A popular Twitter account is rare (and valuable)

Business Insider recently published a list of 14 must-read Twitter usage charts, and for those of us grumbling about three and four-figure follower numbers, take heart — we’re really rare. Over 60% of Twitter accounts have 5 or fewer followers. Of course, over 70% of Twitter accounts have tweeted less than ten times. They say 90% of success is just showing up, and these Twitter stats seem to back up the claim.

The average Twitter account is abandoned after a month, with less then a dozens tweets or followers to its name. Thus, if you’ve stuck with your Twitter account for more than 30 days and have even a double-figure follower count, you’ve beaten the odds.

Moreover, if you can stick it out to build a viable Twitter presence, you’re sitting on marketing gold. Roughly half (45%) of Twitter users are in the coveted 18 to 34 age demographic, and and another quarter are in the valuable 35-49 demo. Fifty-eight percent of Twitter users have a household income over $60,000, and 30% earn at least $100,000 annually. That’s the income sweet spot, boys and girls.

Put simply: If you’ve been on Twitter for more than a month and have over 100 followers, you’ve already won. And in this case, winning means establishing a viable marketing presence in front of an engaged audience of active buyers with plenty of disposable income. You may not have much reach by traditional measures, but you’re vastly outperforming most of your Tweeting competitors and you’re accessing a rich vein of potential customers.

Keeping score on Twitter involves a different scale of numbers than traditional media plays by, but just because your follower count is small doesn’t mean your Twitter account has failed. If you’ve invested any time and effort into Twitter, you’ve developed a valuable asset. Don’t denigrate it, don’t abandon it, and don’t think it’s easily replaced if lost.

Hope you’ve got a backup plan.

Tweet