1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow BRANDS

1. 1 MILLION TWITTER USERS:
NEW RESEARCH ON PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW BRANDS

2. 1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial2
Introduction
Twitter boasts 288 million monthly active users who post 500
million Tweets every single day.
Users flock to the social network for reasons as diverse as the
crowds are themselves. In fact, 135,000 users sign up for Twitter
on a daily basis. Many join to consume and interact with news,
many to connect with friends and colleagues, and many are
there to follow and interact with celebrities, athletes, sports
teams, and brands.
While best practices and tactics for engagement on the network
are widely accepted, many social marketers still don’t have a
strong understanding of their audience, or the audience that
they have yet to reach.
This study analyzes the followers of ten top global brands,
as opposed to the brands themselves, in order to identify the
characteristics of those users on Twitter and what marketers can
learn from them.
288 million
monthly active users
500 million
Tweets sent per day
join Twitter each day
135,000 users

3. 1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial3
Methodology
This study looks at the most recent 100,000 followers for each of
the top ten brands (by audience size) from our Q4 2014 Twitter
Benchmark Study, based on the Interbrand Top 100 Global Brands.
The most recent 100,000 followers for each brand was chosen in
order to identify characteristics of users who have most recently
chosen to engage with major brands, giving marketers insight into
the most current habits of brand followers.
At the end of each year, Interbrand ranks the top 100 global brands
based on several factors, including market, brand, competitor, and
financial data. This year, for the first time, Interbrand factored Twitter
audience and engagement data into the formation of their list.
The Interbrand 100 is an industry standard and a standard for all
Simply Measured network studies.
All data was analyzed using Simply Measured’s industry-leading
social media analytics and reporting platform.
THIS STUDY ENCOMPASSES:
Top 10 brands
1,000,000 followers
162,691 mentions from
61,881 unique Twitter users

4. 1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial4
Do People Follow More Than One Brand?
14% of the Users Analyzed Follow More Than One of the 10 Brands
We analyzed the 100,000 newest followers for 10 brands. Because
many users follow more than one brand, there is follower overlap.
This overlap is more common when the brands appeal to similar
demographic groups.
Key Findings
•14% of users analyzed follow more than one brand. Three
percent (3%) of users follow three or more of these 10 brands
• Less than 1% of users follow four or more of these 10 brands
• 26% of Burberry’s followers also follow Louis Vuitton
(and vice versa)
• 16% of H&M’s followers also follow Starbucks (and vice versa)
Takeaway
These findings highlight the need for both audience analysis and
competitive analysis. While a fashion brand may not be surprised
to find that their followers also follow another fashion brand, they
may develop new tactics based on commonalities among that
group of users. This analysis may also uncover that their audience
has interests outside of their industry. For example, 16% of H&M’s
followers are also following Starbucks. Understanding that group
of users can uncover potential opportunities.
This table represents the overlap between the newest 100,000
followers for each of these top brands.

5. 1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial5
How Many Accounts Do Users Follow?
Newer Accounts Present Less Competition for Brand Impressions
When a user joins Twitter, the network presents 40 suggested
accounts based on their interests, which a user can follow in
bulk with the click of a button. If brands are lucky enough to be
presented in this list, their opportunity to make an impression is
very strong, because new users follow fewer accounts, and there’s
less opportunity for brand Tweets to get lost in the mix.
Key Findings
• Users follow a median of 127 accounts
• 95% of people follow more users than follow them
• 24% of users follow 50 or fewer accounts
• 16% of users follow 500 or more accounts
Takeaway
Twitter promotes accounts to follow based on specific interests.
According to Twitter, the company has developed an algorithm to
scan for “key ingredients such as how much of the profile is filled
out, certain indications that the account is interesting to others in
some respects, and a few other signals.”
As a brand, this provides incentive to build a complete and
interesting profile, engage with users around desired topics,
and grow a presence within specific conversations.
This chart represents the percentage of users studied by number of
accounts they follow.

6. 1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial6
What Can Brands Learn from User Profiles?
Twitter Bios Can Offer Insight into Common Interests
Twitter users are given 160 characters to describe themselves in their
profile. This information can be broken down in many different ways
to help brands better understand their specific audience.
Key Findings
• 58% of users don’t fill out their bio
• Users who fill out their Twitter bio typically use 20 characters
• Of the “interest” options Twitter provides to help with suggested
accounts, “music” is the most commonly used in user bios,
although even the most frequent keywords are found in less than
1% of user bios
• 3.8% of users include another @handle in their Twitter bio.
@justinbieber is the most popular with 354 mentions
• 1.9% of users include a hashtag in their bio
Takeaway
By analyzing keywords, accounts mentioned, and hashtags used in
their followers’ Twitter profiles, marketers are able to identify key
opportunities, and challenge assumptions. Unfortunately, this is an
area where broad industry-crossing benchmarks are less valuable, and
marketers need to dig into their own audience behavior, and that of
their competitors.
This table identifies the frequency with which users include Twitter’s
“interest” options in their Twitter bios. While these keywords aren’t used
frequently, they provide a starting point for further analysis. For example, if a
marketer finds that users following their brand have identified “sports” more
than other categories, they may decide to look for more specific keywords in
their followers’ bios, such as specific sports, leagues, teams, or players.

