The Blog on Branding

Social Media Marketing: Twitter vs. Facebook

We’ve already seen there’s a battle between MySpace and Facebook; yet, Facebook faces a newer foe – Twitter. As the battling continues, who will reach the top of the social marketing hierarchy? It seems for now at least, Facebook prevails. Read on to find out why.

“Facebook now faces another foe—Twitter!”

Twitter Quitters

When it comes to Twitter, businesses should remember this – with Social Media, newer doesn’t always mean better.

Nielsen ratings have shown that 60% of Twitter users quit within the first month. It’s perplexing, then that CNN, NBC, and pretty much any TV show you turn on today promotes Twitter as the new craze. All the news shows and talk show hosts have their own accounts (run by their interns, no doubt). Even the funniest people find it difficult to say something interesting in 140 characters or less, and Twitter can easily morph into blogging (or “microblogging”) at its worst.

“It seems that, lately, every TV show promotes Twitter…”

So Who is Tweeting?

I once asked a high schooler if she “Tweets,” and her response was, “(sigh/roll of the eyes) … only old people do that.” Sure, this is merely anecdotal. Sure, by “old” she probably meant middle-aged. But the point still stands – even those who are totally saturated by media don’t personally know anyone who uses Twitter.

Some research shows that young people use Twitter slightly more than old – HarrisInteractive reports that 8% of 18-34-year-olds use Twitter and 7% of those ages 35-44 use it. Not surprisingly, 4% of those ages 45-54 and only 1% of those ages 55+ use Twitter. If you’re your audience is people between the ages of 18 and 44 – and for so many, it is – knowing that only about 7.5% use it is no small thing. Although Twitter might one day morph into great Social Media to advertise with, today might not be that day.

As Search Engine Watch’s Liana Evans suggested, it’s easy to see what the “kids” like, just by looking at the most used parts of Facebook.com. When most people go on Facebook, they’re looking for more than what friends are “up to” – they look for pictures of things they’ve done, events friends are attending and articles and links their friends have posted. Social Media like Facebook is (more reliably) where the marketing opportunities lie. Twitter’s limited characters makes it difficult to get your message across, and it takes much more work to reach your audience. On Facebook and other similar sites, the sky seems to be the limit – Facebook, for example, is a one-stop-shop, allowing users to send messages, post pictures, instant message and blog.

It’s a little troublesome that Facebook keeps looking more and more like Twitter, but what’s more confusing is why Facebook would want to follow the Twitter model. Maybe Facebook is trying to stay on top of trends, but is this the right one to follow? So far, research has shown otherwise.

Twitter’s Sustainability

It seems like Twitter has done a good job of creating buzz about their product and making people aware of it. Twitter does have a unique quality, and those who Tweet say that once you get the hang of it, it’s extremely addictive. Others say that Twitter isn’t just a communication tool – it’s a performance that requires a unique approach. Perhaps this is why Twitter doesn’t retain many of it’s its users, and they just need more time. Twitter retention rates have slightly increased over the a longer period of time, and it’s certainly possible that this will continue. At the same time, they need to keep people interested from the start and give businesses a good reason – besides “this is the new thing” – to jump in with them.

Twitter needs a profitable and sustainable business model to survive and stand out among media saturation. If Wolf Blitzer stops talking about his Twitter account on CNN, will Twitter simply fade away? Obviously, it’s too soon to tell. Twitter does have some advantages over Facebook – It’s it could be more scalable (so it has a cost advantage), the advertising potential is great and it’s a much faster communication tool. However, none of this matters if people don’t use it.

“They’re great at creating buzz, but can they keep your attention?”

Newer isn’t always better

With Twitter’s limited function, it’s difficult to believe that it can grow without becoming more like MySpace and Facebook. New applications are being developed for Twitter, and many Twitter fans would say comparing Facebook and Twitter is like comparing apples to oranges. Although Twitter isn’t exactly like MySpace and Facebook, they are similar enough to warrant a comparison. For businesses, these comparisons should matter. Facebook and MySpace didn’t seem to have much of a problem with growing interest in their first few months like Twitter has. According to Nielsen: “We found that even when Facebook and MySpace were emerging networks like Twitter is now, their retention rates were twice as high. When they went through their explosive growth phases, that retention only went up, and both sit at nearly 70 percent today.”

It seems like Twitter might just be a passing fad. If they want to stay up-to-date with their followers, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Ashton Kutcher, and Britney Spears may have to hand over their new-aged Twitter accounts and replace them with a more amped up and versatile “older” medium … perhaps something like … Facebook.com? When it comes to Social Media, companies should be reasonably cautious, even when it is a potentially cutting-edge idea.

Cristina Laipple Want content written for your Brand that shows up #1 on Search Engines and brings you new customers? Contact us.