Times and Tribune have biggest reach on Twitter
Erica Smith’s impressive list of newspapers that use Twitter includes an snapshot of the most followed newspaper accounts. Running that list through the newish twInfluence site shows that organizations can reach a large number of Twitterers even with a small number of followers.
Here is the list of most followed newspaper Twitter accounts, their twInfluence reach and their September ranking (from Smith’s list of accounts with the most followers).
- New York Times, @nytimes could reach 1,335,349 with its 9,115 followers
- Chicago Tribune, @coloneltribune could reach 576,456 with its 1,497 followers
- Austin American-Statesman, @statesman could reach 549,136 with its 1,772 followers
- Wall Street Journal, @wsj could reach 548,491 with its 2,894 followers
- NYT Business, @nytimesbusiness could reach 396,972 with its 1,490 followers
- NYT Science, @nytimesscience could reach 330,459 with its 1,355 followers
- NYY National, @nytimesnational could reach 317,068 with its 1,473 followers
- NYT Style, @nytimesstyle could reach 269,410 with its 1,383 followers
- USA Today, @popcandy could reach 213,734 with its 2,780 followers
- Washington Post, @thefix could reach 168,671 with its 3,156 followers
Note that the twInfluence “reach” shows the number of people who would get a Twitterer’s message if every one of her followers saw and retweeted that message. Or, as twInfluence says, “the number of followers a Twitterer has (first-order followers), plus all of their followers (second-order followers).”
Why aren’t the two numbers directly proportionate?
And why aren’t any of those accounts as effective as Erica Smith, whose 501 followers make it possible for her to reach 246,001?
Visit Bruno Peeters’ Twitter Facts blog for more information on twInfluence. Big thanks to Steve Rubel for referring to this great resource for Twitter numbers and analysis.
Linked to from this post:
- September: Newspapers that use Twitter, post by Erica Smith
- twInfluence
- Twitter account for @nytimes, @coloneltribune, @statesman, @wsj, @nytimesbusiness, @nytimesscience, @nytimesnational, @nytimesstyle, @popcandy, and @thefix
- Everything you want to know about twInfluence!
- @ericasmith on Twitter
- Twitter Facts, blog by Bruno Peeters
- twInfluence, post by Bruno Peeters
- SMicro Persuasion, blog by Steven Rubel
October 30th, 2008 at 9:52 am
The Austin American-Statesman is doing a wonderful job with its Twitter feed. It’s an honor to be on this list!
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:36 am
Hey Colonel! You’re absolutely right. My apologies for not noting their success in the post.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:21 am
The number of people following @NYTimes is six times more than @ColonelTribune’s followers.
But NYT’s reach is nowhere near six times that of the Trib. Try 2.3 times instead. The numbers might suggest that the human approach attracts and/or retains followers who have a wider “fan base.”
The numbers come from Twinfluence.com. “Reach” is basically a Twitterer’s followers plus his or her followers’ followers.
A couple weeks ago, I used Twinfluence to compare newspapers with the most Twitter followers. My “Times and Tribune have biggest reach on Twitter” post compares the reach of the 10 newspaper Twitter accounts with the most followers.
But … I really think the answer to your question comes from outside of the discussion of Twitter as a broadcasting medium. Newspapers should use Twitter, first and foremost, as a reporting tool.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 pm
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January 31st, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Twitter drives MOST traffic to my sites