Veteran comic book writer Mark Millar has claimed that he was recently informed by a marketing expert connected to one of the ‘Big Two’ publishers that “95% of the comic-book audience is not on Twitter,” a revelation which he believes “must be mind-blowing for the company marketing departments”.
Millar revealed this supposed statistic on May 28th, tweeting from his personal Twitter account, “Here’s an amazing stat I heard yesterday: Only 10% of comic buyers have a Twitter account & only half of those accounts are actually active.”
“Thus, 95% of the comic-book audience is not on Twitter, which must be mind-blowing for the company marketing departments.” he continued, seemingly commenting on the recent turn by many publishers, including Marvel, DC, and even Heavy Metal, towards ignoring (and in some cases even outright insulting) their established fanbases in favor of appealing to imagined audiences on social media.
The Nemesis creator also drew attention to how, “[once you] factor in that the average person follows so many people [that] comic promos are easy to miss and you quickly realise Twitter is really just a fun way to meet & chat with people who share our various passions as opposed to a genuine marketing tool.”
When asked by a Twitter user if he could provide details on who he received this information from, Millar only revealed that it was “a good pal of mine from marketing at one of the big two,” and added that he “was really surprised by this too.”
“But he said [the amount of comic buyers on Twitter is] even on the slide from [there] according to their parent company deep dives and makes little impact on units, which is fascinating,” Millar further asserted.
In response to another user who broached the topic of the well-documented trend of comic book professionals using their social media platforms to engage in divisive and antagonistic behavior, Millar stated, “Some people stagger through the street screaming at clouds. Ignore them and focus on the fun stuff.”
“Remember why you got into comics in the first place & the thrill of your first convention, [and the] 1000s of people who love this just as much as you do,” wrote Millar. “I’ve never been interested in the various Twitter wars and this puts the whole thing in perspective.”
Laying bare how the given conclusion from the newly revealed statistic that “A BASELINE of 95% of your readers just want to read high quality comics,” Millar concluded, “That’s what this is all about. Twitter should just be a virtual comicon where we catch up with each other.”
What do you make of the divide between social media marketing objectives and the actual comic book customer base allegedly revealed to Millar? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!