Key Twitter stats
Let's start by looking at some important Twitter stats that provide insight into the platform's popularity and success.
1. Number of employees.
Twitter has over 1,100 employees
On October 28, 2022, during Elon Musk's first day at the head of Twitter, the blue bird social network had 7,400 employees worldwide and 5,500 contract workers (the latter largely responsible for moderation).
1 month later, there were only 1,000 employees left out of 7,400, and 1,100 contract workers out of 5,500.
This represents a decrease of 6,400 people on the employee side (-86% of the workforce), and 4,400 people on the contract side (-80%). All in just 23 days.
These employees are spread across 35 offices in countries around the world.
Source: Latribune.fr
2. Number of monetizable active users.
Twitter has 192 million monetizable daily active users...
By “monetizable,” we only mean accounts that can display ads on the platform.
The number of monetizable users represents just over half of the total number of users on the platform, which means that a large portion of Twitter's user base does not contribute to advertising revenue.
Twitter is shaking up the ad revenue game with its new sharing system.
However, for now, not all countries have access to this innovative service - requiring a Blue subscription.
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As other regions take up Twitter's groundbreaking feature and in turn launch their own Blue subscriptions, many nations outside of America can expect to join in the fun!
3.Number of active users.
Twitter currently has over 335 million active users in total.
That only places it at around 16th place in a list of top social platforms by users.
Indeed, if you only consider the total number of users, Twitter is not even in the top 10 of the most popular social platforms.
For comparison purposes, Facebook has over 2.7 billion users, which is nearly 8 times more than Twitter.
4. Daily use
52% of Twitter users in the United States use the platform every day...
Twitter users seem to be quite active. The majority of them log on at least once a day to get a glimpse of what's going on in the world.
5. Monthly use.
Nearly 96% of Twitter uses it at least once a month
The vast majority of Twitter users open the app at least once a month, which proves once again that Twitter has a very active and engaged user base.
Source: Statista1
6. Twitter revenue.
2021 was a big year for Twitter, with the social platform registering an impressive 35% increase in revenue compared to the 8 to 13% growth in the previous two years!
With a total value of 5 billion dollars, this only further demonstrates the influence and profitability of this communications powerhouse.
The vast majority of this revenue comes from advertisers, but some also come from data licensing and other revenue sources.
Despite a 25% drop in revenue, Twitter was able to cut losses by an impressive 80% in fiscal 2021 compared to 2020.
Advertising remains their main source of revenue, but data licenses still contribute significantly with nearly $570 million generated.
Twitter user demographics
Next, let's take a look at some Twitter user statistics. The statistics below tell us more about who Twitter users are.
7. Age of Twitter users.
38.5% of Twitter users are between the ages of 25 and 34
Looking at the global distribution of Twitter users by age, it's clear that this platform is preferred by millennials.
38.5% of users are between the ages of 25 and 34, while 20.7% are between the ages of 35 and 49. This means that the majority of Twitter's user base is in the 25 to 49 age group.
8. School curriculum for users.
42% of Twitter users have a college degree or higher
The average Twitter user is better educated than the national average. Only 31% of Americans have a college degree, compared to 42% of Twitter users.
9. Average user earnings.
41% of Twitter users earn over $75,000 per year
Not only are Twitter users more educated, they also tend to earn more. 41% of users earn more than 75,000 euros per year, but only 32% of American adults can say the same.
Source: Pew Research Center2
10. Countries that have the most users.
There are approximately 76.9 million Twitter users in the United States.
- Japan comes in 2nd position, with 58.95 million users,
- India in 3rd position with 23.6 million
- The United Kingdom in 4th position with 17.55 million.
What's interesting is that, if you compare the number of Twitter users in each country to that country's total population, you'll find that Twitter has comparatively much greater market penetration in tier 1 countries than in emerging/developed countries like India.
This is not true for other social platforms as well.
For example, Facebook has more users in India than in any other country.
11. 68.5% of Twitter users are men
While only 31.5% are women. For some reason, Twitter has a much less balanced gender distribution than other social networks and is clearly favoured by men.
For comparison purposes, 49% of Instagram users are women, while 51% are men.
Twitter usage statistics
Now that we know who uses Twitter, let's see how they use it. Here are a few statistics that give us insight into how Twitter users interact with the platform.
12. Percentage of brands that follow.
79% of Twitter users follow brands
Unlike Facebook, where most users only interact with friends and family, many Twitter users follow and engage with brands they love.
13. Percentage of users who create content.
10% of Twitter users are responsible for 92% of Tweets
The average Twitter user doesn't tweet much — just once a month on average. However, a small group of the most active Twitter users tweet 157 times per month, on average.
Influencers are the ones who create the cultural conversation.
14. Percentage who get news from Twitter.
71% of users get news from Twitter
This makes Twitter one of the most news-focused social platforms, alongside Facebook, Reddit, and youtube.
15. Average time per session.
The average Twitter user spends 3.53 minutes per session on the platform.
