Digital marketers actively engage with social media and share content from a variety of sources on Twitter. They describe themselves using keywords related to digital marketing and discuss topics like social media, events and popular culture. They share content most often from mainstream media sites, followed by industry media sources. The most influential publishers and people with digital marketers, based on retweets, include Fast Company, Mashable, TechCrunch and thought leaders in digital marketing.
1. Social Media Insights for Decision Makers
Social
Media
Insights:
How
Digital
Marketers
Engage
on
Twi9er
A
special
report
from
Leadtail
in
collabora@on
with:
@Leadtail
May 2014
2. Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Introduc@on
2!
Digital marketers come in many flavors – from digital media to social media to loyalty marketing.
The one thing they have in common? They are leaders and innovators in embracing social media
to engage in conversations, share what interests them, and to do their jobs. These influential
marketers also shape the daily perceptions of millions of consumers and businesses regarding
what an online experience really means.
With that in mind, we developed this report: “How Digital Marketers Engage on Twitter”, using
Leadtail’s Social Media Insights technology to analyze data from Twitter. This report is a follow up
to our 2013 benchmark report about digital marketers.
The goal of this special report is to help you answer questions such as:
} How do digital marketers describe themselves on the Social Web?
} What topics are they talking about?
} Which content sources are these media savvy marketers consuming and sharing?
} Who are the most influential publications and people with digital marketers?
Armed with these social media insights, you can now take a more informed look at your strategy for
reaching, engaging, and influencing digital marketing professionals, and getting them to take the
actions you care about most.
3. Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Methodology
and
Data
Set
3!
The methodology the Leadtail team used to create this report:
1. Identify digital marketers active on social media based on criteria such as job title, type of
company, location etc., to create the target audience data set.
2. Use the Leadtail Social Media Insights technology to extract insights around key social media
activities, such as what links are shared, who is mentioned and retweeted, popular hashtags,
popular platforms used to share content, etc.
3. Review, analyze, and package these insights into this report.
The specific data set analyzed for this report is comprised of:
} 515 North American digital marketers, manager level and above, active on Twitter during
the report period
} Includes brand, corporate, and agency marketers responsible for digital, social, and/or
loyalty/CRM marketing programs
} Total of 122,027 tweets, and 57,009 shared links
} Total follower reach: 3,709,783; median # of followers per marketer: 1,160
} Tweets published between Feb 1, 2014 – Apr 30, 2014
4. Key
Takeaways
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!4!
} Digital marketers are the leaders and innovators when it comes to
embracing emerging media and mobile friendly content such as videos,
pictures, and audio – they are the trendsetters.
} Social media, events, and popular culture are active, top-of-mind
conversations for digital marketers. So playing off what’s currently
happening is a good way to engage these media savvy marketers.
} For many digital marketers, consuming and interacting with mainstream
media is directly part of their job – don’t underestimate its ability to “steer
the conversation” for this highly coveted audience.
} Digital marketers also actively engage with industry media including
marketing, technology, and business news to stay current and informed.
This makes it a key channel for reaching and influencing these marketers.
} Certain publications, brands, and people are highly influential with digital
marketers – these are good starting points for building brand awareness
and driving social amplification.
5. Who
Are
These
Digital
Marketers?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!5!
6. Where
Are
They
Located?
While most digital marketers are located in the major media hubs, many are also
hard at work in metro markets across North America.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
!
6! Based on the location provided in the Twitter profile.
7. How
Do
They
Describe
Themselves?
The way these marketing professionals describe themselves reveals keywords that
can help you reach and engage them across the Social Web.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!7! Based on keywords used in the Twitter profile.
8. What
Do
They
Talk
About?
8! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Hashtags reveal the topics and events, big and small, global and local, that captured
the attention of digital marketing professionals during the report period.
9. Which
Social
Networks
Do
They
Share
From?
9! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
3%
3%
3%
4%
4%
6%
9%
10%
14%
16%
23%
23%
28%
48%
56%
100%
SoundCloud
Flickr
Reddit
Kickstarter
Spotify
Google+
Vimeo
Pinterest
Vine
SlideShare
Foursquare
LinkedIn
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
% of Digital Marketers that shared between this network + Twitter during the report period.
Twitter continues to be a “hub” for
cross-posting content between social
networks, particularly content easily
consumable in both the desktop and
mobile environment like video, pictures,
slides, and audio.
