Just as My Space and Facebook before it, social-networking site Twitter has truly gone mainstream in the US as a recent report showed that 87pc of all Americans know what the microblogging site is.
This figure of 87pc awareness around Twitter in 2010 is in stark contrast to the mere 5pc of Americans who knew what the service was back in 2008.
Interestingly though, while the bulk of those in the US know what Twitter is they do not seem to engage with it either to the same extent or in the same manner as they do with Facebook.
Currently, 7pc (17 million) of those in the US actively use Twitter while 41pc keep their Facebook profile page updated on a regular basis.
Twitter users like to update via mobile
Twitter users are of a certain nature: almost two-thirds use the service through a mobile phone. One in five regular Twitter users updates the service via mobile phone several times per day, while one in three do so at least once daily.
Breaking down the demographics, Twitter users in the US are 53pc female, and the majority – 33pc – are aged between 25 and 33 while the second largest age group – at 19pc – are those aged from 35 to 44.
Edison Research also found that there are more African-Americans on Twitter per head of the population than on Facebook or other social-networking sites. Twenty-four per cent of US Twitter users are African-American and 51pc are Caucasian, while 17pc are Hispanic, 3pc Asian and 5pc other.
30pc of users have a college degree
The research also found that many Twitter users – 30pc – have a college degree, while 23pc had between one and three years of college education.
More likely to engage with brands
While many people hold Twitter accounts, not as many update regularly like Facebook users, but they are more inclined to engage with brands through the service, it was found. And this is good news for marketers because 19pc of those polled as regular Twitter users said agreed that they are amongst the first to buy/try new products whilst a further 25pc said they like to buy/try products before others.
The survey also has some interesting insights into how tech savvy the average Twitter user is: 39pc own three or more computers, 85pc access the web from at least two different locations and 73pc still love to text, sending SMS messages several times a day from their handset.
By Marie Boran
Photo: Some 87pc of Americans are aware of Twitter today, whereas only 5pc of Americans knew of the microblogging site in 2008, Edison Research has found
