Posted 06/30/2009 - 2:31pm by Julia M
A new report from market research firm, NPD Group, shows that Twitter users are more likely buy music than Internet users who are not Twitter users. They purchased more music in both digital and physical formats and were more engaged with music overall:
- 33% of Twitter users purchased a CD recently, while only 23% of all web users had done so
- 34% of Twitters bought a digital download vs. 16% of overall web users
- Twitter users also purchased 77% more digital downloads than non-users.
Twitter users were more likely to have listened to music on social networks and Internet radio stations, and watched music videos online.
This is news that the music industry should take to heart. Twitter is a service that is, arguably, more essential for artists (as well as consumer brands, sports teams and celebrities) than it is for individuals.
On the Other Hand…
The phenomenal success of Twitter, especially in the last few months, has led to a tipping point, especially with respect to its use as a marketing tool. However, among personal users, various sources are indicating that the hype is greater than the reality. Twitter’s retention percentage is apparently very low. Here are some of the highlights of these various reports:
A Harvard Business School professor conducted a study which showed that 90% of all tweets come from just 10% of users. Media research giant Nielsen released their own study that shows that 60% of Twitter users use the service for less than one month. According to the web metrics site Compete, Twitter’s traffic rose just 1.4% from April to May. Quantcast, another website measuring firm, estimated that Twitter had 21.9 million unique visitors in May, down 6% from April.
Finally, HubSpot released an analysis of Twitter accounts and activity that showed:
- 54.9 % have never tweeted
- 52.7% have no followers
- 55.5% were not following anyone else
- Only 24% have bothered to create a bio
To read the full "Tech Trends" for the week of 6/29/09, click here.
