UK and US Consumers Differ In Twitter Behaviour

by Stratton Craig

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The way brands talk to users on social media is crucial, but in order to create effective interaction brands should also be aware of the way users themselves talk on social sites.

According to a new study from digital marketing agency 360i, there are significant differences between the way UK and US consumers use Twitter and knowing these differences and meeting the needs of users on both sides of the Atlantic can be a card up marketers´ sleeves.

The study revealed that British users were most active on Twitter in the late morning and early afternoon, whereas Americans were more likely to log on after working hours. This finding could give valuable insight to brands in terms of timing, the agency noted.

Similarly, the two nations were largely motivated by different stimuli when they mentioned brands. Overall, brand conversations accounted for a very small proportion of tweets posted in either country but while US users were most likely to mention a brand if they had a negative experience with it, Britons lacked this negativity and frequently mentioned brands just to share a specific experience, without necessarily complaining. They were more likely to tweet about products and services they were pleased with, the research found.

The study also pointed out that UK users preferred to create content and to share content that they believed would be relevant to their followers. By contrast, the majority of Americans were more likely to re-tweet and to share opinions about anything, regardless of whether their followers would be interested.