The world is strange and so is twitter. Adage reports that Justin Bieber accounts for 3% traffic on twitter at any given time. Moreover 10% of Justin Bieber's reply tweets contain the phrase "I love you".
Twitter had 28 million+ visitors in September 2010. That makes it approximately 850,000 people talking about Justin Bieber at any given moment and 85,000 people adding "I love you" to his tweets. I am jealous.
Twitter had 28 million+ visitors in September 2010. That makes it approximately 850,000 people talking about Justin Bieber at any given moment and 85,000 people adding "I love you" to his tweets. I am jealous.
 |
| (Twitter Stats) |
You might be thinking Justin Bieber is powerful and popular. Lets delve deeper. Now the 850,000 people talking at any instant on twitter about Justin Bieber is an indicator of only one thing: They want to share their opinion about 'Justin Bieber' to the whole world and what better than twitter. If Justin Bieber is the king, the king maker is 'Twitter.com'. If the king maker can make 'Justin Bieber' the king, why not your brand.
For news media agencies or content publishing agencies, a social media site like twitter and real time stats can actually help figure out flaws instantly and boost viewership instantly.
For example, a news organization is already changing the content of articles based on what readers do when they click. For example, if a certain link gets a lot of clicks, but readers don't scroll below the third paragraph, editors can see that a headline might be strong, but that the content of the story needs a boost. (Adage)
Another interesting fact about twitter or other social networks as observed by Malcolm Gladwell in his article "Why the revolution will not be tweeted" is that people would talk about revolt on twitter but may not actually participate. He says,
"The kind of activism associated with social media isn’t like this at all. The platforms of social media are built around weak ties. Twitter is a way of following (or being followed by) people you may never have met. Facebook is a tool for efficiently managing your acquaintances, for keeping up with the people you would not otherwise be able to stay in touch with. That’s why you can have a thousand “friends” on Facebook, as you never could in real life."
This is an interesting story, and it correlates with the fact that Justin Bieber attracts 3% traffic on twitter. The weak ties on social networks may not have a correlation with sales of your brand. They are just a way to facilitate your brand name across such weak links. These insights mean that sales are not proportional (always) to the success of a social media campaign. Consumers may talk about your brand but may not walk to get it. You still have to make sure your brand reaches them. You have to still make sure that your brand gives them what they are looking for, and that can only be accomplished by the traditional forms of marketing.