7. 1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial7
Industry Snapshot: Who Follows Fashion Brands?
Industry Segmentation Provides Deeper Insight
While the benchmarks presented in the last section provide a
starting point, it’s important to delve into the demographics of users
who follow specific industries to gain greater insight. With that in
mind, here is a close look at the three fashion brands from the study:
H&M, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton.
Key Findings
• Burberry has 25% audience overlap with the other two fashion
brands, and vice versa. H&M and Louis Vuitton only see an 8%
overlap.
• 75% of followers with completed profiles have tweeted within the
last week
• Instagram is one of the most frequently mentioned keywords in
user profiles, suggesting a large crossover in audience between
the two networks
• Music is one of the most common keywords among fashion brand
followers, presenting an opportunity for fashion brands to explore
partnerships and advertising initiatives in the music industry
• Photography is the most common Klout topic for followers of
these three brands
Takeaway
Although the lifetime average doesn’t factor in users who once
tweeted frequently and stopped, or accounts that were inactive
and were recently picked up, it highlights the opportunity for
brands to influence and engage with users on a regular basis.
Music Fashion Instagram
3.9% 3.4% 3.4%
3.0% 3.6% 3.2%
3.5% 5.1% 2.7%
Tweeted Within
Last Week
(Completed Profiles)
Tweeted Within
Last Week
(All Followers)
Average
Lifetime Tweets
(Completed Profile)
Average
Lifetime Tweets
(All Followers)
80% 73% 1,163
74% 64% 2,750
73% 62% 1,661
357
1,400
631
Keyword Frequency in Completed Fasion Follower Profiles
Tweet Volume and Frequency Among Fashion Followers

8. 1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial8
How Active Are Brand Followers?
People Who Follow Brands Skew Towards Activity
While 20.4% of the users analyzed have inactive accounts, many
users Tweet regularly.
Key Findings
• 25% of users following top brands have averaged at least one
Tweet per day over the lifetime of their account
• There is no correlation between the age of a user’s account and
Tweet frequency
• 68% of users have averaged at least one Tweet per month over the
lifetime of their account
• 5% of users have averaged ten or more Tweets per day over the
lifetime of their account
Takeaway
Although the lifetime average doesn’t factor in users who once
tweeted frequently and stopped, or accounts that were inactive
and were recently picked up, it highlights the opportunity for
brands to influence and engage with users on a regular basis.
This chart demonstrates the lifetime Tweet frequency of people
following the top 10 brands.
ShareofTopBrands’Audience
Average Tweet Frequency Over Life of Account
(Cumulative)
50%
60%
70%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
10 Tweets
per Day
5%
25%
52%
61%
68%
1 Tweet
per Day
1 Tweet
per Week
1 Tweet
per 2 Weeks
1 Tweet
per Month
Average Tweet Frequency of Brand Followers

9. 1 Million Twitter Users: New Research on People Who Follow Brands #SimplySocial9
Conclusion
New followers present new opportunities for marketers on Twitter to
sell products, promote brand recognition, and interact with people
who might have never heard of their brand, had it not been for
Twitter’s suggested accounts to follow.
Tips for Marketers:
• Regularly analyze new followers to identify changes in interest
and activity patterns, and how new audience segments may
change assumptions and strategy
• Optimize content and profile for the “interest” options that
Twitter presents to new users
• Conduct thorough keyword analysis on all followers to identify
interests and opportunities
• Look for non-competitive brands with large audience overlaps.
These brands cater to similar audiences, and present great
opportunities for learning and partnership
Audience analysis is a pillar of planning and strategic development
for social marketing. It’s important for marketers to understand
what makes their audience tick, how they interact, and how active
they are. Armed with this knowledge, marketers on Twitter are
able to develop meaningful programs that improve outcomes like
engagement and conversions.

10. Want to try Simply Measured?
Request a Free Trial Today
Copyright © 2010–2015 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About Simply Measured
Simply Measured is the most complete social analytics solution,
empowering marketers with unmatched access to their social data to
more clearly define their social strategy and to optimize their tactics for
maximum impact.
Our goal is to put the tools to understand business data in the hands
of business users. We think reporting should be simple, attractive, and
accessibleforeveryone–notjustdatascientists.Oursoftwarestreamlines
the process from data to deliverables and eliminates the countless hours
spent on everyday reporting tasks. We do this by putting cloud data
sourcesatyourfingertips,providingamarketplaceofbestpracticereports,
and allowing you to generate beautiful solutions on the web,
in Excel, and in PowerPoint with a couple of clicks.