HOW TOP MARKETERS USE TWITTERA Q3 2014 SIMPLY MEASURED STUDY

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 2

IntroductionWhen Twitter went public in November of 2013, the network boasted 230 million monthly active users. A year later, that number has grown to 284 million.

More than 500 million Tweets are sent each day. The social network is a hub for news, entertainment, and conversation, 140-characters at a time.

Twitter’s success is largely due to mobile usage, and a focus on connecting people worldwide. Over 80% of Twitter’s active users are on mobile, and 77% of accounts are outside the U.S.

In this study, we’ll analyze the top companies in the world and how they use Twitter to build their brand, engage audiences, and interact with consumers. We’ll identify the tactics that these brands are using, the results they’re seeing, and lessons to be learned from them.

284 millionmonthly active users

500 millionTweets sent per day

are on mobile80% of users

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 3

MethodologyThis study looks at the Twitter activity of the Interbrand 2014 Top 100 Brands.

At the end of each year, Interbrand ranks the top 100 global brands based several factors, including market, brand, competitor, and financial data. This year, for the first time, Interbrand has also included Twitter data as part of their ranking process.

The Interbrand 100 is an industry standard, and a standard for our Simply Measured network studies. We analyze this list because these companies are the best in the world at building and maintaining a brand, which is a prerequisite to a successful social media strategy.

Statistics cited in this study are based on data from Q3 2014 (7/1/14 - 9/30/14).

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

This study also incorporates data for benchmarking from the Simply Measured study How Top Brand Marketers Use Twitter, Q4 2013.

THIS STUDY ENCOMPASSES:

136,834 Tweets by 98 brands

108,650,310 followers

23,330,738 Retweets, @replies, mentions, and favorites

59,870 links

55,746 hashtags

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 4

BRAND ADOPTION

Twitter Is a Brand Essential in 2014Twitter is a staple for modern marketing organizations. 98% of the top brands in the world have a Twitter account.

Key Findings• 70% of brands have over 100,000 followers,

up from 58% in Q4 2013.

• The percentage of brands that Tweet at least once a day has increased from 92% to 94% since Q4 2013.

• 75% of brands sent at least three Tweets per day, up from 71% in Q4 2013.

Take Away Brands have been active on Twitter for longer than many other social networks. The 98% adoption rate has been consistent since we first analyzed brand usage in 2012. The network has remained a primary focus for top brands, and has paid off with growing audiences. Have an

Account

Shar

e of

Inte

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nd 1

00 B

rand

s

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0Active Account

(Posted in Quarter)1+ Tweets per Day

3+ Tweets per Day

100K+ Followers

500K+ Followers

1M+ Followers

Benchmarks for Brand Activity & Audience Size

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 5

ACTIVITY: POSTING FREQUENCY

Brand Activity Is Being StandardizedBrands active on the network have identified successful tactics and plan their strategies with those winning approaches in mind.

Key Findings• 49% of brands tweeted 1-5 times per day,

up from 45% in Q4 2013.

• Fewer brands posted 6-25 times per day, but the number of brands posting 25+ times per day (this includes @replies and Retweets) has increased.

• 77% of brands tweeted 1-6 times per day, excluding @replies and Retweets.

• Only 4% of brands tweeted 10+ times per day, excluding @replies and Retweets. This was down from 6% in Q4 2013.

Take Away An increasingly standardized posting cadence highlights a more sophisticated and measured approach to the network. Brands recognize what’s working and have adjusted tactics accordingly. While the number of brands interacting with users individually has increased (highlighted by the 9% of brands tweeting 25+ times per day), brands are aware of over-saturation, and the number of companies posting more than 10 brand Tweets per day has decreased.

Shar

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rand

s

Number of Tweets Sent per Day

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

00

Tweets

4%

49%

16%13%

4% 3%

9%

1-5 Tweets

6-10 Tweets

11-15 Tweets

16-20 Tweets

21-25 Tweets

25+ Tweets

Daily Tweet Frequency of Interbrand 100

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 6

ACTIVITY: TWEET HABITS

Brands Interact With Users MoreThe breakdown of Tweet types has changed in the last year as brands invest more in direct interaction with users.

