29 40-49 age range: this was an unexpected
result for us, given the youthful profile of
social media like Facebook.

On the other hand, Facebook age ranges

have begun to skew upward over the last six months or so, so perhaps this is to be expected. And as you’ll
see later, there’s an extremely strong overlap between Facebook and Twitter users.

Educated, 30-Something Professional Females

So, what do we have as your “standard” Twitter user? Our average user is female, and somewhere in the
30-39 age range, with an income in the $50,000 to $70,000 range annually.
It is highly likely that she has a college degree, as that was
overwhelmingly the education level of the
people that we surveyed.
Education Income
Level Range
$0 to $30,000
High School
$30,000 to
Som e College $50,000 3
$50,000 to
$70,000
Anne Zieger & Christa Bradney

Twitter Users are Net Veterans

Another data point which leapt out of our survey was that Twitter users are virtually all highly
experienced Internet users. In fact, 94 percent of respondents had at least five years of online experience,
and 78 percent of respondents had been online for 10 years or longer.

This is not a surprising finding given that Twitter still hasn’t reached a tipping point among the general
population—though it’s getting there fast. However, it’s also something that marketers should view with
caution. Having “seen it all” online, and dealt with plagues like e-mail spam since their infancy, Twitter
users are quick to offense if your marketing, PR or communications approach doesn’t fit with their sense
of proprietary or community spirit. Twitter is growing up, without a doubt, but it still feels like a special
hideway to many hardcore users.

The Numberof People Users Are Following Was Smaller than Number of Followers

One of the unique characteristics of Twitter is the way in which usage differs from the traffic patterns
familiar to people who have been on e-mail discussion lists (known as “listservs” to some). When it comes
to say, a discussion list on direct mail marketing, you receive either all of the mail which goes to that
distribution address or not. In Twitter’s case, however, users have a fine degree of control as to who they
“follow” (receive messages from) and who follows them (reads their tweets). This gives Twitter a distinct
social character, with many users making nuanced judgments about their peers based on who follows you,
and who you follow.

In our survey, people followed 346 users on average, and were followed by an average of 444
users. It should be noted, however, that this number is slanted by the responses of a small but influential
group of high-profile Twitter “power users” who are followed by thousands and follow very few users
themselves. It’s more typical, for an average Twitter user, to follow perhaps one-third more users than
they are followed by until their tweets become known as being useful (or they achieve fame/notoriety in
some other fashion).

What Does This Mean For You?

So, what should you take from these statistics? First, while its population may not rival Facebook in sheer
numbers, Twitter has clearly attracted a large group of power users who adopt services, products and
technologies early and strongly influence their future direction. In fact, as others researchers have noted,
at this point Twitter is as much a valuable place to gather market research and product data as it is to
disseminate your corporate message, given the well-informed and connected audience you reach.

Another point worth bearing in mind is that while the average Twitter user is more likely to be a 30-
something female making a professional income—with a smaller but significant cluster in the $100,000+
HH income range—those statistics are poised for change.

First, the difference between male and female usage is relatively small, and unlikely to remain in place.
We anticipate that the gap will close somewhat over 2009 as Twitter goes more “mass market” and draws
users from a more diverse population. Our suspicion is that Twitter currently skews female simply
because for varied extraneous reasons, women are over-represented among communications and
marketing professionals, which have proved to be heavy early adopters of Twitter.

We also anticipate that income levels for users are likely to drop, simply because as the population of
Twitter grows to better represent the broader Internet population, it will fall toward the US median of

4
approximately $50K/year HHI.

That being said, assume when considering Twitter efforts that at least through 2009, you will be dealing
with an educated, Internet-savvy, professional audience which is disproportionately likely to work in a
communications, PR or marketing-related role. As you’ll see, this is an audience which is easy to alienate,
but well worth capturing due to their tremendous thought-leader power – so bear both in mind.

Twitter User Habits

So, when users connect with Twitter, what are their habits? Our research suggests that they spend a great
of time socializing, but also value its marketing potential; that a large number use Twitter several times a
day or even stay connected continuously; that many users expect to expand their Twitter use within the
next six months; and that some use the Internet as a whole more due entirely to their new Twitter habits.

