88% of Twitter Users Follow At Least One Brand

Promoted Tweets See Engagement Between 1% and 3%Last week’s events revealed several interesting new statistics about Twitter, including information about mobile use and brand engagement on the platform.

The highlights:

  • 60% of Twitter users access the microblogging platform on mobile devices
  • there are more than 400 million tweets per day
  • promoted tweets have an engagement rate of between 1% and 3%

During a session last week at Advertising Week in New York, Twitter President of Revenue Adam Bain said that there are now one billion tweets sent every 2.5 days (CNET).  Brands are quickly stepping in to take advantage of that, and users are responding. A whopping 88% of Twitter users follow at least one brand, said Twitter’s vice president of global brand strategy, Joel Lunenfeld, at the IAB MIXX advertising conference last week (TechCrunch). In addition, more than half of all Twitter users now follow more than six brands.

This data was revealed just as Twitter released a new feature for big brands, allowing them to embed surveys directly into tweets.

Why are Twitter users embracing brands? It’s partly about looking for freebies or discounts from brands, but also about gaining access to exclusive or promotional content.  According to Bain, Twitter’s marketing tools have so far seen “not only incredible engagement” but have also led to “even better outcomes.” He cited the AmEx sync campaign, the Bonobos “Twixclusive” 24-hour Twitter sale, and Daytona 500 sponsor Tide’s use of a NASCAR driver’s tweeted photo during the race as examples of successful brand campaigns on Twitter (CNET).

Is your brand advertising on Twitter? If so, has it been effective? And if not, what additional tools or stats is your company looking for before advertising on the platform?