Twitter is not a social network. Not primarily, anyway. It’s better described as a social media platform, with the emphasis on “media platform.” And media platforms should not be judged by the same metrics as social networks.
Social networks connect people with one another. Those connections tend to be reciprocal. Facebook even checks in on you now and then to make sure you’ve actually met the folks who are sending you friend requests. As a social network, its chief function is to help friends, family, and acquaintances keep in touch.
Media platforms, by contrast, connect publishers with their public. Those connections tend not to be reciprocal.
Tag: Twitter
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11 ways you can tweet better
- Use a hashtag to drive the conversation.
- Organize a live event using Twitter.
- Tweet the past as if it were the present.
- Have a celebrity take over your account.
- Join the conversation where it takes place.
- You ask the questions.
- Live-tweet a breaking news event.
- Team up with the co-stars and use hashtags to drive fans to a TV show.
- Use Vine videos.
- Use a custom timeline to curate the best content.
- Voting and displaying on air
10 (not so) surprising social media statistics
Fast Company shares the 10 surprising social media statistics that will make you rethink your social strategy. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that all of them are really all that surprising, but they are mostly interesting. Here they are in a nutshell:
- The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55-64 year age bracket.
- 189 million of Facebook’s users are “mobile only”.
- YouTube reaches more US adults aged 18-34 than any cable network.
- Every second two new members join LinkedIn.
- Social media has overtaken port as #1 activity on the web.
- LinkedIn has a lower percentage of active users than Pinterest, Google+, Twitter and Facebook.
- 93% of marketers use social media for business.
- 25% of smartphone owners ages 18-44 say they can’t recall the last time their smartphone wasn’t next to them.
- Even though 62% of marketers blog or plan to blog in 2013, only 9% of US marketing companies employ a full-time blogger.
- 25% of Facebook users don’t bother with privacy settings.
Read the whole thing for more details, links, stats, visualization, and ideas on how to utilize this information.