This figure is actually quite low and puts Twitter behind competing platforms like Facebook (4.82 minutes), Reddit (4.96 minutes), and even Tumblr (4.04 minutes).
TikTok is the big winner when it comes to average session length, with the average user spending 10.85 minutes on the app.
Twitter marketing statistics
Thinking of using Twitter to market your business? Here's what you need to know first.
16. Marketers who use Twitter.
82% of B2B content marketers use Twitter
This figure is based on data from the Content Marketing Institute and represents the number of marketers who used the platform for organic content marketing over a 12-month period.
Twitter is on par with Facebook, which is also used by 82% of B2B marketers. Only LinkedIn was more popular - it was used by 96% of B2B marketers.
Source: Content Marketing Institute
17. Twitter ROI VS Other Platforms
Twitter generates a 40% higher return on investment than other social channels.
The return on investment is often difficult to calculate, especially when it comes to social networks. However, according to the Twitter Agency Playbook, Twitter is the big winner when it comes to the return on advertising investment.
Statistics show that Twitter generates a return on investment that is around 40% higher than other platforms.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
18. Viewing time of ads vs competitors
People spend 26% more time watching ads on Twitter than on other social platforms.
If you want to ensure that your ad content is genuinely enjoyed and consumed, Twitter may be the ideal platform for your campaign.
According to Twitter for Business, people spend about a quarter more time watching ads on Twitter than watching ads elsewhere online.
19. Influence on purchasing decisions.
Two-thirds of Twitter users influence the buying decisions of friends and family
Twitter's advertising reach is not limited to its direct users. According to the Twitter Agency Playbook report, over 60% of Twitter users also influence the buying decisions of close friends and family.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
20. Impact of Twitter on early adopters.
Twitter users are about 1.5 times more likely to be the first to buy new products.
Twitter users are known for being early followers and for loving trying new things. Compared to the average online population, they are 1.5 times more likely to be the first to buy new products.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
21. Launch announcements.
Twitter users spend twice as long watching launch ads as on other platforms.
Twitter users are big consumers of launch ads and new product content. They spend twice as much time watching launch ads as on other social media platforms.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
22. Impact of Twitter on your sales.
You are 2.3 times more likely to reach your key performance indicators if you market new product launches on Twitter.
As you can see, including Twitter in your launch plans is critical.
Twitter users love to try new things, so it's a great platform for product discovery and a great place to market new releases.
23. Brand spending on Twitter and Influence.
Research has shown an 88% correlation between Twitter use and the public's perception of a brand's cultural relevance.
That makes sense, given Twitter's place in the social space. It's the ultimate real-time public conversation platform, and it's where brands go to reinforce their cultural relevance.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
24. Brand relevance on Twitter and revenue.
Again, there is another correlation - 73% between cultural relevance and income. So it's a useful platform for marketers and businesses looking to increase revenue, which is everyone's the case, right?
25. Focus on visual elements.
97% of Twitter users focus on visuals
As this statistic shows, Twitter is a visual platform. So it's important to make sure you include eye-catching visuals in your Tweets if you want to maximize engagement.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
26. Twitter Amplify Pre-Roll.
Using Twitter Amplify generates 68% more awareness.
Twitter Amplify allows marketers to monetize video content that can reach Twitter audiences at scale.
According to Twitter, Amplify increases awareness by 68% and the association with the message by 24%.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
27. Influence of automatic reading ads.
Timeline takeovers generate 3x more ad reminders and awareness.
Timeline takeover is a type of mass placement that places your auto-playing video ads at the top of users' timelines for 24 hours.
These ads are very effective in building brand awareness and perform better than other types of Twitter ads.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
28. Repeats of trends.
Trend resumptions generate a 3 times higher message association and 9 times higher favorability measures.
As above, this is a type of advertising placement that “takes control” of the users' tab.
Trend takeovers place your ads next to what's trending at the top of the Explore tab. This type of announcement is extremely effective when it comes to combining a message and making it favorable.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
29. 1st platform for interacting with brands
If you're looking to establish a strong social media presence for your brand and engage with your customers, Twitter is the perfect place to do it.
According to the Twitter Agency Playbook report, Twitter is the leading social media platform for interaction between consumers and brands.
30. Advertising commitment.
Twitter saw a 35% increase in overall ad engagement year-over-year.
Twitter is becoming increasingly popular with marketers thanks to high levels of advertising engagement.
Participation in advertising campaigns on the platform has increased year by year at a rate of around 35%, making it an extremely attractive option for marketers and businesses.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
Twitter post statistics
Twitter is popular with a wide range of demographics, and news topics on the platform often vary wildly. Here are a few Twitter stats that shed some light on the types of topics that users have been discussing on Twitter over the past few years.
31. Number of tweets created per day.
At least 500 million tweets are sent every day.
If you're curious, that's about 6,000 Tweets per second, 350,000 per minute, or 200 billion per year.
This data from Internet Live Stats was updated in 2013, but Twitter usage has likely increased significantly since then. In fact, as I write this, over 650 million Tweets have been sent today.
