80% of Active Daily Twitter Users Are Mobile and International

Yesterday we posted about what happens in a Twitter minute. Ultimately, the infographic shows Twitter’s growth since going public a year ago. The site has gained more than 80 million monthly active users over the past year, and according to the Simply Measured Q3 2014 report, top brands are using Twitter in more sophisticated ways.

Ninety-eight percent of the top international brands, which Simply Measured refers to as the Interbrand 100, have a Twitter account. Seventy percent of the same brands have more than 100,000 followers — an increase of 12 percent year-over-year. Brands are also tweeting 22 percent more, and tweet engagement for the Interbrand 100 has increased 83 percent year-over-year.

The report indicates that hashtag usage increased overall, but tweets using more than one hashtag decreased significantly. According to Simply Measured senior analyst Kevin Shively, the Interbrand 100 is becoming more sophisticated about their use of hashtags in general.

“Brands don’t want to seem spammy and realize that they can accomplish some of the same reach goals using more targeted hashtags,” he says.

Still, some brands have taken a different approach. In fact, while the use of multiple hashtags among the Interbrand 100 has decreased, engagement with tweets using more than one hashtag increased nearly 60 percent. Shively says multiple hashtags work for some brands because it increases discoverability.

“The [brands] using more than one hashtag in a tweet are doing so carefully, and really being thoughtful about how they’re doing it.”

Interestingly, 80 percent of Twitter’s active users are on mobile, and the vast majority (77 percent) are outside of the U.S. This speaks to Twitter’s new “mobile first” value proposition and it’s goal of becoming the social network with the most daily use, says Shively.

“It’s so much easier to access Twitter on your phone than almost any other network,” he says.

Shively also says that the international audience represents an opportunity for brands. However, he warns brands to be thoughtful about cultural differences. Companies have gotten into trouble repackaging content that worked in the U.S. but fell flat in other areas.

“Make sure you have a targeted strategy for whatever country or region you’re targeting.”

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