1 MILLION TWITTER USERS:

NEW RESEARCH ON PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW BRANDS

1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial2

IntroductionTwitter boasts 288 million monthly active users who post 500 million Tweets every single day.

Users flock to the social network for reasons as diverse as the crowds are themselves. In fact, 135,000 users sign up for Twitter on a daily basis. Many join to consume and interact with news, many to connect with friends and colleagues, and many are there to follow and interact with celebrities, athletes, sports teams, and brands.

While best practices and tactics for engagement on the network are widely accepted, many social marketers still don’t have a strong understanding of their audience, or the audience that they have yet to reach.

This study analyzes the followers of ten top global brands, as opposed to the brands themselves, in order to identify the characteristics of those users on Twitter and what marketers can learn from them.

288 millionmonthly active users

500 millionTweets sent per day

join Twitter each day135,000 users

1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial3

MethodologyThis study looks at the most recent 100,000 followers for each of the top ten brands (by audience size) from our Q4 2014 Twitter Benchmark Study, based on the Interbrand Top 100 Global Brands. The most recent 100,000 followers for each brand was chosen in order to identify characteristics of users who have most recently chosen to engage with major brands, giving marketers insight into the most current habits of brand followers.

At the end of each year, Interbrand ranks the top 100 global brands based on several factors, including market, brand, competitor, and financial data. This year, for the first time, Interbrand factored Twitter audience and engagement data into the formation of their list.

The Interbrand 100 is an industry standard and a standard for all Simply Measured network studies.

All data was analyzed using Simply Measured’s industry-leading social media analytics and reporting platform.

THIS STUDY ENCOMPASSES:

Top 10 brands

1,000,000 followers

162,691 mentions from 61,881 unique Twitter users

1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial4

Do People Follow More Than One Brand? 14% of the Users Analyzed Follow More Than One of the 10 BrandsWe analyzed the 100,000 newest followers for 10 brands. Because many users follow more than one brand, there is follower overlap. This overlap is more common when the brands appeal to similar demographic groups.

Key Findings•14% of users analyzed follow more than one brand. Three

percent (3%) of users follow three or more of these 10 brands

• Less than 1% of users follow four or more of these 10 brands

• 26% of Burberry’s followers also follow Louis Vuitton (and vice versa)

• 16% of H&M’s followers also follow Starbucks (and vice versa)

Takeaway These findings highlight the need for both audience analysis and competitive analysis. While a fashion brand may not be surprised to find that their followers also follow another fashion brand, they may develop new tactics based on commonalities among that group of users. This analysis may also uncover that their audience has interests outside of their industry. For example, 16% of H&M’s followers are also following Starbucks. Understanding that group of users can uncover potential opportunities.

This table represents the overlap between the newest 100,000 followers for each of these top brands.

1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial5

How Many Accounts Do Users Follow? Newer Accounts Present Less Competition for Brand ImpressionsWhen a user joins Twitter, the network presents 40 suggested accounts based on their interests, which a user can follow in bulk with the click of a button. If brands are lucky enough to be presented in this list, their opportunity to make an impression is very strong, because new users follow fewer accounts, and there’s less opportunity for brand Tweets to get lost in the mix.

Key Findings• Users follow a median of 127 accounts

• 95% of people follow more users than follow them

• 24% of users follow 50 or fewer accounts

• 16% of users follow 500 or more accounts

Takeaway Twitter promotes accounts to follow based on specific interests. According to Twitter, the company has developed an algorithm to scan for “key ingredients such as how much of the profile is filled out, certain indications that the account is interesting to others in some respects, and a few other signals.”

As a brand, this provides incentive to build a complete and interesting profile, engage with users around desired topics, and grow a presence within specific conversations.

This chart represents the percentage of users studied by number of accounts they follow.

1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial6

What Can Brands Learn from User Profiles? Twitter Bios Can Offer Insight into Common InterestsTwitter users are given 160 characters to describe themselves in their profile. This information can be broken down in many different ways to help brands better understand their specific audience.

Key Findings• 58% of users don’t fill out their bio

• Users who fill out their Twitter bio typically use 20 characters

• Of the “interest” options Twitter provides to help with suggested accounts, “music” is the most commonly used in user bios, although even the most frequent keywords are found in less than 1% of user bios

• 3.8% of users include another @handle in their Twitter bio. @justinbieber is the most popular with 354 mentions

• 1.9% of users include a hashtag in their bio

Takeaway By analyzing keywords, accounts mentioned, and hashtags used in their followers’ Twitter profiles, marketers are able to identify key opportunities, and challenge assumptions. Unfortunately, this is an area where broad industry-crossing benchmarks are less valuable, and marketers need to dig into their own audience behavior, and that of their competitors.

