State of the Twittersphere Report
Hubspot recently released their latest State of the Twittersphere Report which contains some surprising data. The report is based on data collected from 4.5 million Twitter accounts.
Here are the lessons that can be learned, starting with some common mistakes that you want to be sure not to make.
Are You Making these Common Mistakes?
It looks like the vast majority of Twitter users are missing out on an important opportunity. Take a look at the following statistics about Twitter users.
- 80% failed to provide a homepage URL
- 76% have not entered a bio in their profile
- 69% have not specified a location
To some this may seem like unimportant info. Perhaps it’s due to privacy concerns. If you use Twitter to attract and connect with your market, your homepage URL, bio and location are critical for three reasons.
1. To Be Found
First, this information is used to help people search for and find people that they might find interesting. Not filling out this info is like asking Google not to list your site.
2. To Be Followed
Second, it’s a question of conversion. Twitter users look at this info to decide whether or not to follow you. The decision is made in a matter of a few seconds while quicly glancing at the data you have provided on your page.
3. To Get Traffic
Lastly, the URL field in your Twitter profile is ideal for linking back to your site. Not only do links drive traffic, they are used by search engines to decide how highly you should be ranked. The more links you have, the higher you rank.
You Twitter URL is a freebie! Put it to use.
The Opportunity
If the vast majority of Twitter users are neglecting to include this valuable data in their profile, this is a huge opportunity for you to stand out.
The Growth of Twitter
Finally, I’ve included a graph here showing the growth of Twitter since it’s inception. As you can see, things have picked up significantly in recent months.
The publicity for Twitter has picked up enormously thanks to it’s use by celebrities as well as the impact it has had in spreading news in incidents such as the terrorist attacks in India earlier this year and the current demonstrations in Iran.
You can read the entire report here.
Take Action
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Ensure that you have completely filled out your bio, homepage URL and location in your Twitter profile
What to you think?
- What other insights did you get from the this information or the rest of the report?
- How have you effectively used your profile information to attract and connect with your market?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
June 30th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Excellent post – now follow me on Twitter!
Seriously though – out of all the social networks I think Twitter is the stickiest; part of it is just how simple it is to use. Also, the fact that it lends itself to user created conventions like the @username and the “RT” give people a real sense of ownership.
I notice that I get a lot of people responding to my tweets with real info: developer tips, ideas for marketing (I follow a lot of software publisher) and I even had someone respond to a job offer of mine (an internet marketing position that actually went overseas).
July 3rd, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Hi Jason,
Great post thanks!
It’s so important that we use all these new tools to our benefit and advantage!
Best,
Charl
July 3rd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
From my angle, there is a *fear-factor* that goes along with new things, and Twitter for me is new. Even though I’m on social media Twitter seems to be just a little deeper down the Rabbit Hole, which is scary (but doesn’t mean bad) . . .
The Iran revolt has really brought it to the forefront as a potentially powerfully (and maybe even more scary) tool.
As someone who is not on it, but probably will be soon, are there suggestions for get info on how to use it properly?
July 3rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
@Mike,
Do you have a blog or an email newsletter already? Take the content that you have in those channels and break it into tiny bite-size pieces. Each one should be a quick tip or idea. Start posting these to Twitter to attract followers and connect with your audience.
Start following, listening to and responding to key players in your industry that are on Twitter as well.
There are two ideas to get you started.
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I’m a singer songwriter and have been using twitter as a bulletin board via ping.fm for updates etc. I’m not that social with it, ie. I don’t converse with it much at all. Perhaps I should.
Thanks for the article.
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Hi Jason,
I’ve been using Twitter to draw attention to my website about cruise vacation advice. I’ve noticed that Twitter allows us to put a background picture on the Twitter page behind all the tweets. The problem however, is that many people use a photo that is mostly hidden by the tweets.
My solution was to use a word processor to put small photos on the sides including my website URL. I then did a screen capture and saved it as a .jpg. It was easy! http://www.twitter.com/cruiseknowledge
July 3rd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Jason,
This is a great reminder. Although I can’t understand why many people DON’T set up a complete profile, I have seen this often, and when I am followed by such people, I tend not to follow back. Just MH0!
July 4th, 2009 at 5:07 am
I find it interesting how Twitter developers saw what Facebook was lacking and feed off it. I may not plan on becoming a member of Twitter now, but I may use it to advertise with just for the increase traffic to my own site. Thanks for the posting. Hope to hear/read more from others. All good numbers your way.
July 4th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Thanks so much Jason for the great info on Twitter.
Hanging my head.. Knowing I am one of those statistics….
I have yet to fully embrace twitter as the marketing tool and bringing people in opportunity it is.
I often laugh when I get an email that people are following my twitters.!!
Perhaps the issue I have had with it , is people using it to offer banter and overusing the medium to speak of things so often during the day,, I just lost interest. It really became annoying.
I am sure there are others who have had similar experience… there was even a parody cartoon I saw on youtube about it!
Putting up links for your blog is FANTASTIC idea!!
Thanks again !
( OH, and I put this link up to this page in my personal chef association. Hope to spread the great info!)