Indian Twitter users: Cold Hard Facts

                                  
              
   As of 2011
   Twitter has reached
   175 Million users 

India Constitutes

0.9% of Total Twitter users

1.0% of Total Tweets

8.2 % of the Site Traffic




Indian Demographics

Gender


    Male: 77%
Female: 23%










Distribution By Age

Majority of the Twitter users in India are between 16 to 26 years of age.








Distribution By Region


        State-Wise                City-Wise

Maharashtra	20%	Mumbai	16%
Delhi	16%	Chennai	11%
Tamil Nadu	13%	Bangalore	11%
Karnataka	11%	Delhi	9%
Gujarat	6%	New Delhi	7%
Others	34%

Income Distribution of Indian Twitter users

Social Media Marketing: The Big , The Bang and The Boom

Social Media Marketing: The Big

Not many years ago we were all skeptical audience when trailblazing businessmen said “The Future of Business is Internet”. We took careful steps into the World Wide Web and never turned back. Well, now the mantra is that, “The Future of Internet is Social”.

Below is a graph of the rise of internet users from the year 95 (0.4% of the entire population) to 2010(28.8% of the entire population) in millions of people.

Rise of Internet Users

This growth is what pushed us to turn to Internet Marketing and since then Internet Marketing has been one of the most powerful marketing tool, second to only television.

Rise of Internet users and Facebook users

If the slope of that blue line was steep enough for it to make us rewrite the marketing books, just imagine what this fiery red curve could do to the business world. This curve represents the rise of number of Facebook users from its inception in 2004 till 2010. We must also remember that facebook is just one piece of the jigsaw. Social Networking is much more complex and elaborate than one website. But since it is the steepness of the slope we're interested in, one representative from the Social Networking world will suffice. This steep slope portrays an image of infinite possibilities. And this is why Social Media Marketing is Big.

Social Media Marketing: The Bang

Now that it is clear why Social Media Marketing is big, the next discussion is about why it is also a bang. Unlike Internet marketing, businesses, small and big, were not too apprehensive about diving into Social Networks. Why would they be?

1. It gives Quick Results

2. It gets easier with time

3. It increases traffic

4. It is safer than buying link

5. It makes effective branding possible

6. It helps improve Search engine rankings

7. It helps you get “Targeted” Visitors

8. It is Free!

Because of all these reasons and many more, almost 66% of all registered businesses use Social Media Marketing to create awareness and increase sales. As discussed earlier, Social Networking is huge Jigsaw puzzle with numerous pieces. But the Big players in this field are also very evident and stand out. Here is a pie chart showing how many of these smart companies who use Social Media Marketing, use Twitter and Facebook respectively.

Social Networks as a Marketing Tool

Social Media Marketing: The Boom

Why is Social Media Marketing not just the Big Bang, but also the Boom? This is owing to the sea of possibilities that this branch of marketing has promised to us marketers. This is to show that Social Networks not only has a dizzying Past and a rewarding Present but also, a promising Future. Investments in Social Media Marketing have sky rocketed in the past few years. Thousand of companies have made contracts for the year to come about exactly where they want to get and how Marketing on these sites is going to get them there.

Another important fact about this branch of marketing is that, more and more companies have started to outsource this particular aspect of branding. Socialmediaexaminer.com gives you a detailed article about what to outsource and what not to. But the important thing to make note of here, is the ever increasing no of options regarding Whom to outsource to. A gazillion companies are cropping up everyday to be play a small, but irreplaceable part in the marketing strategies of the big companies.

Here is a graph showing what percentage of businesses are aware (Red) of these Social Networking Sites and How many of them practice online Social Marketing(Blue).

Awareness and usage of Social networks for Marketing purpose

Since this technique has proved to be highly effective in all fields, it is only natural to assume that the usage will increase along with the awareness about these outlets and eventually also catch up.

The growth of Social Media Marketing has been at a maddening pace. Therefore, it is very easy to be left behind in this field. For the businesses which are in the minority and haven't yet adopted or perfected a Social Media Marketing strategy, the impatient clock keeps ticking. While it is essential as well as easy to use, Social Media can also be overwhelming. The numerous tweets, likes, retweets and fan pages can paint a formidable picture to the unaccustomed. This is where WisdomTap comes in. We help you reach the right customers at the right time. Nobody understands Tweets like we do, and we will share this insight with your company and kick start your Social Media Marketing. To know more, Visit our website www.wisdomtap.com.

