Twitter is seemingly everywhere. It may not be the biggest kid at recess, but its compact format and shareability have contributed to its ubiquity. As such, marketers need to get a handle on this ‘little engine that could’ – as well as the enormous amount of tweet statistics floating around it.
People pay attention to the platform as it’s the mouthpiece for celebrities, brands, humanitarians, and world leaders. It’s also the arena where consumers and fans can interact with the people and institutions they relate with. As such, Twitter is a force marketers need to reckon with.
Maybe that goes without saying, but there’s always something to learn since social media platforms don’t stay static. As such, we’ll explore the most recent Twitter stats every social media marketer should know. And we’ll go a little farther too, with a look at:
- Tweet statistics marketers need to know
- Best practices for growing your Twitter audience
Before we dive into the deep end with our tweet statistics, here are a few of general interest:
- As of this writing, former US President Barack Obama is the most followed person on Twitter at just under 130 million people. Musicians Justin Bieber and Katy Perry come in second and third with 113 and 108 million followers, respectively.
- Due to its high visibility, you might be surprised to learn Twitter is punching well above its weight. Including global social media networks and messenger/chat applications, Twitter comes in sixteenth in monthly active users at 397 million.
- Because of its easily accessible and public-facing nature, Twitter is great for amplifying conversations. Marketers need a solid understanding of the platform since research shows that just a 10% lift in conversation has led up to a 3% increase in sales volume.
As they say, knowledge is power. To that end, there’s nothing wrong with putting your marketing mindset in the shop for an alignment. Let’s look at some recent tweet statistics – because who knows; things may have changed a lot since you looked last.
Tweet Statistics Marketers Need to Know
While not the biggest social media platform, Twitter commands attention. News articles, blogs, and other social media communities often use screenshots from the platform to shore up their arguments – or their bias.
Right, wrong, or indifferent; these angles influence opinion across social media. This is why social listening is so essential. It often reveals what may be getting traction is a minority opinion put on blast through different channels.
Understanding this, we can turn to our social listening tools to understand the context of conversations relevant to our brand and keep up with relevant tweet statistics that give us the lay of the land. Otherwise, our marketing messaging can get skewed badly
Screenshots of Twitter posts get shared across news media and social platforms to reinforce a viewpoint as if it’s gospel. However, savvy marketers need to understand what’s happening so your messaging stays on point with actual consumer behavior and emerging trends.
There are tweet statistics that cover almost every imaginable angle you’d want to cover as a marketer, so you stay in bounds. Keeping up to date with them is critical in today’s market environment – and so is social listening and media analytics. It’s the trifecta that points to reality.
As such, let’s explore a few examples
1. Gaming Tweet Statistics
Gaming was huge before COVID but has exploded in popularity. When you’re digging through your brand’s audience interests and come across gamers, you have a honeypot on your hands. There are a lot of places online like Twitch and Steam that gamers congregate – but Twitter is the one that everybody knows.
Tbh gaming twitter is the best part of twitter
— Duckling (@TheDucklingFN) June 25, 2021
The gaming community on Twitter is massive. Here are a few gaming tweet statistics that bear that out:
- There are over 91 million unique gaming authors on Twitter
- There is an average of 70 gaming tweets every second
- Esports conversational volume is up 38% over last year
- PC gaming discussions are up 132%
- Twitter commentary from gaming influencers is up an astonishing 184%
2. Women Athlete Tweet Statistics
Last year, sports retreated from stadiums into the realm of streaming services. While everyone reoriented their entertainment options, women’s sports saw a boom in popularity. Since last year, conversations on Twitter surrounding women’s leagues have seen an increase of 30%. Here are a couple more tweet statistics around the topic.
