Are there characters on Twitter, other than the most active, homogeneous group with the same interests that seems to be shouting at each other? Is this group making Twitter the opposite of what it should be: an open and inviting platform where everyone is welcome to voice their thoughts in whatever manner they wish. More voices are rising everyday against this matter of fact.

These question came about while reading a reply to an article I shared on Twitter this week: “Who are You Blogging for? Your peers or Your Customers?

The article examined who should a blogger’s content address. When blogging or tweeting — Twitter is a micro-blog — is used for marketing purposes but only pursues peer approval, than what’s the point? Will only peers buy your products? It won’t work for most.

Another reply to the same tweet, supports Mario’s assumption: “I blog for my peers“. Let’s hope for him that  his peers, are his customers. But for the vast majority of businesses eying Twitter as promotional tool, should they really be banking on Twitter to market their products and services? Are their customers really on Twitter?

Only 20% of Twitter Users Are Active

Mario is partly correct in that, of the current 105 million twitter accounts, only 20% are reportedly posting a tweet at least once a month. The rest is either just reading, bowing to a wrongly held belief that they “have nothing to say”, or is flat out of it; having opened an account, now on life support, either in the heat of the 2009 explosion of Twitter or were whirlwind by a convert’s “pitch”, that Twitter was the next Eldorado of riches and fame, only to quickly forget about it.

Twitter Is The Least Approachable Social Network… A Priori

In my experience and despite its incredible power in channeling information and connecting people, Twitter is for novices one of the most difficult social networks to approach. You can almost bet on the possible reaction following the explanation of the benefits of Twitter: instant addiction or flat rejection. Facebook, beyond it’s sheer mastodon size, is ‘pretty’: plenty of picture, avatars, movies and all around pleasant experience to anyone looking to idly be taken from a link to another without much effort, it’s like watching TV. In comparison, Twitter is like reading a book, it takes effort but, so they say, is more beneficial to one’s brain. Most people will always choose the easy way.

Many of the 20%, are “tweeps” — as the twitter lingo calls them — hailing from SEO, web design, social media or some other form of online marketing profession. Each one more often than not touting to the next… the next best thing.

Twitter initially took hold with techies and is still to a large extent the case. Anyone trying to get into twitter today, no matter how non techie they might be, must quickly absorb and use a new lingo to hope getting the most out of twitter. #Hashtags, for example, are now bleeding into the mainstream communication of the 20%, but to the lay person are a concept that usually takes a few analogies to grasp and much longer to adopt.

Businesses Should Still Pursue Twitter as Engagement Channel

These matter of facts should certainly not discourage businesses from using Twitter. The 20% are only the tip of the iceberg, driving and feeding the rest: readers and listener. They are out there and more of them are arriving in droves every moment:

• 180 million unique visitors come to the site every month
• 300,000 new users are signing up everyday or over 3 per second
• Twitter’s search engine receives around 600 million search queries per day

The key is to find and engage them.

The “talkative” 20%er just needs to get their heads out of their bubble — It can be #intimidating y’all! — look around and work to make Twitter a more approachable environment for newbies and non-peers; so they can feel less threatened to participate and make the social network even more mainstream. Making is as such will benefit us all in making Twitter grow in a more relevant manner.

To all the others — minus the bots and spam accounts — don’t be frazzled by anyone telling you what to do or how to do it. You have more to say than you think and… you’re certainly not alone, read from other people battling for y’all:

• Are You Putting the “Anti” in Social Media? by @globalcopywrite
• Social Media Breaks Will Help You Understand Social Media Better by @rbacal
• Social Media Weekend Challenge: Don’t Tweet it Away! by @PamMktgNut

Feel free to reach out to them or myself @FasTake, for any question or help in navigating the fantastic Twitter ocean.

As a non professional, how do you currently use Twitter? What would make it better for you?

And if you’re so inclined check out why, also in social media if you “Sow Well Today and You Will Reap Tomorrow”