A new study from Newsworks, the marketing body for the national newspaper industry, has revealed that almost 60% of Twitter users follow newsbrands – with 35% following main newsbrand accounts, 17% following sub-brands and almost half of those surveyed (49%) following at least one journalist.
The study, carried out by YouGov among more than 1,200 Twitter users, shows how newsbrand followers are also more active, being 60% more likely to visit Twitter daily and twice as likely (109%) to tweet daily than non-newsbrand followers.
Newsbrand engaged Tweeters also tend to be more affluent, educated and upmarket as an audience and are four times more likely to post links to articles and three times more likely to tweet about trending news topics, the study shows.
“We are delighted this joint research project with Twitter has helped us get under the skin of what we instinctively knew was a special relationship between newsbrands and Twitter,” said Rufus Olins, chief executive, Newsworks. “They have become interdependent and mutually beneficial.
“We are immersed in news. We want to be the first to know and also to be guided by expert insight and interpretation. The combination of newsbrands and Twitter helps keep us informed and opinionated. The insights from this study show that Twitter and newsbrands are most definitely stronger together.”
Newsworks said that the “immediacy and accessibility” of Twitter brings “valuable readers” to newspaper brands, including brands that users would not necessarily read in print or online. 60% of newsbrand followers said Twitter provides the opportunity to engage with brands they would not normally read in print.
Newsbrands also play a role in online trust, the study found, with people looking for “verification” of news stories.
Commenting on the results, Bruce Daisley, managing director, Twitter UK, said: “People come to Twitter because it is live, public and conversational. This makes it a great place to follow breaking news and connect directly with news organisations and journalists.
“But while people discover news on Twitter, they rely on news organisations to provide more context and analysis. It is great to see the symbiotic relationship between Twitter and newsbrands confirmed by this piece of research.”
