Little Fish, Big Pond with Danielle Gauthier

Follow-Up: The Canadian Twitterer

Danielle — Fri, 06 May 2011 04:27:33 +0000

I posted previously on the number of Canadians on Twitter which I calculated from reputable statistics but since they were written in my little paper notebook I did not note the source. This post should redeem me hopefully as I received several requests to provide further information.

What initially prompted my first post was that the only figure I could readily find on the number of Canadians on Twitter was 47% percent. I found it very difficult, if not impossible, to believe this number. Given that the results were gleaned from a survey by a Vancouver internet marketing firm I supposed that likely their database consisted of people who have a high likelihood of using Twitter.

There are currently 200 million registered accounts on Twitter.
43% of users are True Twitter Users (More than 10 tweets, 10 Followers and 10 Followed)
80% have fewer than 500 tweets.
Canada consists of 2.5% of the traffic on Twitter – assumption being that the ratio of web / mobile usage is the same across all countries.
The population of Canada is 34,441,442.

200,000,000 Twitter Accounts > 2.5% Canadian Traffic = 5,000,000 Canadian Twitter Accounts = 14.5% of Canadians have a Twitter Account

or 19.9% of Canadians with Internet Access Have a Twitter Account

5,000,000 > 43% True Twitter Users = 2,150,000 True Twitter Users in Canada = 6.2% of Canadians are True Twitter Users

5,000,000 > 20% more than 500 Tweets = 1,000,000 Canadian Twitter Users with More than 500 Tweets = 2.9% of Canadians have in excess of 500 Tweets

This might not seem like a lot, but let me put it this way. In Canada you are more likely to have a Twitter account than…

Have diabetes
Own a pet other than a dog or cat
Have voted for the Bloc Quebecois in the 2011 election

Now that we know how many Canadians are using Twitter, how are they using it? I have asked this question for a while, and I have had some people observe that Canadians use Twitter just like everybody else. But I am a firm believer that around the world people are using technologies in different ways that are most appropriate culturally. Canadians are no different and no less distinct.

The following are the results from my Twitter In Canada survey. The survey received 85 responses and it appears that many of the responses came from Ontario. This survey was shared from my Twitter account and was retweeted several times by many Canadians across the country, however I do believe that geographical proximity of followers was a constraint in distributing this properly across all provinces.

I Had No Choice But Buy an iPad

Danielle — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:30:32 +0000

I am sure a few people will roll their eyes when I tell them I finally bought an iPad but all I can say is I had no choice. Literally, there are no other viable options presenting themselves and though I hear promises of late 2010 or early 2011 nothing seems to pan out. As a customer, I had reached the point that, despite my loyalty to other brands and my general dislike for how Apple does business, I needed a product that was not being offered elsewhere and I had to ‘cross over to the other side’. I had really been banking on the Microsoft Courier – but that fell apart. What does this mean for the brands I usually buy? Since I am loving the iPad it does not bode well. Though I will still need other devices, I am no longer monogamous. From now on my relationship status is “It’s complicated”.

Fittingly posted from my iPad.

Groupon: The Great Business Model That Can’t Last

Danielle — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:28:38 +0000

I am not knocking the idea of Groupon – it is a great idea and a great company that has dealt well with hiccups along the road. As a concept, Groupon is a real life provider of promotions marketing using the power of social, which is a constant struggle for businesses. While companies are starting to get the hang of brand management and caving to the advent of social customer relationship management, promoting goods and services in a way that keeps true to the “spirit” of social media is a different ball game entirely and an area where a lot of companies fall short despite major efforts and investment.

I don’t wonder why Yahoo wanted to buy them, they have so little. And Google – well they are like Eric Cartman’s Trapper Keeper after it absorbs Rosie O’Donnell – not ugly like that, it just rolls around collecting everything around it and then the thing just disappears. But they could not sway Groupon who seemingly have it all under control. Then again, can it really last?

The competition is fierce, copycats are appearing and maybe the biggest threat of them all I could see – wouldn’t this be better achieved by reaching out to already existing loyal customers and fans online, give them the opportunity to share this opportunity with their networks on platforms that are already familiar. Without Groupon. I see this a far better solution and it will solve two problems I see with the Groupon model:

Most people will not trust this site. Plain and simple – it will never fly. Right now there is a buzz, but unless they feature only the most reputable businesses or align themselves with a recognizable leader in online shopping, they are doomed to be a fad. Generally, I try to think of everyone in my large extended family – if none of them would use it probably not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
Can they scale as they grow? I see it difficult to maintain not only the quality of the offers that are provided on the site as the reach their tipping point, nor can I see them being able to provide the same exposure as more businesses jump on the bandwagon.

I am sure that there are lots of naysayers out there, and I don’t want to be a spoilsport. I think this is a great way to socialize promotions online, but I would rather see businesses doing this for existing customers and fans who will reward them for the offer by raising awareness and with increased loyalty rather than show up once and never come again. Not that Groupon does not allow it, but at the end of the day did you get the deal from Groupon or the business? Will you go back to Groupon to find more deals or back to the business to be a loyal customer? So who does this benefit?