10. How
Do
Digital
Marketers
Engage
with
Content
on
Twi9er?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!10!
11. Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!11!
5%
7%
9%
10%
16%
17%
21%
21%
24%
28%
30%
35%
64%
71%
85%
Vine
Flipboard
Twitter Mobile Web
Buffer
Twitter for Android
TweetDeck
LinkedIn
foursquare
Twitter for iPad
HootSuite
iOS
Instagram
Twitter for iPhone
Tweet Button
Twitter Website
% of Digital Marketers that published at least 1 tweet from this platform during the report period.
What
Apps
+
PlaLorms
Drive
Twi9er
Sharing?
Want Digital Marketers to share
your content? Better make sure it’s
optimized for mobile!
Of the Top 15 apps and platforms
used to share content to Twitter,
nine are primarily or exclusively
mobile experiences.
Desktop
Mobile
12. What
Types
of
Content
Do
They
Share?
12! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
By a slim margin, mainstream media sites are
the most common type of content shared by
digital marketers. The majority of mainstream
media content shared is news, business, and
strategy focused – typically covering broad
business and technology issues and trends.
Industry media plays an important role in
defining the conversations digital marketing
professionals have with each other, their
internal teams, and ultimately clients and
customers. Many of these publications feature
submissions from marketing thought leaders
and experts, and have robust email and social
media distribution that keeps their content in
front of this audience every day.
The social media content shared by digital
marketing professionals includes everything
from slideshows on the state of community
management, to Instagram photos of office
happenings, to cheering on our favorite sports
teams and passing on breaking news.
% of 100 Most Popular Shared Content Sources
Social
Media
12%
Industry
Media
42%
Mainstream
Media
43%
Other
3%
13. Which
Topics
Are
Most
Popular?
13! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Which topics grab the attention of digital marketers? Our analysis of headlines in the content
shared by this audience provides insights into the topics and keywords that engaged them most
during the report period.
14. 11. Entrepreneur
12. Slate
13. WSJ Blogs
14. Washington Post
15. Fast Company Co.Design
16. The Guardian
17. USA Today
18. NPR
19. Medium
20. CNN
21. CNET
22. CNN Money
23. The Atlantic
24. Quartz
25. Fast Company Co.Create
Following are the Top 25 Mainstream Media Content Sources shared by digital marketers
during the report period, based on the number of unique marketers that shared each source.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
What
Are
the
Most
Shared
Mainstream
Sources?
14!
1. New York Times
2. Forbes
3. Huffington Post
4. Fast Company
5. Inc.
6. BuzzFeed
7. The Wall Street Journal
8. HBR Blogs
9. WIRED
10. Time
15. 11. Business2Community
12. The Business Journals
13. Digiday
14. Hubspot Blog
15. Buffer Blog
16. Marketing Land
17. Social Media Today
18. Social Media Examiner
19. Gigaom
20. Search Engine Land
21. Econsultancy
22. ClickZ
23. MarketingProfs
24. Convince & Convert
25. (Tie) Moz, eMarketer
Following are the Top 25 Industry Media Content Sources shared by digital marketers during
the report period, based on the number of unique marketers that shared each source.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
What
Are
the
Most
Shared
Industry
Sources?
15!
1. Mashable
2. Ad Age
3. TechCrunch
4. Business Insider
5. Adweek
6. VentureBeat
7. The Next Web
8. The Verge
9. MediaPost
10. Re/code
16. 11. Kickstarter
12. Spotify
13. SoundCloud
14. Flickr
15. Reddit
Following are the Top 15 Social Media Content Sources shared by digital marketers during the
report period, based on the number of unique marketers that shared each source.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
What
Are
the
Most
Shared
Social
Sources?
16!
1. YouTube
2. Instagram
3. Facebook
4. LinkedIn
5. Foursquare
6. SlideShare
7. Vine
8. Pinterest
9. Vimeo
10. Google+
17. Which
Publishers
and
People
Are
Most
Influen@al
with
Digital
Marketers?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!17!
18. Which
Publishers
Do
Digital
Marketers
Retweet
the
Most?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!18!
As social media continues to
reshape how information is
consumed and shared, creating
high-quality content on a regular
basis is no longer enough to
succeed as a publisher.
Successful publishers must also
develop high-quality social
audiences, and get their content in
front of those audiences on a
regular basis. (After all, you have
to tweet to get retweeted!)
The word cloud to the right reflects
the publishers who are doing the
best job creating content for, and
reaching, digital marketers in a way
that drives retweets of their
content.
