New study: How Tweets influence mobile and tech shoppers in the UK

Thursday, 28 February 2013

When it comes to product launches, special sales and shopping seasons, tweeting about your brand and product is an effective way to raise awareness and interests among your audience. To understand exactly how Twitter helps companies connect with their target consumers, we partnered with Compete (@Compete) and looked at how Tweets from mobile product and carrier brands influence the UK shoppers who see them.

The “Tweets in Action: Mobile/Tech” study found that exposure to Tweets drives engagement with brands. In other words, the more Tweets shoppers see, the higher the likelihood that they will visit brand websites, search for these websites, or visit third-party review sites to find out more about the brands they saw on Twitter.

Study background & methodology

The study analyzed over 6,000 users and their site visitation behavior in the United Kingdom over the Christmas shopping season. The study looked at three different groups of users. The first group consisted of those users who were exposed to at least one Tweet by a mobile product or carrier brand. The two remaining groups of users were control groups: one consisted of Twitter visitors who were not exposed to mobile/tech brand Tweets, and the other represented the average internet user.

Three key findings on site visitation and Tweet exposure

1. Twitter users who see Tweets from mobile/tech brands are more likely to visit brand websites.

Compete found that Twitter users visit mobile/tech brand websites at a higher rate (62%) than general internet users (45%). This includes websites for both mobile device brands and mobile carriers.

New study: How Tweets influence mobile and tech shoppers in the UK

Key takeaway: Twitter helps to drive engagement with brands and products and site traffic. Twitter users exposed to brand messages on the platform have a much higher likelihood to later visit the official sites. Brands should tweet proactively to reach their audience about new products and brand announcements.

2. Twitter users who see mobile/tech brand Tweets are more likely to search for brand websites online.

Around 30% of average internet users searched for and visited at least one brand website. On the other hand, 38% of Twitter users did the same during the period. The rate of visit via search was even higher among Twitter users who were exposed to brand Tweets: 46% of them searched for and visited brand websites.

New study: How Tweets influence mobile and tech shoppers in the UK

Key takeaway: Twitter users have a higher tendency to search for and learn about brands and products through the platform. Tweets should include links to brand/product pages to make it easier for shoppers to search for additional information.

Twitter users who see mobile/tech brand Tweets are more likely to visit third-party review sites and check out reviews on products or brands.

3. Exposure to brand Tweets increased the likelihood that consumers would visit third-party review sites (such as @CNET, @amazon, @techradar) to find out more about the brands or products. Around 36% of average internet users visited third-party review sites during the holiday shopping season. However, the likelihood to visit for Twitter users exposed to brand Tweets was 28% higher.

New study: How Tweets influence mobile and tech shoppers in the UK

Key takeaway: Twitter users exposed to Tweets from brands tend to learn more about the brand or product by reading reviews. Brands should tweet engaging content to raise curiosity and prompt consumers to find out more. Try including language from a recent review or consumer ratings in your Tweets.

The exposure to Tweets helps drive awareness and traffic for brands and products - the higher the frequency of exposure, the higher the likelihood to visit brand websites. Twitter users exposed to brand Tweets were more likely to visit brand sites compared to average internet users.

For more information, follow @TwitterAdsUK.

Posted by
Louise Chow (@lougirlie)
Analyst