Twitter may be one of the great micro-blogging platform which has been quite a success in celebrities’ engagement and awareness but the actual usage – which essentially matters the most for any product/service – are not on very high demanding ground. A recent study by eMarketer exposes that only about 8% of U.S. population actually uses the Twitter despite of 92% awareness among people.
Back in 2008, hardly 5% of US consumers have heard about Twitter service and mere 1% adopted services for daily use. In last four years, Twitter has come a long way and today 92% people in US are well aware about the brand.
However, the growth has been stabilized in last 2 years. In 2010, 7% of US population was already using Twitter and by 2011 the appreciation was just 1% against the 5% in awareness.
Look at this comparative analysis: Facebook which is also known for colossal reach and awareness, around 42.3% of online consumers use its service regularly. While both the platform are known for information sharing and distribution, Facebook represents tighter grip over the awareness-usage gap.
Twitter is still a niche service that appeals to influencers, media professionals, celebrities and marketers, but it hasn’t yet broken through to the everyday consumer looking to share information with a network of like-minded individuals. Despite the smaller user base and smaller bucket of revenue, Twitter has been recognized as much over-valued company in online ecosystem with $7.8 billion valuation.
Twitter is also aware of such shortfalls and trying every possible way to have improved connectivity with the larger user base. The newly redesigned website, update of mobile apps, acquisition of third-party Twitter client App Company and experiment with different email notification features are showing-off Twitter’s desperation and commitment towards the market.
Twitter has been appreciated at the various forum for its idea and functionality, the only thing they need is the real connect with people and if the company can perform to do so, a long success way is ahead for the company.
