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Twitter Followers Most Brand Responsive

Twitter followers are more likely to purchase or recommend a brand than email subscribers or Facebook fans, according to a new study from ExactTarget and CoTweet.

Twitter Followers Top Brand Purchasers
Results from “The Collaborative Future” indicate that 37% of Twitter followers are more likely to purchase a brand after becoming a follower, compared to 27% of email subscribers and only 17% of Facebook fans.

Interestingly, the percentage of email subscribers who are not more likely to purchase a brand, 32%, is the same percentage of Twitter followers who are not more likely. A much higher percentage of email subscribers are neutral in regard to buying a brand, 41% compared to 34%.

In addition to having the smallest percentage of fans more likely to buy a brand, Facebook fans have the highest percentage not more likely to do so, 49%.

Twitter Followers Tweet Brand Satisfaction
Twitter followers are also more likely to recommend a brand (33%) than email subscribers (24%) or Facebook fans (21%). When it comes to spreading the word, a higher percentage of email subscribers (36%) than Twitter fans (31%) are not more likely to do so. Facebook fans also lead in this negative category (47%).

It is worth noting that 96% of daily email users subscribe to at least one brand, compared to 69% of daily Facebook users and 68% of daily Twitter users.

Twitter Users Seek Info, Value
The largest single percentage of Twitter users who follow a company, brand or association on Twitter are motivated to do so by a desire to get updates on future products (38%). Another 32% want to get more information about the activities of a company.

Following these two informational reasons, the next-highest percentage of Twitter users follows a company to receive discounts and promotions (31%). Thirty percent want to get information on upcoming sales, and 28% want to receive “freebies” such as coupons and samples.

Facebook Users Like Discounts
The highest percentage of consumers (40%) are motivated to like a brand on Facebook by discounts and promotions. Almost the same percentage (39%) is motivated by showing support for the brand.

However, two other popular reasons, getting free samples or coupons (36%) and updates on upcoming sales (30%), tie into the discount/promotion motivation. Other popular drivers include staying informed about the activities of a company (34%), getting updates on future products (33%), and fun or entertainment (29%).

Email Patterns Mimic Facebook Patterns
Email subscribers mostly have the same basic motivation as Facebook fans, but at higher rates. Sixty-seven percent want to receive discounts and coupons, while 55% want to receive freebies, 50% want updates on sales and 45% want product updates.

One major differentiator, however, is the much smaller percentage of email subscribers (11%) who want to show support for a company. This may be due to the more private nature of email.

Twitter Use More than Doubles
Usage of Twitter has more than doubled in the past year, according to new data from comScore.

In June 2010, nearly 93 million internet users worldwide visited Twitter.com. This marked an increase of 109% from the previous year, as the social networking site achieved strong gains across all global regions.