Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send short 280-character messages called tweets. According to recent social media industry figures, Twitter currently ranks as one of the leading social networks worldwide based on active users. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, Twitter had 192 million monetizable daily active users (mDAU) worldwide. Registered users can read and post tweets as well as follow other users via update feed. As of March 2021, former U.S. President Barack Obama was the most-followed celebrity on Twitter with nearly 130 million followers.
In 2019, the company’s revenue amounted to 3.46 billion U.S. dollars with a net income of over 1.47 billion U.S. dollars. The majority of company revenues are generated via advertising. The company went public in November 2013 and is ranked as one of the largest U.S. internet companies with a market capitalization of approximately 33 billion U.S. dollars as of February 2021.
Twitter has consistently been named as one of the most popular social networks of teenagers in the United States. However, in recent survey periods, the social network has lost most of its market share to mobile competitor Instagram and more importantly, Snapchat.
Recent social media data also proves that Twitter usage is becoming increasingly prominent during events. Live-tweeting happenings such as sporting events or television airings has become a popular way for consumers to engage online with others while sharing their thoughts on current experiences. According to industry measurements, TV series such as AMC’s The Walking Dead or HBO’s Game of Thrones are currently ranked amongst the most popular television series online, based on their Twitter online buzz per episode and Twitter audience size. Twitter has also become an increasingly important tool in politics, with many elected officials, governments, and ministries having official Twitter accounts to make announcements and engage with the general population.
Best Time to Post on Twitter
Like Facebook, people use Twitter on both mobile devices and desktop computers, both at work and at home. How it’s used also depends heavily on the audience — but people often treat it like an RSS feed, and something to read during downtimes in their day, like commutes, work breaks, and so on.
- Good times to tweet average around 8 to 10 a.m., as well as 6 – 9 p.m. — which makes sense, given that it correlates with both morning and evening commutes.
- B2C companies have the most hours to choose from where they would see heightened clickthrough rates on their content: 8 to 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and then 7 to 9 p.m.
- If your goal is to maximize retweets and click throughs, aim for noon or 5 to 6 p.m.
- For B2C companies, the best days to tweet are weekends. For B2B companies, the best days to tweet are weekdays. Coincidence? Not really. If you think about it, people shop for business needs when they’re working (weekdays) and personal needs when they’re off work (weekends).
When is the Best Time to Post on Twitter Networks?
Twitter is a high-volume network and it works best when you have a steady stream of relevant content. But, can you expect more engagement and clicks at certain times of day?
- B2C Businesses: People use Twitter all day because it’s so frequently updated, but catching people when they’re waking up and winding down lines up with when most people do their heaviest web browsing.
- B2B Businesses: That’s (mostly) true whether you’re in B2C or B2B.
- Software Businesses: Promoting software services on Twitter deviates somewhat from other B2B and B2C verticals, in that it’s best to catch people when they’re in a work mindset and are taking a break from their tasks, or heading home.
- Healthcare Companies: Mornings and evenings are your bread and butter for healthcare.
- Media Companies: Media companies and bloggers are some of the heaviest publishers of Twitter content. While it’s advisable to maintain a consistent stream of content throughout the day here, these are the times you can expect the most engagement.
- Higher Education: Stick to mornings and evenings here.
Twitter Network Summary
- B2C: 8 am-10 am, Noon, 7 pm-9 pm
- B2B: 7 am-8 am, 11 am, 6 pm, 9 pm
- Software Services: 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm
- Healthcare: 9 am, 6 pm
- Media: 6 am-7 am, 11 am, 7 pm-8 pm, 10 pm
- Higher Education: 8 am, 5 pm, 7 pm, 9 pm
Other Sources
And of course, here’s what other research says:
- According to a Buffer analysis of over 4 million tweets, posing between 2am and 3am gets the most clicks on Twitter.
- TrackMaven pins down the best time at 5 pm on Thursday.
- Hubspot suggests noon to 3 pm or 5pm as the best times.
- Falcon.io says noon is the definitive best time, with 5pm as the runner-up.
- Bootcamp Digital simply suggests posting 2 to 10 (or more) times per day, spread throughout the day.
- QuickSprout suggests avoiding weekends, and also says that CTRs are highest between noon and 6 pm.
- Raka Creative suggests posting at 7-8 am, noon, or 5-6 pm between Tuesday and Thursday.
- PostPlanner keeps it simple and suggests the best time is at 5 pm on Thursdays.
Network Tips:
- Twitter is a high-volume platform.
- Mix original and curated content.
- Maintain a steady stream of tweets.
| Active Users | 353 M |
| Business Type | B2C/B2B |
| Marketing Tools | Hashtags, Promoted Tweets |
| Ideal for | Latest News/ Content/ Stories, Influencer Marketing and Relationship |
| Aim at | Increasing Brand Awareness, Building Better Customer Support Channel |
Twitter Demographic Stats
- Twitter has 211 million daily active users, while the monthly active users are 353 million.
- 83% of the world’s leaders are on Twitter.