19. Top
50
Publishers
Most
Retweeted
by
Digital
Marketers
* Based on unique # of digital marketers in the sample that retweeted the person. Ties broken using Klout score followed by # of followers.
11. @Forbes
12. @HuffingtonPost
13. @TheNextWeb
14. @socialmedia2day
15. @Digiday
16. @FastCoExist
17. @nytimes
18. @forrester
19. @eMarketer
20. @CMO_com
21. @verge
22. @TIME
23. @VentureBeat
24. @Slate
25. @EntMagazine
26. @ForbesTech
27. @FastCoDesign
28. @SAI
29. @smexaminer
30. @Marketingland
31. @FastCoCreate
32. @SocialMedia411
33. @BostInno
34. @RollingStone
35. @washingtonpost
36. @USATODAY
37. @CNET
38. @engadget
39. @Gizmodo
40. @cnnbrk
41. @HistoryInPics
42. @WSJD
43. @businessinsider
44. @OPENForum
45. @Techmeme
46. @MediaPost
47. @BostonGlobe
48. @TheAtlantic
49. @TEDTalks
50. @sengineland
1. @mashable
2. @FastCompany
3. @adage
4. @Inc
5. @HarvardBiz
6. @TechCrunch
7. @WSJ
8. @WIRED
9. @Adweek
10. @BuzzFeed
19!
20. Who
Do
Digital
Marketers
Retweet
the
Most?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!20!
Whether their tweets are timely,
topical, provocative, or data-driven,
the people who digital marketers
retweet the most are an indicator of
who shares content that not only
engages marketers, but drives them
to share it with their networks.
And while it helps to have a unique,
high-visibility occupation (President,
Billionaire, Star Trek Alum) even we
mere mortals can increase our
impact by taking a page from the
playbooks of these influencers.
Each has built a personal brand
based, in large part, on the type and
quality of content they create,
curate, and share.
21. Top
50
People
Most
Retweeted
by
Digital
Marketers
* Based on unique # of digital marketers in the sample that retweeted the person. Ties broken using Klout score followed by # of followers.
11. @MJohnsonLoyalty
12. @rwang0
13. @2morrowknight
14. @richardbranson
15. @brainpicker
16. @markwschaefer
17. @AmberCadabra
18. @jeffbullas
19. @GlenGilmore
20. @MariSmith
21. @ShellyKramer
22. @BrennerMichael
23. @BarackObama
24. @rainnwilson
25. @neiltyson
26. @anildash
27. @AntDeRosa
28. @AnnTran_
29. @BruceVH
30. @nickbilton
31. @petershankman
32. @MarkRaganCEO
33. @danprimack
34. @iSocial_Fanz
35. @MackCollier
36. @badbanana
37. @TedRubin
38. @CHRISVOSS
39. @GerryMoran
40. @bmorrissey
41. @heidicohen
42. @LollyDaskal
43. @StephenAtHome
44. @MagicJohnson
45. @GeorgeTakei
46. @ariannahuff
47. @pmarca
48. @elonmusk
49. @kimgarst
50. @garyvee
1. @jaybaer
2. @ValaAfshar
3. @chrisbrogan
4. @jowyang
5. @leeodden
6. @GuyKawasaki
7. @briansolis
8. @MarketingProfs
9. @dannysullivan
10. @darrenrovell
21!
22. Which
Publishers
Do
Digital
Marketers
Men@on
Most?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!22!
Which publishers digital marketers
mention on Twitter can give us yet
another perspective on the forces
that shape their views on products,
services, and industry trends.
As with mentions of individuals,
mentioning a publication can be a
reference to an experience, a thank
you (or no thanks), a question or
even the highly-coveted social
recommendation. That means
mentions can represent a deeper
level of engagement than a retweet.
In any case, the publications that are
frequently mentioned have captured
mindshare with the digital marketers
that they’re looking to engage.
23. Top
50
Publishers
Most
Men@oned
by
Digital
Marketers
* Based on unique # of digital marketers in the sample that retweeted the person. Ties broken using Klout score followed by # of followers.