What makes us WisdomTap

Till now we have discussed the story of Social Networking; its birth, its growth and its many many uses. Now, I'd like to put it all into context. Why are we so interested in Social Media Marketing? Well, it is mainly because of what we do.

What do we do

WisdomTap is a SMM start up like none other. If you're trying not to be wordy, you can call us, an advertising platform on Twitter. But that doesn't even begin to describe what WisdomTap is all about. We at WisdomTap believe in the future of Social Networking as a powerful Marketing tool.

We Listen. We Understand. We communicate.

Listen

Twitter is currently our main domain of operation. And we can safely say that no one knows Twitter like we do.We monitor Tweets from all over the world on a continuous basis. Our Software listens to Twitter users everywhere and find what they are saying. Over the years, Social networking Sites have become an Internet user's BFF. Twitter particularly, was designed for the very purpose of enabling the user to continuously think aloud and gain the views of their friends and others. India alone has about 2 million Tweets per day. That means, 2 million times a day, what is going on some Indian's mind is reported on Twitter. These vary from current issues to Bollywood. An interesting fact is that lot of these Tweets, around a hundred thousand worldwide, are questions. What are these questions about? InboxQ has a detailed infographic about the content of these questions. This is where WisdomTap comes in. We listen and collect these questions for our Clients' benefit.

Understand: What makes WisdomTap unique

A lot of people will be willing to provide you this passive service of Listening. Create a software which recognises a bunch of keywords and filters out questions regarding keywords. But we  provide you something unique. “The tool”, as it is known amongst WisdomTap employees, is not a 9 year old boy given the task of listening to a paragraph and jotting down specific sentences. It is a wise man with a larger perspective who not only hears but also comprehends the tweets. The tool can understand what each tweet means, put them into context considering both the user’s past tweets and the product/service in question. Our objective is not to identify questions, but to spot need. Our software is tuned to recognise every tweet which exhibits need for a certain product, inquisitiveness regarding a certain service, or even dissatisfaction with a current possession.

Communicate

Now that we have invaluable information about our target market, it is time to close in for the kill. With thorough understanding of our clients' products and services and combined with the knowledge of the requirements of the potential consumers, we establish communication with the user. We reply to the Tweet with our own suggestions to fulfill their need or indulge their whim. We send personalised responses to these users. Studies say that 64% of the Twitter users who receive a product recommendation from a business are more likely to buy the product/ avail the service. Remember, We are not spamming them. A recent survey shows that 58.34% are not only open to answers for their questions from businesses, but also expect it. This receptiveness increases multi-fold with our carefully worded personal reply tweets designed to gain the confidence of the reader. The job doesn't end here. We carry forward the specific conversations engaging the users' doubts and requests until a final decision regarding the purchase is reached.

Why Social Media Marketing? That question has been answered already in this blog and other resources all around the world. Social Media Marketing is simple. At the end of the day, it boils down to finding the right customers and talking to them. But Social Networking Sites can also be vast and overwhelming if not tricky.  Now, the more important question gets answered, Why WisdomTap? Because we can bridge the gap between you and the elusive Social Media Marketing. To subscribe or learn more about our services please visit www.wisdomtap.com

Facebook Versus Twitter: May the Better Man Win

Digital Surgeons have put together an infographic comparing the population of Facebook and twitter. From these statistics ans much more available online, and the general understanding of Social Media Marketing, it is possible to determine what are the merits and demerits of each of them as a Social Media Marketing tool. In this post, we'll take 5 interesting Facts about these websites and analyse how they affect them as a Marketing tool.

Fact no 1: Awareness

88 percent of people are aware of Facebook, while 87 percent are aware of Twitter.

Even though the numbers speak otherwise, this data actually goes in favour of Twitter. We must remember that Twitter was founded (almost exactly) 2 years after Facebook. So, facebook has had a good 24 month advantage to spread awareness. Moreover, when you read Fact no 2 you'll understand the true impact of this figure. Twitter has a meagre 28.6% of the number of users Facebook has. But it has reached almost 98.9% percent of the number of people Facebook has reached in terms of spreading awareness, that too in just 5 years. Since the growth of Social Networking is undeniable, it is safe to assume that once awareness is spread, people will soon sign up for the services. After all, it is free and entertaining. With that theory, it is safe to assume that Twitter will have a steeper growth curve in the years to come, which makes it a promising marketing tool.

