Brafton has reported that social search techniques are poised to be a priority for marketers next year, with some hailing 2011 as “The Year of Facebook.” But a new report from Pew may give brands reason to focus on Twitter marketing in the coming year.
In Pew’s first-ever survey that exclusively examines a company-specific online application or activity, the organization found that 8 percent of online adults use Twitter. Two percent use the microblogging site daily.
The research firm says that 74 percent of Americans over the age of 18 are internet users, so this translates to 6 percent of the entire U.S. adult population using Twitter. For marketers, this means there is a significant online audience for branded tweets.
According to Pew, Twitter is becoming widely used by analysts to study buzz about news, products and services. Marketers might also consider investing more heavily in monitoring the tweet chatter surrounding their brands next year.
Twitter users might also respond positively to companies that participate in the conversations happening online. As Brafton has reported, nearly half of tweets are conversational, and more than one in 10 Twitter conversations mention brands.
