Is Twitter The Way To Reach Younger Readers?

There should be no question that Twitter has arrived as a legitimate medium for mass communication, particularly with regard to the rapid dissemination of news content by professional and citizen journalists alike. Twitter may also be the best way to pull younger readers to your news coverage, based on recent research around the growth of the world’s favorite micro-blogging platform. Twitter is now the fastest growing social media channel among younger Internet users, mostly mobile users who are already comfortable sharing information through social networking sites, according to recent research by Pew Internet & American Life Project in its report on Twitter and other social media sites.

Younger users are turning to Twitter as their top choice for status updates, which some believe represent strong opportunities for news organizations that can figure out innovative ways to tap into these trends. In the Pew report, 19 percent of Internet users report using Twitter or a similar service, up from 11 percent in December 2008.

While Twitter is the most talked about social media channel for younger users, Facebook and LinkedIn are also in the mix. Combined, these three channels represent significant contact points for reaching younger consumers.

Read More: By JEREMY PORTER, Journalistics