32. Most used hashtags.
As you can imagine, the most used hashtag in 2020 was #COVID19, which was tweeted nearly 400 million times if you include similar variants.
Other popular hashtags this year were also related to the pandemic, such as #StayHome which ranked 3rd. #BlackLivesMatter was the second most tweeted hashtag of the year.
Today the most popular hashtags in the world are the following:
- #competition
- #influencer
- #influencermarketing
- #fridayfeeling
- #MondayMotivation
- #tbt
- #traveltuesday
- #vegan
- #fitness
33. Tweets about TV shows and movies.
Twitter is popular with TV and movie lovers, with over 7,000 Tweets per minute posted about TV and movies in 2020.
Some of the most popular TV topics in 2020 include Big Brother Brazil, Grey's Anatomy, and of course Tiger King!
34. Tweets about cooking.
Since then, the closures have caused more people to spend time at home, so a large portion of the global population has spent much more time in the kitchen than usual.
Tweets about cooking have tripled since 2020.
As food-related Tweets triple, food and drink emojis have also been used much more. L
The emoji 🧁, for example, was used 81% more in 2020.
Source: Twitter Annual Review 2020
35. Tweets about the elections.
There were 700 million tweets about the elections in 2020.
Politics is a big part of Twitter, which is often the platform of choice for global leaders, political opinion leaders, and undecided voters.
Throughout 2020, more than 700 million tweets were made about the US election, and US presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden were the first and second most tweeted people in the world.
Source: Twitter Annual Review 2020
36. The most tweeted emoji in the world.
You can say what you want about the internet being a source of negativity, but using emojis tells a different story.
The "😂" emoji with tears of joy, also known as the “cry and laugh” emoji, is the most used emoji on Twitter in the world.
Source: Twitter Annual Review 2020
37. Most popular tweet of all time.
The latest tweet from Chadwick Boseman's account was the most liked and the most retweeted of all time.
Chadwick Boseman was the world-famous actor who played the Black Panther in Marvel movies.
The actor died tragically in 2020 after a long battle with terminal cancer.
His fans came out in full force after his death, and his latest tweet became the most liked tweet of all time, garnering over 7 million likes.
38. 52% of all Tweets come from Gen Z users.
According to the Twitter Agency Playbook, more than half of all Tweets in 2020 were posted by Gen Z users. Gen Z refers to anyone born between 1997 and 2012.
This shows that while Twitter has a wide range of users, younger generations are the most vocal on the platform.
Source: Twitter Agency Playbook
Twitter trend statistics
Want to understand what makes Twitter users tick? These statistics focus on trends and popular Twitter users.
39. People with the most followers on Twitter
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Twitter is an ideal platform for keeping up to date with political news. So it's no surprise that Barack Obama is the most followed person on Twitter.
With over 110 million subscribers, Mr. Obama has been in the top spot for some time, as he was particularly active on the platform during his presidency.
40. The most influential people on Twitter
Despite having fewer followers than Obama, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was named the most influential person in a Brandwatch study last year.
The prime minister was closely followed by Elon Musk Trump and artist Taylor Swift.
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41. Use of #COVID19.
It's no surprise that the most used hashtag on Twitter in 2020 was #COVID19: around 400 million times
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Because many people use Twitter as their first point of contact with global events, it's common for news-related hashtags to be trending.
Source: twitter
Twitter finance statistics
42. Takeover of Twitter
- Twitter shareholders will receive 54,20 dollars for every Twitter share they own.
- Elon Musk has made it clear in recent weeks that he wants Twitter to be a space for free speech.
- Elon Musk had earlier tweeted that Twitter needed an edit button, which the company later confirmed it was working to bring. Musk has also expressed his desire to get rid of bots and declutter the platform.
- Initially, Elon Musk bought 9.2% of Twitter. A few weeks later, Tesla's CEO owned 100% of Twitter.
43. Global view
Twitter's net worth reached an impressive $35 billion in 2021, with total revenue of over five billion dollars. In the fourth quarter alone, revenue reached a staggering $1.6 trillion; U.S. revenue represented $885 million, while international revenue reached $683 million during the same period — with the cost per engagement increasing by nearly 40%.
Conclusion
And that's it, it's over - over 41 interesting and useful Twitter stats that help us better understand how Twitter works.
With so many people using the platform, it's always good to have a Twitter presence for your business, but Twitter also offers great advertising opportunities.
From a marketing perspective, Twitter has a lot of potential and could be the right platform for you depending on the demographics of your target audience.
Hopefully, these stats have helped you decide if Twitter is the right place to spend your social media marketing budget.
FAQS
How many Americans use Twitter as a data source?
12% of Americans use it as a data source, according to the Pew Research Center.
How many brands use Twitter for marketing purposes?
66% of brands with more than 100 employees use Twitter for marketing purposes (eMarketer).
What percentage of Twitter usage is mobile?
80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices (Google)
How much do the top 10% of Twitter users contribute?
In the United States, the top 10% of Twitter users will contribute to 92% of tweets in 2020, up from 80% in 2018 (Pew Research Center)...