Top Twitter uses

When asked how they use Twitter, nearly all (85%) of our respondents said that they sign on to socialize,
followed closely by use for professional networking (82%). Forty-six percent of respondents, meanwhile,
said they use Twitter for marketing. (Note: Our respondents were individuals rather than corporate
entities.)

Twitter is not as popular at work as one might suppose, however, with only 57% saying that they logged on
during the work day. And just 25% reported using Twitter for research/surveys or publishing (though we
anticipate that both numbers will climb during 2009).

These numbers, we believe, reflect Twitter’s gradual evolution from a “fun” medium (largely a playground
for bleeding-edge early adopters) to a environment which can sustain research, commerce, publishing,
job-seeking and other professional activities.

Frequency of Use

Our respondents were almost entirely heavy Twitter users, with 71% reporting that they used the service
either “several” or “many” times per day. Not surprisingly, the more often respondents reported using
Twitter, the more uses they reported finding for it. Another result which made sense was that the more
respondents said they used Twitter, the more likely they were to be at-work users in addition to home use.

One interesting characteristic of this data was that males aged 50-59 seemed more likely to be heavy users
than has been reported for other forms of social media. However, heavy users ranged across age groups
from 20-29 to 50 to 59, suggesting that committed users aren’t restricted to one early-adopter profile.

Another interesting result we found was that nearly half of respondents (47%) said that they were going
online specifically to use Twitter at times when they otherwise would not have been connecting to the Net.
We haven’t yet delved deeply enough to determine how this may impact their behavior online during
these periods of additional activity, but we believe this is a significant question which bears
further examination.

5
Anne Zieger & Christa Bradney

It’s also worth note that of this already-active group of Twitter users, 64% expect to increase their usage
levels over the next months. While our data didn’t explore this question, we think this probably reflects
the growth in Twitter applications, of which there are at least more than 100 already, which make it
easier to integrate Twitter into daily personal usage and workflow.

Times of Day for Twitter Use

If our results are any indication, people are investing lots of work and personal time using Twitter. Work
seems to be the highest-volume use, though our anecdotal experience suggests that an equal volume of
high-level business takes place well into the night. (Conversely, only 22 percent of our respondents took
their Twitter with their morning coffee, e.g. before 9 AM.)

Like many Internet phenomena driven by early adopters, Twitter is surprisingly active well beyond
business hours. Our research found that 38 percent of respondents used the service during “late night,”
and another 37 percent typically used Twitter “after dinner” (between 6PM and 9PM).

Meanwhile, 52 percent of users said that use Twitter at work. Our survey didn’t address the number work
hours they spent using the service, but industry research suggests that other than at ad agencies, only the
designated “social media person” is likely to spend a substantial amount of time tweeting.

Then, there were the surprisingly large percent of respondents – almost 37 percent – who said they were
“always on Twitter.” Our research didn’t identify a single profile for these super-users, but our data hints
that this may be a category in which older people (40+) are more likely to appear.

Likelihood to Share Information Virally via “Retweets”

Our study also looked at the likelihood that Twitter users would “retweet”—resend information contained
in a prior tweet to their followers. (Such forwards are often preceded by “RT” and usually include the
Twitter address of the original sender.)

When multiple users retweet a post, that tweet’s exposure can be multiplied dramatically. For that reason,
convincing friendly users to retweet your posts has become an important technique for generating
influence on Twitter. This study, in fact, generated survey responses in part through retweeted requests to
visit our survey page.

Getting people to retweet your posts can call for some skill. Forty-two percent of our respondents say that
they are choosy about which posts they’ll retweet, and another 29 percent said they retweet infrequently.

Luckily for those who want to spread their messages, there are some who are big retweet fans as well.
Twenty-one percent of our respondents said they retweet frequently, a number we expect to see grow
somewhat as most users get used to the practice.

What Does This Mean For You?

When you’re planning activities on Twitter, you’ll want to bear in mind who’s listening. Right now, and
for at least the next six to twelve months, you’ll be talking largely to an elite audience of entrepreneurs,

6
investors and other influencers, as they were the first to get there and hold many of the ongoing
conversations.

Both B2B and consumer companies need to establish a beachhead on Twitter if they want to be part of the
community as the medium expands. Particularly if you want to have your messages retweeted, you need
to be a member of the community whose messages stand out the high-volume stream of tweet popular
members get.