- 79% of users of Twitter are not from the U.S.
- 38.5% of global Twitter users are aged between 25 and 34 years.
- 77.8 million active users are from the U.S., while 58.2 million users are from Japan and 24.5 million active users from India.
- 29.6% of Twitter users are female, and 70.4% are men.
- 7.1% of all people aged 13 and above use Twitter.
- 42% of all Twitter users are college graduates.
- 77% of Twitter users earn more than $75,000+ each year.
Twitter Usage Stats
- 26% of U.S. users check Twitter multiple times in a day.
- 46% of all Twitter users visit the platform daily.
- 25% of users use the app every week, while 71% visit at least weekly.
- The average time spent on Twitter is 3 minutes and 39 seconds.
- 12% of U.S. users rely on Twitter for news.
- The total number of tweets sent per day is 500 million.
- The half-life of a tweet is 24 minutes.
- The daily limit is 2400 tweets and 1000 messages per day.
- 9281 tweets are sent in one second.
- There are 200 billion tweets per year.
- 80% of the active users access Twitter via smartphones.
- Twitter’s total website traffic is 3 times the actual active user base.
Twitter Engagement Stats
- 79% of marketers have continued leveraging Twitter Spaces.
- The average number of hashtags used each day on Twitter is 125 million.
- Tweets with hashtags have witnessed engagement by 100% for individuals and 50% for brands.
- Using 1-2 hashtags can get you 21% more engagement.
- Tweets with more than 2 hashtags might have 17% lesser engagement.
- Hashtagged tweets have a 55% more chance of being retweeted.
- A user on Twitter has an average of 707 followers.
- 391 million followers have no followers at all.
- The top 10% of tweeters contribute 92% of tweets in the U.S.
- Twitter’s timeline generates +31% higher emotional connection and +28% higher levels of memorability versus the social media average.
- “Face with Tears of Joy” is used 14.5 billion times, making it the most used emoji on Twitter.
- Tweets with a GIF gain 55% more engagement than those without.
- People watch 2 billion videos on Twitter daily.
Twitter Business Stats
- 67% of B2B businesses use Twitter as their marketing tool.
- 85% of SMB users on Twitter say providing customer service is important.
- 53% of Twitter users are likely to be the first purchasers of new products.
- Companies using Twitter for customer service see a 19% lift in customer satisfaction.
- 50% of consumers use Twitter, while 36% follow brands on Twitter.
- 40% of the users admitted purchasing something they saw on Twitter.
- 92% of companies tweet more than once a day.
- 93% of brand followers on Twitter plan to buy from them.
- 69% of brand followers on Twitter have already purchased from them.
Twitter Ads Insights
- 436 million people can be reached with adverts on Twitter.
- Ads with no hashtag received 23% more engagement.
- Marketers on Twitter can reach 7.1% of the 13+ age group population with adverts.
- 29.6% of ad audiences are female, and 70.4% are male.
- The highest reach ranking of Twitter ads is witnessed in the U.S., followed by Japan.
- The majority of ad audiences on Twitter are males from the age group of 25-34 and females from the 18-24 age group.
- The advertising revenue of Twitter grew 87% year on year.
- Everyday revenue from location-based targeting campaigns increased by 7 times.
- Advertisers saw a rise of 89% in video completion rates.
- Total ad engagement increased by 32% year on year.
- Around 164 million ads are shown on Twitter daily
Twitter Top Brands
- CNN Breaking News’s Twitter profile has 61.8 million followers.
- CNN’s Twitter profile has 55.7 million followers.
- The New York Times’s Twitter profile has 51.2 million followers.
- Nasa has 50.7 million followers on Twitter.
- BBC Breaking News has 48.6 million followers on Twitter.
Twitter Trends
- Ultimate Source of News: No matter what happens around the world, it trends on Twitter first. Twitter acts as the first info-point for people to get the breaking news and trends. It’s where people get their news and share their views. According to research, 67% of U.S adults get their news from social media, out of which 12% of Americans prefer news from Twitter.
- Dominance of Space: Audio rooms continue to accelerate their growth on Twitter. If you still don’t know, Twitter has a feature called Space, an audio chat room where other users can join in. If you follow someone who is hosting Space or is a Speaker in one, a purple bubble appears at the top of your timeline till the conversation continues.
- Live Shopping on Twitter: With online shopping booming around the social media ecosystem, Twitter is set to give its users and platform shopping experience. Twitter’s Revenue Product Lead Bruce Falck said, “We know people come to Twitter to interact with brands and discuss their favorite products. Imagine easily discovering and purchasing a new skincare product or trendy sneaker from a brand you follow in only a few clicks.”
- Trending Industries On Twitter: Updates and features can only take you so far. Interacting on important topics for your audience is the key to great engagement. Do you know what conversation matters for your audience? Twitter’s latest report jotted down 8 trending topics to help brands connect with the audience in 2022; AlcBev, Finance, Food, Health, Media & Entertainment, Personal Care, Sports, and Tech.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text