Why do we use Twitter, and what can brands learn from our reasoning? ExactTarget conducted a survey of 1,500 consumers from US, and cited top motivators for people to be using, and following companies on Twitter.

About 38% are up to getting updates on future products, followed by 32% of users who wants to keep track of companies’ activities. The rest  of the interests include discounts and promotions, updates on upcoming sales, receiving free samples and coupons, fun and entertainment,  access to exclusive content, learning more about the company, showing support of a company to others, sharing idea and providing feedback, education about company topics, recommended items, and direct contact with the company.

Also, according to eMarketer, Twitter users swelled to 26 million users per month, as of 2010. While this might only be 14.6%, a relatively small population in proportion to total internet users, “their voice is disproportionately loud and influential.” Why?

“Twitter users are about three times as likely average internet user to upload photos, four times as likely to blog, three times as likely to submit ratings and reviews, and nearly six times as likely to post article,” according to Gobieta. To support this claim, of the 36% internet users who comment on photos or videos, a stunning 80% has a Twitter and of the 27% who upload photos, 76% are Twitter users.

If a company is up to building loyalty with customers, a fast-reaching mode of communication is a must for a quicker turn around. Also, they should be able to provide updates on products and latest offers massively. Example of companies who tapped social media into their business are hotel and airline companies, and the travel industry in general. They use both Facebook and Twitter to reach customers for branding.

Twitter has proven itself to be an effective social media platform, as it successfully established names for companies and celebrities. Let’s take Justin Beiber for instance. Every time the teen phenomenon posts on Twitter, he gets hundreds of fans to retweet with an average of 60 replies per second.  Three percent of Twitter’s server is dedicated to Beiber, according to a TIME article. Beiber has taken over Youtube, Twitter and Facebook. Social media influences how the world thinks as it takes everything to the next level.

The big takeaway here is the insight this report offers to brands, as they seek improved engagement methods with their consumers. Now that users and marketers are more comfortable with the current state of social media, aligning deliverables around evolving expectations can really help a company in their advertising efforts, be it a startup or large corporation.

via socialmediagraphics