A substantial percentage of these people spend a large amount of time on Twitter, and regard it some
ways as their online “home,” so avoid being too self-serving. They’re still very sensitive about any
messages that come across as too pitch-oriented or too demanding. They expect fellow tweeters to give as
much as they receive and earn their trust by sharing information, resources and contacts.

When you enter the Twitter community, in other words, prepare yourself for an environment not unlike
the business-casual mood of an after-hours networking party, featuring some light banter but definitely a
lot of serious business too. As in any business environment, you have to be willing to listen as much as
talk.

Portrait of Life Outside Twitter

From the participants’ answers to our survey, we can also paint you a portrait of what Twitter users’ life
outside of Twitter is like, as well. As you’ll see, this generation of Twitterers are active users of online and
interactive services, both within and outside of the social media world. Use of Other Social Media

There is huge crossover between

Twitter and Facebook: nearly 90
percent of Twitter users also use
Facebook. Over 75 percent of them
use LinkedIn, and just over 90
percent of Twitter users also read or
write blogs.
From there, the percentages go
down. Almost 60 percent use
YouTube, and over 35 percent use
FriendFeed and Podcasts. Only 25
percent use MySpace, and a measly
6 percent spend any time on Second
Life.

Male Versus Female Users

We can actually see some interesting discrepancies between males and females in terms of their usage of
other social media websites when we compare them.

For instance, more men said that they used LinkedIn, FriendFeed, and YouTube. On the other hand,
more women were on Facebook, MySpace, and Second Life (though the latter was only a marginal
difference).

Age of Twitter Users

7
Anne Zieger & Christa Bradney

We can get perhaps even more interesting information by comparing the responses of various age ranges
to which of these services they use.

For example, Facebook is heavily weighted toward respondents under the age of 49. On the other hand,
according to the survey Twitter users are more likely to be using MySpace the younger they are (an
expected result). LinkedIn is used most by the 20-59 crowd: exactly the ages we would expect given that
on LinkedIn is intended for working adults.

YouTube is used relatively equally across all age groups, but the use of blogs trails off among older age
groups, though not as much as the usage of Facebook or MySpace.

Usage of Mobile/Interactive Services

We also asked Twitter users to tell us what other interactive devices or programs they used. As might
have been expected, the most common tools were texting on the phone (at 71 percent) and instant
messaging (at 68 percent). Just over 60 percent of Twitter users said they enjoyed iTunes, and 45 percent
said they used a Blackberry or some other kind of mobile e-mail.

Less than 25 percent said that they played video games, and only 7 percent said they used mobile music
services.

Mobile Usage by Gender

The results get a lot more interesting when we compare males to females. The men were, across the
board, more likely to be using any of the interactive services. Sometimes the discrepancy was as much as
15 to 20 percent, as in the case of the usage of mobile e-mail.

We think the chart speaks for itself in

showing the relative likelihood that a
Twitter user is utilizing these services
based on his or her gender.

The results of this part of the survey by

age group were just as interesting.
Though the use of mobile e-mail was
relatively consistent across the age
groups, most of the interactive services
showed a marked drop-off as the
respondents got older. In many cases,
Twitter users in the 13-19 age range are
leading the way, with the 20-29 age
group not very far behind.

8
What Does This Mean For You?

As you’ll see, our data suggests that marketers who reach committed Twitter users are likely to
have an indirect impact which extends far beyond that user’s follower list. Not only are
Twitter users likely to share information with their followers, they may very well post it on other online
services (especially LinkedIn and Facebook). This multiplies the potential impact of every tweet a
marketer posts, at least if the tweet offers relevant links or other information the user finds valuable. In
other words, Twitter is a fine viral marketing tool if used appropriately.

Of course, it’s also worth remembering that this overlap between Twitter users and other social media
services can backfire. In this echo chamber, which is even more prone to rapid network effects than Web
1.0, serious missteps can bounce across social media at dizzying speed. This doesn’t suggest that you
should be paranoid—there are always risks in any form of public communication—but that you know what
impact your actions can have. (In reality, Twitter users are extremely busy, and are unlikely to bother with
so much as a single tweet unless your company’s behavior is thought to be particularly egregious.)

