Why People Follow Brands on Twitter

I‘ll burst your bubble early: people aren’t following your brand on Twitter because of your good looks.

But they do want to know more about your products, services, and news about your company.

And oh yeah, they love coupons and discounts.

ExactTarget (an interactive marketing software company) recently released a survey that examined the habits of 1,500 consumers to find out what people were looking for when they followed a brand on Twitter.

Their results?

While nothing jumps out as a surprise there are some key takeaways:

People are looking for value in the relationship. Whether the value comes in the form of discounts or exclusive content, it’s clear that Twitter users expect something out of their Twitterlationship (sorry for that abomination of grammar) with brands.

Twitter doesn’t have the quantity that Facebook has, but it makes up for it in quality. In other words: pound for pound, Twitter users flex more influence than users of other networks.

“Consumers active on Twitter are clearly the most influential online,” said Morgan Stewart, principal, ExactTarget’s research and education group. “What happens on Twitter doesn’t stay on Twitter. While the number of active Twitter users is less than Facebook or email, the concentration of highly engaged and influential content creators is unrivaled—it’s become the gathering place for content creators whose influence spills over into every other corner of the internet.”

There are lurkers in our midst. The survey reports that 11% of online consumers check Twitter for updates but don’t own and operate an account themselves.

If Facebook is the dance floor, than Twitter can be considered the VIP room. Sure, you’re not bumping in to as many people there, but the ones you bump in to can do more to get the word out about your brand. (For further analysis, check out this article on MediaPost.)

Why do you follow brands on Twitter?

[image: rollingrck]

Melanie Powers

This is a great analogy: If Facebook is the dance floor, than Twitter can be considered the VIP room.
http://www.twitter.com/hanelly Andrew Hanelly

@Melanie: I should probably add that in the context of that analogy, we’re at the nerdiest nightclub ever.
B.K.

I’ve always kind of wondered “who would follow a company on Twitter.” I also realized that I’m following @tmgmedia on Twitter. At least now I have a reason why? LOL
bill

I think a major reason that isn’t listed here is: because they are your competitor.
- http://www.twitter.com/hanelly Andrew Hanelly
  
  Very true, Bill.
Rhys

Maybe I would share this on Facebook if there was a Facebook button that didn’t require me to Like it, and implicitly agree with it. I don’t have that issue with Tweeting it.
- http://www.twitter.com/hanelly Andrew Hanelly
  
  That’s great feedback. I actually just updated our site to reflect your recommendation. I wonder how many “Shares” we left on the table using the “Like” button?
Scott Honsberger

I disagree 100% with the VIP/DanceFloor analogy. It’s actually backwards from my point of view.

Twitter is the dance floor, since it’s an entirely open network. Anyone can read anyone’s tweets, except for those who have their tweets protected.

Facebook, on the other hand, has an element of exclusivity, because typically people use it to keep in contact with real friends in addition to liking products or services. So, if you like something on facebook, you’re bringing it into your newsfeed along with updates about your friends’ activities. It’s much more exclusive and coveted digital real estate.
Rhys

Agree with Scott, I have longer conversations and discussions on Facebook….which is more in tune with the VIP Room.
- http://www.twitter.com/hanelly Andrew Hanelly
  
  Thanks for the comments, Scott and Rhys. I can’t argue with you on the exclusivity and access portion of the analogy, and maybe I got it wrong all together. But here is the sentiment behind what I was trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to convey: there are less people on Twitter, but those people tend to have more influence as gatekeepers on the web. The conversations there, though more open and accessible (and thus, unlike a VIP room) are actually more important because they are being had by VIPs (as in, people who are very important to passing content along). There are more people on Facebook, but every post doesn’t have the potential to be very important, because of the guarded real estate.
  
  Maybe I stretched it too far, but that’s the sentiment I was feeling when I wrote this.

Why People Follow Brands on Twitter

Written by: Andrew Hanelly