Fact no 2: Users

Facebook has touched 700 million users whereas Twitter has close to 200 million users

With this piece of information, it is imperative we put the past away. No point cutting slack for Twitter saying it is, after all,2 years younger to Facebook. In fact, 2 years ago, when Facebook was 5 years old, it had just over 200 million users not unlike where Twitter is right now. But at the end of the day, we can only look at markets. In 2011, with the current Internet users' market, Facebook provides a better reach than Twitter does. To equal or overtake Facebook, Twitter has a long battle to fight ahead. So in terms of cold hard numbers, Facebook is a more rewarding marketing tool.

Fact number 3: The Prying Public Eye

This is the “End of the Beginning of Facebook”. - The Melodramatic Media

It is true that the rate of growth for Facebook has reduced. But that doesn't change the fact that it is still growing. Facebook, according to, http://internetstatstoday.com/, has a penetration of almost 33.4%. What that essentially translates to is that one out of every three Internet users, use Facebook. We should keep in mind that the pool of prospective Facebook users is Finite. It is the number of people who use the Internet. Therefore, as more and more people become members of Facebook, it is only natural that the graph will become less steep. But then, Facebook has been the coolest and hottest thing in the World Wide Web for almost 5 years now. So, obviously even a little decline in growth will be met with a lot of speculation about the possible end of the Facebook era by our Melodramatic Media. Even if they might not be completely right in predicting Facebook's downfall, those words will spread like wildfire. This negative murmur about Facebook might itself cripple Facebook from continuing to spread its wings of reach. But whatever might be the reason, the current negative publicity around Facebook makes it a Precarious Marketing tool.

Fact no 4: User Engagement

More than 50% of Facebook users sign in everyday whereas not even 30% of Twitter users do so.

This is another crucial point which is imperative in judging which is a better tool for Social Media Marketing. Facebook continues to have a very high user engagement rate. One out of every 2 Facebook users login everyday. That is an impressive number. Twitter's achievement of convincing 2 out of every 7 users to login everyday pales in comparison. A whooping 21% of the Twitter users have never tweeted and almost 85% of the users have less than one average tweet per day. These statistics are appalling. But why is this essential in determining a web site's efficiency as a marketing tool? Social Networking is more of a fad than anything else. Internet users all around the world sign up for these sites just because of all the buzz around it. So it is imperative to distinguish those users who view these sites for their utility because they are the only recipients of whatever Marketing move that we launch on these sites. Therefore, when we Market on Facebook, we have a chance of reaching almost every other user on a given day. This assurance makes Facebook a more Foolproof Marketing Tool.

Fact no 5: Ease of Use

“The usefulness of Twitter is not readily as obvious to some people as Facebook” -Steve Thornton, twitip.com

Anyone who has used both Facebook and Twitter would know exactly what I am talking about. This Fact is more of a reason to Fact no 4 than a stand alone fact by itself. Facebook has a more user-friendly interface. This is like the comparison between Windows and Linux. You can never reach a conclusion. Facebook appeals to the user because it communicates with the individual. The user knows the exact What, Why and Hows of his actions. But Twitter is a slightly more bizarre atmosphere. Like Linux it has its own faithful followers and is probably much more potent when fully understood. But understanding it is no menial task. It doesn't appeal to the eye. The lack of layers or ability to filter content appear superficially as drawbacks. Social Networking started as a way to Stay Connected to friends in the online community. This job, Facebook does better. Twitter has however graduated to a Breaking News Forum. This is probably why Twitter has a more narrow demographic. This makes Facebook a more Appealing Marketing Tool.

Now, let us forget the average user. We will talk about how these sites compare when It is valued on a Marketing person's ease of access. This is where Twitter's simplicity scores it points. Twitter stream is easier to monitor, Tweets are easier to distribute to a larger audience, Publicity is more effective and simple on Twitter. But there is also that little voice in our head which tells us “So what if you like it better? If everyone else doesn't, then what is the point?”. To which we respond with confused silence. But for a Marketing Person Twitter is the Easier Marketing Tool.

We could go on continuing to analyse each and every fact that is available regarding Facebook and Twitter (Which believe me is a lot). But arriving at a final answer is next to impossible. There is no way to gauge their uses in a Generic Context. Our focus should be on choosing the best medium within the purview of our company and our business. Depending on where you are, who you want to reach and what you want to tell them, a choice should be made. But more often than not, there is no necessity to make a choice. Brand presence in both of these sites is obviously more profitable than just one. Even though a considerate amount of the User Base would be overlapping, that is the most foolproof way. Whether we chose Facebook, Twitter or Both, in the end, Social Media Marketing comes out as the winner.