Statistics on who’s participating in Twitter conversations
According to Twitter’s homepage, you can use the popular network to “share and discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world.”
But who is really making up the 25 million unique users Twitter has? I’m sure this question has passed through the minds, or the mouths, of anyone using the platform to market for their job or update followers on new content.
According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 use Twitter the most. A third of online members of this age group actively create posts or read status updates.
If your target market involves 18-29 year olds then you are in luck. Regardless of whether or not you’re directly marketing through Twitter, you can be creating relationships with this target audience.
Twitter is not for teens
It’s not necessarily that the networking platform isn’t for teens, but teens don’t seem to be incredibly interested in it. Only 8% of online American teens ages 12-17 are using Twitter.
In a time when social media is all the rage, and when the younger generations are typically all over the popular components in technology, why is Twitter not something they bother with?
Two theories come to mind. First, Twitter only allows for 140 characters. Messages have to be kept short (on a side note, this often creates a mental workout for copywriters using the platform for promotion). Second, Twitter isn’t the most “social” piece of social media out there. You can’t directly invite friends or share content like pictures or videos as easily as you can with a network like Facebook.
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What Twitter’s for
Now that we know some of the demographics behind the audiences that are actually using Twitter, it’s important to discuss what it’s actually being used for.
When first exposed to Twitter I felt it was a great idea if utilized correctly. I looked at it as a global think-tank, a way for progressive minds to work together on subjects that they were passionate about. Furthermore, I saw it as a very direct news source for niche topics. One can be easily informed by matters that would interest them through a brief Tweet.
Not to say that this type of usage isn’t present, but it isn’t one of the main uses for Twitter. In fact, according to a study conducted in August of 2009 by Pear Analytics, “News” related usage was the least popular while “Pointless Babble” was noted to be the most common use of Twitter.
To properly define “Pointless Babble” for you, pretend that you were checking your recent Tweets and one said, “Drinking OJ from a paper cup.” That, my fellow readers, is pointless babble to the max. It holds no significant information and it doesn’t contribute anything but egocentric drivel to the internet space.
To be fair, the second highest usage category was named “Conversational.” This incorporates back and forth Tweets between users. These Tweets may be extremely intelligent and thought-provoking messages comprised of 140 characters. Or they may not. I can’t say for sure, but the possibility and potential is definitely there.
Becoming more familiar with the audiences on Twitter may help you reach your target market easier. It may also tell you which markets to avoid.
Now I’m a little confused, Chris.
You write that the vast majority of people on Twitter are between the ages of 18 and 29 and that most of the messages fall into the category of “pointless babble.” As a solopreneur whose target demographic is in the 30- to 50-year-old range, I have hesitated to jump into Twitter exactly because of this.
Yet…Mequoda and others have recently been talking about the major role that Twitter is now playing in bringing in new clients.
You ended your post with the following sentences: “Becoming more familiar with the audiences on Twitter may help you reach your target market easier. It may also tell you which markets to avoid.” Mequoda’s demographic is fairly similar to mine, isn’t it? And its posts are definitely not babble.
So…considering how much time participating in social networking takes and the fact that I do not have a staff to share writing duties with me…do you think my time would be better spent on Facebook? Or should I Twitter, too?
Hi Clarice,
From hearing a little about your situation I’d suggest Twitter over Facebook. I consider Twitter less time consuming than Facebook and it has more opportunity for organic growth as people can begin following your tweets without you having to spend a lot of time “friending” people, as you would on Facebook.
Good Article! Thank you!
Bill O’Reilly at Fox News would call what happens on Twitter, “bloviating”! There’s much egocentric chatter. Is everyone on the globe an internet marketer or life coach :(? It seems so from the “following”. Some of us with seasoned credible skills and services, trying to get in front of a larger audience question why we’re there at all. In a rare moment, here and there, I do connect with another interesting and interested person that keeps me coming back to try.
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Teens seem to be using Facebook to broadcast their messages and text messages for 1-to-1 communication. I think Twitter will need to clarify itself over the coming years to increase its value.
Two comments…
One other theory why teens don’t tweet … it may be because they text and texting for them is a way more flexible medium. Considering that the average teen sends and receives 80 messages a day (2272 text messages per month) when do they have time to tweet?
2nd comment: One thing that tweeters can do to improve effectiveness is to provide context for their tweets particularly in the conversational type of tweet. Nothing so frustrating as seeing a series of tweets responding to other’s tweets with not topic or context mentioned.