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Repetitive Content Turns Off Tweeters

Fifty-two percent of Twitter users say content that becomes repetitive or boring over time is a reason to stop following a brand on the site, according to [pdf] a new report from Exact Target and CoTweet. Data from “The Social Break-up” also indicates 41% say the need to clear a crowded tweetstream is a reason to stop following a brand.

Other leading reasons Twitter users stop following brands are a company posting too frequently (39%), as well as only following a brand to get a one-time deal and a company not offering enough deals (27% each).

4 in 10 Twitter Users Have Stopped Following a Brand

Four in 10 (41%) Twitter users report they have stopped following a brand, and 47% who have created a Twitter account no longer use it. However, in good news, 56% of active Twitter users follow at least one brand, 64% of active Twitter users check their account at least once per day, and 48% check it several times per day.

Of Twitter users who follow at least one brand, 71% expect to receive marketing messages through the site.

Fewer than 1 in 5 Online US Consumers Has Twitter Account

Fewer than one in five (17%) online US consumers has a Twitter account, and only about one in 10 (9%) has an active account. Five percent of all online US consumers follow at least one brand on Twitter.

Pointlessness Leading Reason to Abandon Twitter

Fifty-two percent of formerly active Twitter users who no longer use their account say they left because it is pointless. Thirty-eight percent said it got boring, and 23% said it got too chaotic (more than one answer permitted).

Twitter Popular with Young, Minorities, Urbanites

Demographic analysis of Twitter usage clearly shows younger adults tweet at much higher rates than older adults, according to a recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Fourteen percent of internet users age 18-29 use Twitter, double the 7% of internet users age 30-49. The oldest internet users (65-plus) have the lowest tweet rate (4%).

Looking at Twitter use by race, 18% of Hispanic internet users tweet, as do 13% of black, non-Hispanic internet users but only 5% of white, non-Hispanic internet users. And 11% of urban internet users tweet, compared to 8% of suburban and 5% of rural internet users.