Key Findings• The Interbrand 100 posted 136,834 Tweets in Q3 2014,

up 22% over Q4 2013.

• @Replies accounted for 70% of brand Tweets. This was up from 61% in Q4 2013.

• 49% of brands replied to at least one Tweet per day. This was up from 46% in Q4 2013.

• 90% of brands replied to users at least once during Q3 2014.

Take Away Brands are Tweeting more, and a greater percentage of these Tweets are coming in the form of @replies to individual users. This shows a greater effort by brands to engage and interact with their Twitter audience.

Regular Tweets RetweetsReplies

Q4 2013 Sent Tweets by TypeRegular Tweets RetweetsReplies

Q3 2014 Sent Tweets by Type

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100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%Reply Avg. Less Than

1 Reply per DayDon’t Reply

Share of Brands That Reply to Followers

8%

51%

90%

61% 70%

31% 24%

8%6%

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 7

BRAND POSTS AND ENGAGEMENT

Engagement With Brand Tweets Has GrownWhile the number of sent Tweets increased by 22% between Q4 2013 and Q3 2014, the engagement on those Tweets grew even more.

Key Findings• In Q3 2014, there were 7,266,497 @replies, Retweets,

and favorites of brand Tweets (excluding brand-posted Retweets and @replies).

• Engagement with brand Tweets was up 83% over Q4 2013.

• The number of Retweets of brand Tweets has increased 89% since Q4 2013.

• The Interbrand 100 companies had 27% more followers compared to Q4 2013, accounting for some but not all of the increase in engagement.

• Favorites account for 59% of engagement with brand Tweets. This is up from 48% in Q4 2013.

Take Away Users on Twitter are becoming increasingly more willing to engage with branded content. This is reflected in the number of active engagements on branded content. Users are also willing to endorse branded content more than in the past, accounting for the increase in Retweets of brand content.

Jul 5

Jul 1

2Ju

l 19

Jul 2

6Aug

2Aug

9

Aug 16

Aug 23

Aug 30

Sep 6

Sep 13

Sep 20

Sep 27

Post

Eng

agem

ent

Regu

lar T

wee

ts S

ent

1.6M

1.4M

1.2M

1.0M

800K

600K

400K

200K

0

3.0K

2.5K

2.0K

1.5K

1.0K

500

0

Trended Brand Activity and Engagement with TweetsRegular Tweets Post Engagement

The engagement spike during the week of August 30th was driven primarily by an @MTV influencer campaign.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 8

CONTENT TYPES AND ENGAGEMENT

Photos Spark the Most Engagement on TwitterPhotos were the most common type of Tweet and caused the highest share of engagement.

Key Findings• Photos made up 45% of sent Tweets, but accounted

for 51% of all engagement.

• Links accounted for 37% of sent Tweets, but were only responsible for 26% of @replies and Retweets.

Take Away Visual content on Twitter drives engagement, and top brands are capitalizing on this. While links underperform in terms of traditional engagement metrics (Retweets, @Replies, and favorites), it’s important to note that this engagement calculation doesn’t factor in clicks, which are the primary goal of any link.

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Share of Sent Tweets Share of Engagement

Share of Twitter Activity and Engagement by Tweet Type

Photo Link Text Video

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 9

TOP LINK TYPES AND ENGAGEMENT

Brands See Success With Visual ContentNative photos and videos (links that Twitter auto-embeds in Tweets) accounted for the majority of links posted by brands, and saw some of the highest engagement.

Key Findings• 59,870 brand Tweets included links in Q3 2014,

up from 47,638 in Q4 2013.

• pic.twitter.com links were the most popular, accounting for 14,581 Tweets and 14% of all links. This percentage was up from 10% in Q4 2013.

