Category Archives: Marketing

Follow-Up: The Canadian Twitterer

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Danielle| 1 Comment

I posted previously on the number of Canadians on Twitter which I calculated from reputable statistics but since they were written in my little paper notebook I did not note the source. This post should redeem me hopefully as I received several requests to provide further information.

What initially prompted my first post was that the only figure I could readily find on the number of Canadians on Twitter was 47% percent. I found it very difficult, if not impossible, to believe this number. Given that the results were gleaned from a survey by a Vancouver internet marketing firm I supposed that likely their database consisted of people who have a high likelihood of using Twitter.

200,000,000 Twitter Accounts > 2.5% Canadian Traffic = 5,000,000 Canadian Twitter Accounts = 14.5% of Canadians have a Twitter Account

or 19.9% of Canadians with Internet Access Have a Twitter Account

5,000,000 > 43% True Twitter Users = 2,150,000 True Twitter Users in Canada = 6.2% of Canadians are True Twitter Users

5,000,000 >  20% more than 500 Tweets = 1,000,000 Canadian Twitter Users with More than 500 Tweets = 2.9% of Canadians have in excess of 500 Tweets

This might not seem like a lot, but let me put it this way. In Canada you are more likely to have a Twitter account than…

  • Have diabetes
  • Own a pet other than a dog or cat
  • Have voted for the Bloc Quebecois in the 2011 election

Now that we know how many Canadians are using Twitter, how are they using it? I have asked this question for a while, and I have had some people observe that Canadians use Twitter just like everybody else. But I am a firm believer that around the world people are using technologies in different ways that are most appropriate culturally. Canadians are no different and no less distinct.

The following are the results from my Twitter In Canada survey. The survey received 85 responses and it appears that many of the responses came from Ontario. This survey was shared from my Twitter account and was retweeted several times by many Canadians across the country, however I do believe that geographical proximity of followers was a constraint in distributing this properly across all provinces.

Popularity: 24% [?]

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Tactile Online Shopping: Mission Impossible & The Apple Mobs

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Danielle| Leave a comment

Despite the fact that consumers are spending record amounts of time “connected” and shopping research is primarily done online, purchases are still being made offline – the main deterrent in making online purchases is the lack of tactile experience in online shopping.* I have to wonder if this is even something that is possible.

I can’t deny it – I love the feeling of being in a brick and mortar store, holding a product that I want to buy in my hands, turning it around, maybe reading the side of the box of pressing on the buttons, looking it over as though I still am not sure I am going to buy it (even though I know I am, I have already researched it online). Or maybe I feel the material between my fingers, or smell the fragrance of the perfume, or sit on it to see if it is comfortable. I did some searching around and I found a few seemingly defunct projects aimed at making a “touch-like” interface for online shoppers but these are animations and no different than videos essentially. And color swatches are helpful too. But in the end, people like to see and possibly try a product before buying it. That is…

Unless you’re Apple. Apple products, pre-ordered online in large numbers, often selling out before shipping date. Just some videos and pictures to go on. (I can’t do it, I will bide my time until they are in-store) Somehow Apple has found a secret recipe for e-commerce success without the need for a tactile shopping experience, which begs the questions how did they do that and how can retailers scale this to their much larger number of products.

Well – I think the idea is, “the cool kids” buy Apple products and anticipate them and everyone wants want “the cool kids” want, these are the influencers and enthusiasts. Retailers can scale by finding the influencers and enthusiasts within their niche to listen, learn and engage to hear what they have to say about their brand and products already, and to give them something to talk about too. These “cool kids” within your consumer niche are the people most likely to shop more, most likely to share recommendations, most likely to voice their opinion.

* North American Technographics Retail Online Survey, Q1 2008-2009

Popularity: 14% [?]

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A Survey: The Who and Why of Twitter in Canada

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Danielle| 1 Comment

So we have an estimate of how many Canadians are on Twitter but what we all want to know is who are the Canadians on Twitter and why are they using it.

I have put together a short survey to learn more about how Canadians are using Twitter – so if you have a Twitter account and currently reside in Canada please respond to the following survey and definitely tweet the link.

Continue reading →

Popularity: 17% [?]