- Female focused sports ads on the platform are perceived as 148% more empowering than those featuring men
- There has been an 863% increase in video views of WNBA content on Twitter since 2019
Understanding the social climate and the social media platform you’re targeting as a marketer is critical. Remember when Naomi Osaka opted out of doing interviews at the French Open? Knowing your audience and emerging themes allows you to hit the bullseye like this meditation app brand:
Mental health is health. 🎾
To support Naomi Osaka’s decision to prioritize her mental health, Calm is donating $15,000 to @LaureusSport in France, an organization doing incredible work in the mental health space to transform the lives of young people through the power of sport. pic.twitter.com/C53ptXsks5
— Calm (@calm) June 2, 2021
3. Fandom Tweet Statistics
Using your social listening skills to uncover your audience’s interests is step one as a marketer. Step two is engaging with them by speaking their language. Twitter is a watering hole for fandoms that compose a tight-knit community for marketers to approach. Communal conversations around favorite TV shows and movie franchises abound on Twitter. Check out a few tweet statistics below:
- A survey of Twitter users found that 72% said they feel the platform makes them feel like part of a community while watching a favorite TV show
- Demographics don’t paint the most vivid picture of consumers when it comes to favorite shows. Interest-based communities tune in 4x higher than sorting viewers by demographics. Fandom communities tune in 5x more. This means you see more of your consumer base with an accurate custom audience analysis than you do sorting by demographic data.
- The conversation rate on Twitter increases 56% when a fandom community enters the discussion
My twitter is slowly becoming a passionate multi-fandom account.
My love of tv shows/movies mixed with me being an opinionated person. It was bound to happen.
Let’s be real here.
— Janessa (@JanessaBhere) May 20, 2020
Twitter is one of the most analyzed social media platforms on the planet, and marketers should take advantage of the tweet statistics available to them to inform strategy. You need to know what’s relevant – and what’s not. Relying on a social listening analysis to uncover emerging trends is your best bet to look for tweet data that is relevant to changing attitudes and behaviors. The idea is to tie your brand messaging into social momentum whenever possible. Marketing is all about finding angles to reach audiences; this is how you generate ideas using tweet statistics.
Now, let’s look at a few ways to grow your Twitter audience.
Best Practices for Growing Your Twitter Audience
As a marketer, understanding your brand’s voice of the customer using custom audience data is imperative. Without accurate social listening tools, you could be missing out on folks that would be receptive to your message. Dialing in on your custom audience before you begin is crucial to everything that follows:
1. Share Relevant Content
As with every social platform, users come to connect with the content that interests them. Know your audience and give them content that is both appealing and adds value. Leverage the trending topics, keywords, and hashtags that are relevant to your industry and audience. Hit up the Twitter Analytics page to help cement your content strategy with your audience.
2. Keep it Visual
As with most other social platforms, video is king. However, variety is the spice of life so mix your content up between photos, infographics, and videos to keep your feed visually appealing. This is important as 97% of people on Twitter focus on the visual aspect and swipe right past a blob of text. Check out Twitter’s quick rundown on using images on the platform.
3. Interacting Good – Not Interacting Bad
No one cares about the time everyone sat around the dinner table in silence. So, when it comes to Twitter, your brand needs to emphasize the social aspect of social media. Make connections with followers and follow key opinion leaders and other accounts relevant to your industry and audience. If they like Björk – follow her.
Use your social listening to find influencers and engage with them on the platform. Additionally, use it to uncover customer or fan conversations and reply to them. That’s a complex concept for many brands, apparently – but it’s paydirt for growing a brand following.
4. Whip Out Your Email List
This one’s an easy option – but it may not be for everybody. You can find customers from your email list on Twitter. Upload your email contacts, and Twitter will show you which ones have an account. That way, you can get the interaction started by giving them a follow. Here’s how you do it
5. Do a Follower Campaign
The importance of knowing your audience strikes again. A follower campaign helps you grow followers by promoting your Twitter account to a targeted audience. You only have to pay when you gain a follow from someone who saw your ad. You can do short campaigns to grow in bursts or an always-on campaign to keep the followers pouring in.
All in all, Twitter is massively relevant in today’s market due to its influence on consumers and industries alike. Therefore, it pays to take an informed approach.
Social media monitoring will do you two favors here. First, you’ll be in tune with emerging trends which will tell you which tweet statistics to reach for and those best left alone. Secondly, you’ll have the ability to uncover your custom audience so you can focus your messaging efforts on Twitter users most receptive to your brand.
Are you ready to up your Twitter game? Reach out for a demo, and we’ll help your brand demystify your Twitter audience.