• Tumblr.com links saw the highest engagement per Tweet, with 1,522 @replies and Retweets per Tweet, but accounted for only 51 of the sent links.

• Vine.co links, which display as embedded videos, accounted for 329 brand posts and saw the second highest engagement at 1,194 @replies and Retweets per Tweet.

Take Away Visual content is a successful way to occupy more real estate without increasing post volume. Brands have recognized this, which is why the three most engaging link types are visual mediums. Bit.ly links are the second most used link type on the network, and while engagement is lower than other link types, it should be noted that this doesn’t reflect click volume.

Num

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eets

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. Eng

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er T

wee

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4K

2K

0

1,600

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Top Tweeted Link Types

pic.tw

itter.

com

bit.ly

yout

ube.c

om

vine.c

o

instag

ram.co

m

faceb

ook.com

pinter

est.c

om

tumblr.c

om

Regular Tweets Avg. Engagement

1,194

1,522

256

53 61

205

102 78

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 10

HASHTAGS

Using Hashtags Drives EngagementTop brands saw success by including hashtags in Tweets.

Key Findings• 95,825 Tweets included hashtags in Q3 2014. This was

up significantly from Q4 2013, when only 52,741 Tweets included hashtags.

• Tweets with hashtags averaged 243 @replies and Retweets each, while Tweets with no hashtag only averaged 196 per Tweet.

Take Away While calculated hashtag usage increases engagement per Tweet, that engagement drops off as multiple hashtags are included in Tweets.

Avg

. Ret

wee

ts a

nd @

Repl

ies

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

No Hashtag Contains Hashtag

Impact of Hashtag Use on Active Engagement

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 11

INDUSTRY

Media Brands Drive Engagement on Twitter While automotive is the most represented sector on Twitter, with 14 brands actively using Twitter, the four media brands represented drove the most engagement of any industry.

Key Findings• Media brands accounted for 8,382,168 engagements

during Q3 2014. This was more than double the engagement driven by the next most active sector, retail.

• Restaurant brands engaged on a 1-to-1 basis more than any other industry. The four brands in that category sent 47,774 @replies during Q3 2014. This was more than four times as many @replies as any other industry sent during the quarter.

Take Away Media companies like MTV and Disney drove massive engagement on Twitter due to large followings and smart tactics, but a focused effort like that put forth by restaurant companies on Twitter drove engagement as well.

Med

iaRet

ail

Restau

rants

Tech

nology

Automotiv

e

Luxu

ry

Bever

ages

Electro

nics

Sporti

ng G

oods

Apparel

Tota

l Eng

agem

ent

Tota

l Rep

lies

9.0M

8.0M

7.0M

6.0M

5.0M

4.0M

3.0M

2.0M

1.0M

0

150K

125K

100K

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50K

25K

0

Twitter Engagement by Industry

Total Engagement

4 4 4

6

14

12

5 5

23

Total Replies Number of Brands

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Twitter Study 12

ConclusionAs Twitter continues to grow and see record activity, brand marketers are standardizing practices and focusing more attention on engaging with their audience across the network. We’ve found that several tactics have been contributing to brand success:

• Regular tweeting is key. 75% of brands tweeted at least three times per day.

• Brands are interacting more with individual users. @Replies made up 70% of all brand Tweets.

• The opportunity to connect with consumers is ripe on Twitter. Engagement with brand Tweets was up 83% since Q4 2013.

• Visual content works. Photos accounted for 51% of all engagement with brand Tweets.

• Tweets with hashtags drive more engagement than Tweets without them.

While growing an audience on Twitter and regularly engaging with followers requires time, patience, and work, there’s an established value to doing so. The example shown by successful Interbrand companies speaks to the importance of a dedicated presence.

About Simply Measured Simply Measured is a fast-growing team of data geeks dedicated to making the world of analytics and reporting a better, more beautiful place. Find out more at simplymeasured.com

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