11. @smexaminer
12. @BuzzFeed
13. @TIME
14. @MediaPost
15. @Slate
16. @CNET
17. @Adweek
18. @Digiday
19. @HuffingtonPost
20. @USATODAY
21. @EntMagazine
22. @eMarketer
23. @ClickZ
24. @TheNextWeb
25. @VentureBeat
26. @B2Community
27. @guardian
28. @forrester
29. @WIRED
30. @FortuneMagazine
31. @Marketingland
32. @CNN
33. @businessinsider
34. @sengineland
35. @verge
36. @washingtonpost
37. @nprnews
38. @BW
39. @sewatch
40. @socialmedia2day
41. @qz
42. @FastCoDesign
43. @SAI
44. @TheOnion
45. @gigaom
46. @CMO_com
47. @CNNMoney
48. @OPENForum
49. @Medium
50. @CMIContent
1. @mashable
2. @Forbes
3. @FastCompany
4. @nytimes
5. @TechCrunch
6. @adage
7. @Inc
8. @HarvardBiz
9. @LinkedIn
10. @WSJ
23!
24. Who
Do
Digital
Marketers
Men@on
Most?
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!24!
Mentioning a person by name can
mean a few different things in social
media: giving credit to someone for
an idea or piece of content being
shared, engaging someone directly
in conversation, or giving a shout-
out to a person you’ve recently met.
In any context, being mentioned is a
sign that a person is an active part
of the social conversation, and
those mentioned most are the
people you’ll find at the center of
engaging conversations between
digital marketers.
This word cloud shows the people
mentioned most by digital marketers
during the report period.
25. Top
50
People
Most
Men@oned
by
Digital
Marketers
* Based on unique # of digital marketers in the sample that retweeted the person. Ties broken using Klout score followed by # of followers.
11. @mcuban
12. @ValaAfshar
13. @BrennerMichael
14. @dannysullivan
15. @jeffbullas
16. @unmarketing
17. @briansolis
18. @ShellyKramer
19. @JasonFalls
20. @AmberCadabra
21. @HillaryClinton
22. @darrenrovell
23. @DaveKerpen
24. @ScottMonty
25. @mitchjoel
26. @Ekaterina
27. @cc_chapman
28. @PamMktgNut
29. @leeodden
30. @jill_rowley
31. @adamkmiec
32. @avinash
33. @petershankman
34. @armano
35. @ginidietrich
36. @cspenn
37. @AdamSinger
38. @BelleBCooper
39. @StephenAtHome
40. @neiltyson
41. @bryankramer
42. @RSherman_25
43. @randfish
44. @AndyBeal
45. @larrykim
46. @chiefmartec
47. @sherylsandberg
48. @brainpicker
49. @MikeIsaac
50. @TedRubin
1. @jaybaer
2. @MarketingProfs
3. @BarackObama
4. @chrisbrogan
5. @GuyKawasaki
6. @jowyang
7. @markwschaefer
8. @garyvee
9. @jimmyfallon
10. @Pharrell
25!
27. Conclusion
Imagine if you could listen to the daily conversations of digital marketers. How
would you use that information to better reach, engage, and influence these new
media professionals to take the actions you care most about?
For example, would it provide you insights into where to advertise, what content
to create, whom to build relationships with, and how best to develop and
implement your social media strategy? Sure it would.
We created this special report to provide you with social media insights to help
you make more informed decisions about how to reach, engage, and influence
digital marketing professionals.
And since the topics, content sources, and influencers are constantly changing
so, too, are the social media insights.
Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!27!
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28. 28! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
About
PunchTab
We empower agencies and brands to create
dynamic customer experiences that:
• Engage consumers across any touch point
• Track and understand user behavior
• Optimize for more effective marketing
initiatives and communications
For more info email us: sales@punchtab.com
www.punchtab.com
@PunchTab
www.linkedin.com/company/PunchTab
blog.punchtab.com/
PunchTab is the Leading Omni-Channel
Engagement and Insights Platform
29. About
Leadtail
29! Leadtail Social Media Insights for Decision Makers!
Leadtail works with innovative companies to
develop social media strategies and to leverage
social insights research.
The Leadtail team has developed and
implemented social media programs for leading
business brands and venture backed startups
including: WageWorks, Trend Micro, Adaptive
Insights, Peoplefluent, DNN, and NetBase.
Our social media insights reports have been
referenced in major publications including: The
Wall St. Journal, Business Insider, Forbes,
Huffington Post, Adweek, and MarketingProfs.
@Leadtail
www.linkedin.com/companies/Leadtail
www.Leadtail.com/blog/
www.Leadtail.com
Interested in collaborating on a future social insights report? Email us: advertise@leadtail.com