The Value of a Tweet

March 30th, 2011 - by Jeff Mascott

Cross-posted from K Street Cafe

Last week, event registration site Eventbrite released data indicating that an individual Facebook “Like” is capable of driving more sales than a single tweet.  The study used in-house social analytics tools to track ticket sales, finding that the average tweet drove $0.80 in sales as compared to the average Facebook Like, which drove $1.34.

It may very well be that Facebook is a better tool for direct marketing to the general population.  But Eventbrite’s findings – and the media coverage that followed – miss the point about Twitter’s value.

Because Eventbrite’s findings were focused on how often the general population signs up for event, it’s not surprising that Facebook would win the head-to-head battle with Twitter.  As I have written before, the Twitter-Facebook divide can be explained by an analogy to two important but very different Inside-the-Beltway publications.  Facebook is best compared to Politico: both appeal to the general population and have a high volume of users/readers.

Twitter, in contrast, is about influencing the influencers.  Twitter is more like the National Journal of the social media world: it has a smaller user base, but the users themselves are more media-savvy and connected.

A study performed by ExactTarget last fall shows the influence of Twitter users.   The email marketing company found that active Twitter users’ reach goes far beyond Twitter: 72% of Twitter users publish blog posts at least monthly, 70% comment on blogs, 61% comment on news sites, and 61% write at least one product review monthly.

Morgan Stewart, the principal of ExactTarget’s research and education group, commented that the study’s findings showed “that even though the number of active Twitter users is less than Facebook or email, the concentration of highly engaged and influential content creators is unrivaled.”

If your goal is to sell tickets to a particular event, Facebook may be the right place to focus your efforts.  But ignoring Twitter altogether is a mistake – it is the best place to engage with content creators whose influence and connections extend far beyond the site itself.

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