This table identifies the frequency with which users include Twitter’s “interest” options in their Twitter bios. While these keywords aren’t used frequently, they provide a starting point for further analysis. For example, if a marketer finds that users following their brand have identified “sports” more than other categories, they may decide to look for more specific keywords in their followers’ bios, such as specific sports, leagues, teams, or players.

1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial7

Industry Snapshot: Who Follows Fashion Brands? Industry Segmentation Provides Deeper InsightWhile the benchmarks presented in the last section provide a starting point, it’s important to delve into the demographics of users who follow specific industries to gain greater insight. With that in mind, here is a close look at the three fashion brands from the study: H&M, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton.

Key Findings• Burberry has 25% audience overlap with the other two fashion

brands, and vice versa. H&M and Louis Vuitton only see an 8% overlap.

• 75% of followers with completed profiles have tweeted within the last week

• Instagram is one of the most frequently mentioned keywords in user profiles, suggesting a large crossover in audience between the two networks

• Music is one of the most common keywords among fashion brand followers, presenting an opportunity for fashion brands to explore partnerships and advertising initiatives in the music industry

• Photography is the most common Klout topic for followers of these three brands

Takeaway Although the lifetime average doesn’t factor in users who once tweeted frequently and stopped, or accounts that were inactive and were recently picked up, it highlights the opportunity for brands to influence and engage with users on a regular basis.

Music Fashion Instagram3.9% 3.4% 3.4%

3.0% 3.6% 3.2%

3.5% 5.1% 2.7%

Tweeted WithinLast Week

(Completed Profiles)

Tweeted WithinLast Week

(All Followers)

AverageLifetime Tweets

(Completed Profile)

AverageLifetime Tweets(All Followers)

80% 73% 1,163

74% 64% 2,750

73% 62% 1,661

357

1,400

631

Keyword Frequency in Completed Fasion Follower Profiles

Tweet Volume and Frequency Among Fashion Followers

1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial8

How Active Are Brand Followers? People Who Follow Brands Skew Towards ActivityWhile 20.4% of the users analyzed have inactive accounts, many users Tweet regularly.

Key Findings• 25% of users following top brands have averaged at least one

Tweet per day over the lifetime of their account

• There is no correlation between the age of a user’s account and Tweet frequency

• 68% of users have averaged at least one Tweet per month over the lifetime of their account

• 5% of users have averaged ten or more Tweets per day over the lifetime of their account

Takeaway Although the lifetime average doesn’t factor in users who once tweeted frequently and stopped, or accounts that were inactive and were recently picked up, it highlights the opportunity for brands to influence and engage with users on a regular basis.

This chart demonstrates the lifetime Tweet frequency of people following the top 10 brands.

Shar

e of

Top

Bra

nds’

Aud

ienc

e

Average Tweet Frequency Over Life of Account(Cumulative)

50%

60%

70%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0

10 Tweetsper Day

5%

25%

52%

61%

68%

1 Tweetper Day

1 Tweetper Week

1 Tweetper 2 Weeks

1 Tweetper Month

Average Tweet Frequency of Brand Followers

1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial9

ConclusionNew followers present new opportunities for marketers on Twitter to sell products, promote brand recognition, and interact with people who might have never heard of their brand, had it not been for Twitter’s suggested accounts to follow.

Tips for Marketers:• Regularly analyze new followers to identify changes in interest

and activity patterns, and how new audience segments may change assumptions and strategy

• Optimize content and profile for the “interest” options that Twitter presents to new users

• Conduct thorough keyword analysis on all followers to identify interests and opportunities

• Look for non-competitive brands with large audience overlaps. These brands cater to similar audiences, and present great opportunities for learning and partnership

Audience analysis is a pillar of planning and strategic development for social marketing. It’s important for marketers to understand what makes their audience tick, how they interact, and how active they are. Armed with this knowledge, marketers on Twitter are able to develop meaningful programs that improve outcomes like engagement and conversions.

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About Simply MeasuredSimply Measured is the most complete social analytics solution, empowering marketers with unmatched access to their social data to more clearly define their social strategy and to optimize their tactics for maximum impact.

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