SOCIAL MEDIA
Redefining Customer Service in the Web 2.0 World:
Twitter’s Effect on Social Media Engagement
Lead Analyst
Zak Kirchner
Contributing Analysts
Michael Gartenberg
Josh Bell
Randy Hellman
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Published August 2009. © 2009 Interpret, LLC
Redefining Customer Service in the Web 2.0 World:
Twitter’s Effect on Social Media Engagement
Catalyst: Twitter usage is exploding right now, but how is Twitter affecting user engagement with other social
networking sites?
Core Questions:
• What role does Twitter play in the social networking universe?
• Does Twitter decrease their engagement with other social media activities?
• Are Twitter users more susceptible to brand engagement on social networks?
Interpret Insight: The fastest growing social network of 2009, Twitter, is giving customers a voice like they’ve
never had on the Internet before. It’s time we started listening too, as Twitter users are twice as likely to review
or rate products online (24% vs. 12%), visit company profiles (20% vs. 11%) and click on advertisements or
sponsors (20% vs.9%) as those who only belong to traditional social networking websites like Facebook and
MySpace. We believe companies have a unique opportunity to engage this community for feedback and to
redefine customer service in the Web 2.0 world.
The Evolving World of Social Media
At the beginning of the year, hardly anyone could tell you what a “tweet” was, but by the end of the second
quarter, 9% of Americans had created an account on Twitter that they visited at least twice a week, making it
the third largest social network after Facebook and MySpace. Twitter has certainly made a splash this year, but
how its ripples are affecting other social networks and how companies are integrating Twitter into their social
media strategy are two questions still largely unanswered.
The very nature by which people engage with Twitter is something entirely new on the Internet. Instead of
creating a personalized profile that says who you are, Twitter asks its users what they are doing. At first,
nobody knew how to handle this constant stream of online thought and many ridiculed it as frivolous and
boring. On a micro-level, it can certainly appear that way at first glance. Who really cares when someone
tweets that they just finished breakfast and are about to go on a run? Nobody besides that person and maybe
their personal trainer. As tools began to emerge that could search and sift through the huge mass of tweets
being posted every hour, Twitter's value began to reveal itself when viewed on a macro-level. Traditional social
networks can give great insight into consumer's preferences, tastes and activities, which are very valuable for
targeting online advertising and promotions, but communication on Twitter is a real-time insight into a
consumer's ideas and attitudes as they are being expressed. This real-time expression allows companies to go
beyond just listening to and categorizing their online customers. It provides the opportunity for direct
engagement with consumers on a currently untapped digital level.
Twitter’s Effect on Social Media Engagement
One might expect that as Twitter's slice of the social media pie increases, other social networking activity
should decrease, but this is not the case. Twitter is an additional service for social networkers, not a
replacement for the traditional social networks. In fact, 95% of Twitter users