Twitter wins 2011 Social Media Popularity Contest
In spite of being dwarfed by Facebook’s sheer size, Twitter has been crowned the most popular social network of 2011. That is, if we measure popularity by media coverage. According to Highbrow Research, with the exception of two months (February and April), Twitter consistently edged out Facebook as the most talked about social media platform. Twitter received 50% of the media mentions while Facebook received 45% of the media coverage over the entire year. LinkedIn, MySpace, and Foursquare had to battle for the measly 5% media coverage left. Interestingly, Google + wasn’t even mentioned.
At first glance, it’s almost like David conquering Goliath. Facebook has over 800 million monthly active users to Twitters 100 million. Facebook users share 4 billion status updates every day while Tweets number 250 million. So why is the media talking about Twitter more?
First, Twitter users can be followed by anyone, and their tweets are public. Facebook is more private, allowing users to only share information with people they know. That alone leads to the media being able to follow Twitter easier. Second, Twitter is known for its high profile celebrity users who tweet about their lives prolifically. They announce pregnancies, divorces, and marriages, and all of that is great news fodder.
Finally, Twitter has long been known as THE place for real time breaking news. News outlets naturally monitor and follow Twitter streams for breaking stories. This alone allows Twitter to be the media darling.
So what does this mean to those of us who want to market our brands using these two social media platforms? Only that we need to be aware of and play to the strengths and differences of each social media platform as we talk about our brands to get maximum message impact.
Leave a Comment
-
Follow Us
-
About the Book
If you could grow your business simply by marketing to your existing customers, making money would be a cakewalk. But to generate new revenue, you have to win over the customers you’re not getting. Who are these mystery customers? How are they different from your current clientele? Most importantly, how do you forge a bond with them across these differences?
-
About the Author
Kelly McDonald
Kelly McDonald is a marketing and advertising expert with more than 20 years of global advertising agency experience.
-
Latest Comment
You've got a great newsletter, Kelly. Full of such amazing information! You do an amazing job and I can't wait to hear you again in June. Barcelona, Spain? You Rock, Lady!
- Read More