The tweets reveal that brands don't know what people think of them

Insights from a new study that Twitter shares exclusively in Israel with Walla!

Marketing and Digital, analyzing 10 years and 5,000 organic tweets about brands - find out what the audience really thinks (spoiler: there is no differentiation).

Marketing managers, where does it stand with your customers?

Another Yaron

10/08/2022

Wednesday, August 10, 2022, 11:45 a.m. Updated: 1:04 p.m.

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Walla's marketing and digital community! (Photo: Unsplash, Yaron Other)

Twitter recently released #RealTalk, a first-of-its-kind study analyzing 10 years of tweets by and about brands in collaboration with research firm Sparkler and data scientists from consulting firm Pulsar Consulting.

The study was conducted in eight countries with the aim of surveying the evolution of people's opinions on Twitter towards the behavior of brands.

, Federico Federani, who chose to share the research with Walla!

Marketing and Digital and to summarize for the Hebrew reader what Twitter has learned - points to 3 key insights that may not change the game, but are particularly important thanks to the range of data on which the research is based.

Federini explained to us: "For over a decade, marketers have turned to Twitter, which is actually a platform where people share their raw and unfiltered opinions about brands every day. Brands seek to learn and understand how and when people will receive them with a positive sentiment in the public discourse."

"We work with leading brands in Israel - including in the fields of fintech, gaming and mobile - to help them connect with Twitter's global audience in an authentic way. With this research, we hope to help more marketers reimagine their brands on Twitter."

"The research findings emphasize three main points:

Federico Fedrini, Twitter Israel Sales Manager (Photo courtesy of the photographers, Twitter)

1. The audience sees everything (but slips and tells the brand "be you")

The data shows that in comparison between 2019 and 2020, the percentage of conversations and engagements with brands registered a double-digit increase: tweets increased by 23% and replies increased by 44%.

What this simply means is that people are increasingly engaged and interested in what brands are tweeting.

More attention means a higher expectation regarding options and modes of communication with the brand.

People today can easily notice the inauthenticity of brands, and they are not ashamed to tell them about it.

At the same time, 80% of the people asked answered that "they don't mind being sold on social networks, as long as it's fun, useful, entertaining, informative or moves them in some way."

At the same time, 61% of the people asked said that "brands should recognize their moments of crisis through advertising and communication when they happen."

One of the salient findings that emerged from the study shows that an increased level of understanding about brand communication means that people not only notice when brands speak, but also when brands are silent.

This suggests that brands today are tasked with understanding exactly which conversations consumers expect them to join.

2. We are tired of brands that sound and look the same

People have noticed that brands use the same tone of voice to discuss similar topics while targeting the same communities—so much so that they start to sound exactly the same.

To prove this, Twitter created a blind test that selected a variety of tweets from prominent brands from around the world in similar industries, removing the branding associated with the company such as names, logos, keywords and hashtags.

Twitter then asked people to guess which brand authored the tweet they were viewing.

The result?

Only 1 out of 3 respondents was able to guess the correct brand from a list of five options.

People even describe brands the same way around the world: When asked to use one word to describe brands on Twitter, people from all countries said brands are "naughty" and "funny."

But is this true in today's world?

One in two respondents agreed that brands that rely on humor and jokes feel outdated today.

And when the study focused on ages 18 to 34, this was even more true.

8 out of 10 people expect "brands to update their tone of voice over time."

3. Brands will not grow without differentiation

(We have to say something here: Come on, isn't it clear yet? And here again, Twitter's data tells us the same tiresome story. Brands sound too similar to each other, then fight for every "piece of meat" to get a head start, instead of realizing that the customer doesn't will remember the "benefit" or the "crazy" promotion they served him - even before lunch, and work on the real voice that will be identified with them).

The writing was on the wall a long time ago.

Differentiation is all a brand needs to succeed, not just on Twitter.

The most universal finding in this study was that almost all consumers valued brands with a strong sense of identity.

So what does this mean for marketers?

This means they have to reexamine what seems right for their brand, not just in terms of what's trending right now, or other people's reactions.

Communities on Twitter have never been louder, more passionate and of course more focused.

Brands should be there for their specific audience and not for everyone, because when you talk to everyone,

Read more about Twitter's insights for brands and advertisers.

is an entrepreneur and editor in charge of the Marketing Channel, the author of the book "Marketing in the Digital Age" and builds a path for business or human brands.

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