How questions are asked and answered on Twitter.

1. Twitter Q&A Census
May 2011
Analyzing the effectiveness
of Q&A on Twitter

2. Summary of Findings
‣ High follower accounts ask questions more frequently.
Respondents with more than 100 followers are twice as likely to ask
questions on Twitter.
‣ Many askers receive low quality answers or no answers at all.
Nearly half of respondents indicated that they either never receive
answers or that they are dissatisfied with the answers that they do
receive when they ask questions on Twitter.
‣ Businesses and non-followers provide high quality answers,
particularly to high follower accounts. Respondents with high
follower accounts are more likely to to receive answers from non-
followers or business accounts and are generally happier with the
quality of answers that they have received.
‣ Askers generally receive good answers from businesses. Most
respondents indicate that the answers they receive from business
accounts are high quality and trustworthy.
‣ Businesses can likely earn more followers and generate more
sales by answering questions on Twitter. Most respondents indicate
that they are more likely to follow or make a purchase from businesses
that answers their questions on Twitter.

3. Actionable Insights for Businesses
‣ Proactively search for, and answer, relevant questions on
Twitter. Nearly half of the respondents to our survey indicated that
they either never received answers to the questions that they asked on
Twitter or that the answers were unsatisfactory. Proactively answering
questions that are relevant to your business can give you the
opportunity to surprise and delight potential customers that would likely
not otherwise receive answers.
‣ Donʼt limit your question answering to accounts with which you
already have an existing relationship with. Respondents to our
survey indicated that they were generally open to receiving answers
from non-followers and businesses. You should feel free to answer any
questions for which you can provide a high quality answer.
‣ Focus on answering questions from both high and low follower
accounts. Respondents indicated that they are likely to follow and
make purchases from businesses that answer their questions on
Twitter. You should implement a question answering strategy that
focuses on driving direct response actions regardless of the number of
followers that a given asker may have.
‣ Develop direct response metrics and track sales coming directly
from the questions you answer on Twitter. Respondents to our
survey indicated that they are very likely to make purchases from
businesses that answer their questions on Twitter. Make sure that you
have the appropriate tracking in place to properly attribute sales
generated from question answering on Twitter.

4. “How many Twitter followers Most accounts
do you have?” have fewer than
one hundred
70% followers
64%
53%
% of respondents
HOW DO WE KNOW?
64% of respondents had
35% fewer than 100 followers
36%
while 36% had more than
100 followers
18%
0%
<100 >100
# of followers

5. “Have you ever asked a High follower
question on Twitter?” accounts are
more likely to
70% have asked
67% questions on
Twitter
53%
% of yes responses
HOW DO WE KNOW?
67% of respondents with
35% more than 100 followers
33% have asked a question versus
only 33% percent of those
18% with less than 100 followers
0%
<100 >100
# of followers

6. “How do you primarily ask Most questions
questions on Twitter?” are broadcast,
Ask all followers Send an @reply Send a Direct Message but low follower
75% accounts are
73% more likely to
use @replies
56%
% of respondents
52% HOW DO WE KNOW?
44% 44% of respondents with
38% less than 100 followers send
their questions as @replies
versus 25% of those with
25% more than 100 followers
19%
4% 2%
0%
<100 >100
# of followers

7. “How often do you get responses Twitter is a more
when you ask questions on Twitter? reliable source
Always Sometimes Never of answers for
75% high follower
accounts
56% 58% 59%
% of respondents
HOW DO WE KNOW?
20% of respondents with
38% less than 100 followers and
29% of those with more
29% than 100 followers indicate
19% 22% that they always receive
20% answers when they ask
12% questions on Twitter
0%
<100 >100
# of followers

8. “How satisfied are you with the Low follower
answers you receive on Twitter?”
accounts are
Very Satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied more likely to be
75% unsatisfied with
answers on
63% Twitter
56%
% of respondents
HOW DO WE KNOW?
49%
32% of respondents with
38% less than 100 followers are
32% unsatisfied with the answers
they receive on Twitter
19%
24% versus 13% of those with
19% more than 100 followers
13%
0%
<100 >100
# of followers