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How Many Canadians Are On Twitter?

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Danielle| 6 Comments

Twitter is a social communication tool – while it is useful for brands in communicating to their customers and for allowing consumers to share the brand to their followers, in Canada the use of Twitter in this respect does have some limitations (for some) and opportunities (for others). While this should not discount anyone getting a Twitter account, the level of investment should vary based on the suitability of the brand for social media marketing via Twitter.

Twitter In Canada: The Numbers

So how many people are there  using Twitter in Canada anyways? Is it worth it? At the end of the day, is it a numbers things? Getting a clear answer on how many users there are in Canada is not easy. There are no good estimates – I found one indicating 40% of Canadians use Twitter which clearly is wrong.

First some facts about Twitter and Canada:

  1. There are 75 million users on Twitter
  2. 80% of users tweet have fewer than 10 tweets, 40% have never tweeted
  3. 4.36% of Twitter users are from Canada
  4. The population of Canada is 34,074,000

The facts armed with some basic percentages math and here is what I come up with:

  • 9.59% of Canadians have a Twitter account – 3 270 000 Canadians
  • 1.9% more than 10 tweets – 654 000 Canadians

I am guessing that a vast majority of Twitter users in Canada are either from the early adopters/tech segment or corporate/business accounts interested in social media marketing for their products and services. This being said, the potential of Twitter must not be overhyped but on the other hand, should not be underestimated.

Twitter In Canada: The Users

I will leave the corporate/business accounts aside, those being more relevant to a discussion on B2B marketing – here I want to focus on B2C marketing with regards to the “early adopters” that are currently using Twitter in Canada.

Most Twitter users in Canada are between the age of 15-24 – you have a younger, with-the-times group that enjoys technology. They are savvy about how technology works and likely have been marketed to online in many ways throughout the years and are more likely to “learn for themselves” than just trust the word of a stranger. They spend a great deal of time “connected”. There are subgroups within this as well, but generally these qualities are common among personal Twitter users in Canada. This group wants consumer electronics and gadgets, software, gaming, music, news, events, technology updates, interesting products. They want innovation, creativity, sincerity. And if this group likes your product they will recommend it and people will be more likely to listen to their recommendations.

Twitter In Canada: The Bottom Line

Sure, 654 000 Canadians sounds like small peanuts, especially when you consider not all accounts are personal accounts. But when you consider that Twitter accounts are integrated to Facebook and other social media platforms and that tweets spread via word of mouth as well, the power of Twitter cannot be discounted. Especially when you consider the power of the group wielding the accounts.

Update: Follow-up post about Canadian Twitterers in May 2011 with new statistics and sources, accompanied by results from Twitter in Canada survey

Popularity: 61% [?]

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Should Marketers Care About Social Games Like Farmville?

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Danielle| Leave a comment

I have never played Farmville on Facebook – I don’t have the time and frankly the uber geek in me says it is just a lesser Harvest Moon. But then again: Farmville has about 80 million active users and 31 million daily users; a kid just racked up 4-digit debt on Facebook to play the game; and companies are paying to have branded crops on Farmville. Social games have become mass market and with their relatively short development cycle and smaller investment in comparison to box games, brands need to start taking notice to capitalize on this in new creative ways.

Successful social games often exhibit the following properties:

  • user messaging that allows people playing the games to alert their friends of what they are doing in the game
  • sharing and gifting of items in the game space
  • the need to nurture the game by returning frequently to complete game tasks
  • and of course some form of monetization, whether it be through micro-payments or lead generation

Fun, viral games are not new, but the Facebook platform has added a new dimension to the possibilities of social gaming. The large user base and the amount of time spent on Facebook.com worldwide makes it a great platform for launching games that include a social element. After all, these games are played by groups of friends and the interaction between friends is the added value in these online games.

Marketers should care about social gaming because this is a new way for consumers to interact with products and brands – marketers who want to showcase products are trying to do so to people who just want to have fun. Brands and products can be manipulated in social game interface giving consumers what they want all the while ensuring objects are manipulated to convert to sales.

Do you think social games are a waste of time? Do you know of any interesting branded social games that we should keep an eye out for?

Popularity: 10% [?]

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