Tweeting is mobile: 8 out of 10 users access by smartphone

A study has been conducted by Twitter Internal to demonstrate the increasing use of Twitter via mobile devices.

The research revealed that 80% of the 10 million people in the UK that use Twitter access the social networking site via their mobile devices, with mobile users 40% more likely to access Twitter more than once a day in comparison to the average Twitter user.

The research shows how the social networking site is integrating itself into the nation’s everyday lives, with one in three people saying that they use Twitter on their commute, and one in four admitting to browsing the site whilst shopping.

Furthermore, two-thirds of mobile Twitter users use their phones as a second screen to access Twitter whilst watching television, with 32% of users tweeting about what they’re watching on TV.

But Twitter isn’t just a platform for social networking; it’s also a medium by which brands can connect and interact with consumers.

67% of mobile Twitter users follow brands with 25% following more than 10 brands. 45% are likely to recommend a brand they follow to friends and family.

However, the news comes as Sir Martin Sorrell declared this week that Twitter was not an advertising medium. Speaking in the Harvard Business Review, he said: “I’m going to get myself shot again. I think it’s a PR medium. Again, it’s very effective word of mouth. If you look at the Olympics in London, the big winner was Twitter. It wasn’t Facebook. It wasn’t even Google.

“We did analyses of the Twitter feeds every day, and it’s very, very potent. But – and this is the old fart speaking – I think because it’s limited in terms of number of characters, it reduces communication to superficialities and lacks depth.”