9. “Have you ever received an High follower
answer from a non-follower accounts are
on Twitter?” more likely to
70% receive answers
66% from non-
followers
53%
% of yes responses
HOW DO WE KNOW?
44%
66% of respondents with
35% more than 100 followers
have received an answer
from a non-follower versus
18% 44% of those with less than
100 followers
0%
<100 >100
# of followers

10. “Have you ever received answers from non-
followers?” & “How satisfied are you with the
Receiving
answers you receive?” answers from
Very Satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied non-followers
75% may increase
answer
satisfaction
56% 59%
% of respondents
53% HOW DO WE KNOW?
86% of respondents that had
38% received answers from a
non-follower were satisfied
31%
27% or very satisfied with the
19% answers they had received
versus 69% of respondents
14% 16%
who had not received an
answer from a non-follower
0%
Yes No

11. “Have you ever received an High follower
answer from a business accounts are
account on Twitter?” more likely to
50% have received an
answer from a
business
41%
38%
% of yes responses
HOW DO WE KNOW?
41% of respondents with
25% more than 100 followers
have received an answer
21%
from a business account
13% versus only 21% of those
with less than 100 followers
0%
<100 >100
# of followers

12. “Would you like to receive answers from
businesses on Twitter, assuming the Most people
quality is as good or better than the would like to
answers you receive from your followers?”
receive answers
60% from businesses
59% on Twitter
57%
55%
% of yes responses
HOW DO WE KNOW?
59% of respondents with
50% more than 100 followers
and 57% of accounts with
less than 100 followers
45% would like to receive
answers from businesses on
Twitter
40%
<100 >100
# of followers

13. “How would you rate the quality Answers from
of answers you have received
business
from businesses on Twitter?”
accounts are
60% generally high
55%
quality
45%
% of respondents
HOW DO WE KNOW?
80% of respondents that
30% received an answer from a
business on Twitter
25%
indicated that the quality is
20% as good or better than the
15%
answers they received from
non-businesses
0%
Better As Good Worse

14. “How much do you trust the Answers from
answers you have received businesses are
from businesses on Twitter?” generally trusted
60%
54%
45%
% of respondents
HOW DO WE KNOW?
80% of respondents who
30% received an answer from a
26% business on Twitter
indicated that they trust
20% these answers as much, or
15%
more than, the answers that
they receive from non-
businesses
0%
More As Much Less

15. “Are you more or less likely to Twitter users are
follow a business that answers
likely to follow
your questions on Twitter?
businesses that
60% answer their
59%
questions
45%
% of respondents
HOW DO WE KNOW?
59% of respondents that
30% receive an answer from a
29%
business indicate that they
were more likely to follow a
15% business account that
answered their questions on
12% Twitter
0%
More As Likely Less

16. “Are you more or less likely to make Twitter users are
a purchase from a business that
likely to make a
answers your questions on Twitter?
purchase from
70% businesses that
answer their
64%
questions
53%
% of respondents
HOW DO WE KNOW?
64% of respondents that
35% have received an answer
from a business indicate that
they were more likely to
24%
18% make a purchase from a
business account that
12% answered their questions on
Twitter
0%
More As Likely Less

17. About the Survey
This data was collected between 4/29 - 5/3/11
through a web based survey of Twitter users that
accessed the service during that period.
Up to 3.8M active Twitter users saw Tweets
promoting the survey. 2,049 people began the
survey and 1,825 (89%) fully completed it.
Respondents were not compensated. CONTACT US
About InboxQ Joe Fahrner, Co-Founder
Joe@InboxQ.com
InboxQ delivers a realtime stream of questions @JoeFahrner
related to your business, products, industry or
general interests from Twitter, directly to your (855) 3-INBOXQ
browser. You can download InboxQ as a Chrome http://www.InboxQ.com
extension, Firefox add-on or Seesmic plug-in. @InboxQ
Visit http:///www.InboxQ.com to learn more.