The results of a survey on how people use Twitter published yesterday adds confirmation in my mind that those who think Twitter is just another marketing channel don’t really understand people’s behaviours.

The survey Twitter and the Consumer-Marketer Dynamic, conducted over the past six months by US agency 360i, suggests that while consumers talk about brands on Twitter and exchange comment and opinion about brands in conversations with their friends, they don’t engage in any meaningful way with the marketers of those brands.

360keyfinding1twitter

The report says that only one percent of consumer tweets that mention a brand are part of an active conversation with the tweeter of the brand, and concludes:

[…] Though many people perceive Twitter as a place for random status updates, re-tweets and marketing messages, this study shows how Twitter is largely a reflection of everyday conversation.

Twitter is dominated by the voice of the consumer and consists primarily of two-way conversations – the real value for marketers is in creating an ongoing dialogue with consumers that enables brands to become a more meaningful part of people’s everyday lives.

It’s easy to understand this if you use Twitter yourself. And by ‘use,’ I don’t mean ‘talk.’ What 360i’s report shows to me is that the most important thing a marketer can do on Twitter is listen.

Download the whitepaper from the 360i blog where you’ll also find a useful PowerPoint deck (also at Slideshare).

12 responses to “Valuable insights for marketers if they listen”

  1. [Blog] Valuable insights for marketers if they listen http://tinyurl.com/328jfq9 #fb #in

  2. [nh.com] Valuable insights for marketers if they listen http://goo.gl/fb/0Zo6T

  3. RT @jangles: [Blog] Valuable insights for marketers if they listen http://tinyurl.com/328jfq9 #fb #in

  4. RT @jangles:Valuable insights for marketers if they listen http://is.gd/dQHLc >> to become a more meaningful part of people’s everyday lives

  5. Hobson: Valuable insights for marketers if they listen: The results of a survey on how people use Twitter publishe… http://bit.ly/9Rg88e

  6. Valuable insights for marketers if they listen http://bit.ly/bXH1h9 /cc @feedly

  7. RT @jangles Valuable insights for marketers if they listen http://is.gd/dQHLc (survey on how people use Twitter)

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    RT @jangles Valuable insights for marketers if they listen [link to post] (survey on how people use Twitter)

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    RT @jangles:Valuable insights for marketers if they listen [link to post] >> to become a more meaningful part of people’s everyday lives

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  10. RT @dianarailton: RT @jangles Valuable insights for marketers if they listen http://is.gd/dQHLc (survey on how people use Twitter)

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  12. […] of conversation between friends for many of the 100 million Twitter users, a view borne out in a recent survey by the 360i agency (which also suggests that marketers don’t get Twitter […]