Will Twitter Bleed to Death?
Twitterers don’t stay. They tweet and then skedaddle.
According to Nielsen Online, the twitter retention rate is low, often below 30%. This means that of the people that open a twitter account, 60%–and sometimes 70%–are not twittering the next month. So far, twitter may be big, but the glow is gone quickly.
Unless twitter finds a way to keep its members, its phenomenal growth won’t be sustained. Eventually, twitter will run out of new users to replace the old.
What Can Twitter Teach You in Your Business?
There are a couple of lessons that twitter can teach you for your business.
First, if you use twitter in your business for marketing, know that you are communicating with a changing crowd. Know that the person who reads your tweets today, may not be reading them tomorrow.
And know that tomorrow, you may need to find a different way to communicate with your customers. Twitter is big now, but the Internet changes quickly. Watch, listen and stay flexible. Be prepared to change with whatever the future brings.
The second lesson is even more important.
The only way for twitter, your business, or any business to truly grow is with a devoted, long-term audience. Even a mega-star like twitter will not create block-busters if it can’t create loyalty.
To build a reliable, long term business, you must find your audience and speak to them in an authentic way. If you really offer them something useful, and really tell a story they can relate to, you will be rewarded with their loyalty. They will tell their friends and your business will grow in a sustainable way. You may have a blockbuster, or you may not. But either way, you will be around for a long time, and you will have been useful to your customers along the way.