Another fact worth considering is that since Twitter users are major consumers of blogs and podcasts,
promoting such content is likely to be a smart strategy, as long as the content isn’t too blatantly self-
promoting. Also, if you use online video, Twitter users may very well respond to posted links, as usage
range from roughly one-half to three-quarters of every age group.

One final thought: Bear in mind that Twitter users tend to skew a bit older than most social media
networks. Sometimes, consumer marketers in particular assume that a jocular, youth-oriented tone is the
best way to reach social media users, but this almost certainly won’t work here (not to mention that it’s
hard to get across in 140 characters!) Particularly given the presence of these “grownups,” it’s critical to
emphasize substance over style. Cute or flippant almost never works.

Attitudes Toward Twitter

Our survey would not have been complete without examining user attitudes toward Twitter, particularly
at this pivotal stage in its progression from exclusive club to mass medium.

What we found was that while Twitter users seem to be addicted to the service, and about half are willing
to pay for it, for most part even potential customers will only sign up if it’s free or nearly so. Meanwhile,
they’re conflicted as to whether Twitter execs should begin taking advertising to subsidize the service.

Paying for Twitter: Yes or No?

So, clearly users like Twitter and get addicted quickly, but how committed are they to keeping the
atmosphere free of pesky advertising messages?

From what we saw, users are torn on the subject. While almost half of users surveyed (46%) said they
would pay to keep Twitter an ad-free service, slightly more (53%) said they wouldn’t subscribe. (Given the
history of Twitter as a free service, we think it’s fairly impressive that 46% would subscribe.)

What Would Users Pay?

9
Anne Zieger & Christa Bradney

When it comes to shelling out cash for the service, Twitter users are rather conservative. The majority of
respondents (82%) said they would pay only $2 a month for such a service. (This could be influenced by
the fact that many are mobile users, who are used to paying similar fees for data and entertainment
services on their smartphone.)

Meanwhile, as the amount of potential fees went up, their interest went down. Just over 11 percent said
they would pay $5 per month, about 2 percent would pay $7 per month, and just over 9 percent said they
would pay $10 per month to access an ad-free version.

We’re not sure why $7 is so unappealing, but we have a theory. We note that while the bulk of users said
they’d pay $2 per month, interest jumps a bit at $10. That jump almost certainly represents Twitter’s
hardcore fans, who presumably are expressing their fondness for the service by choosing the highest price.
We’d surmise from this that the overall population of Twitter generally breaks into $2-per-month level
fans, i.e. casual users, and those who are willing to invest, who might even pay more than $10 for a high-
octane, ad-free Twitter.

Attitudes Toward Corporate Tweeters

We also asked our survey respondents what they thought of corporate Twitter presences such as @JetBlue
or @dunkindonuts. Their presence, while grudgingly accepted of late, is still something of a hot issue
among some Twitter users, some whom label corporate tweets as being nothing more than spam.

However, our survey respondents were a lot more tolerant, which probably reflects not only their level of
sophistication, but also growing sophistication among corporate entities as they log more time on the
service. In fact, our respondents seem to get something out of corporate Twitter presences. About 72
percent called corporate Twitter identities “helpful/interesting,” while about 24 percent said they “don’t
care” whether companies establish Twitter IDs or not. Only 3 percent said corporate tweets/tweeters were
“annoying/intrusive.”

What Does This Mean For You?

For the forseeable future, Twitter is unlikely to charge for its services, given both the signals from its top
management and the likelihood that the service would lose large numbers of users. Besides, managing a
subscription services is actually a different competency than maintaining and marketing a Web-based
application, so it’s probably smart strategy to leave this issue alone for the foreseeable future. Advertising
on Twitter is likely to emerge at some future date, however.

And what about companies that want to leverage Twitter? While corporate Twitter use is in its infancy—
and has encountered some resistance among users, we believe it is likely to become a standard part of the
Twitter experience. Companies who use Twitter to communicate briefly, effectively and responsively are
likely to be the most successful in this medium. It’s also incumbent upon corporate brands to offer useful
tweets rather than engaging in constant self promotion; this includes not only facts and data but also
discounts, news of direct interest to consumers and tips on product usage.

10 