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Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman Make Surprising Gains on Twitter

Ron Paul surpasses Rick Perry in followers, Jon Huntsman has fastest-growing account

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Qorvis Communications, one of the fastest-growing integrated communications firms in the U.S., today released its monthly Twitter Valuation Analysis for the 2012 presidential campaign, with a special emphasis on the social media footprint of the Republican field following the suspension of Herman Cain 's campaign.

"Twitter abhors a vacuum," said Wyeth Ruthven, a senior director at Qorvis Communications and author of the Twitter Valuation Analysis. "Interest in Cain's Twitter account had already waned before he suspended his campaign, and other candidates are filling the void. Ron Paul has passed Rick Perry in Twitter followers to break into the top tier of candidates on social media. With less than one month until the Iowa caucus, Paul now has an online organization to get out his message. For example, his viral video attacking Newt Gingrich earned more than 196,000 views on YouTube in a 24-hour period."

Twitter Account	Followers	November 2011 Tweets	Value
@BarackObama	11,379,826	136	$1,540,874
@NewtGingrich	1,360,817	60	$176,348
@The HermanCain	173,569	114	$23,209
@MittRomney	181,160	37	$23,158
@RonPaul	113,861	95	$15,060
@GovernorPerry	105,592	27	$13,417
@JonHuntsman	55,405	56	$7,163
@RickSantorum	41,504	107	$5,528
@TeamBachmann	34,134	125	$4,593

Among the candidates for president, former Utah Governor and U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman saw the largest percentage gains in followers since the previous Twitter Valuation Analysis on November 1. Huntsman increased his number of followers by 22.53 percent in the last month, while Ron Paul increased his by 21.06 percent. After leading the Republican field for two months in a row, Cain slipped to fourth place in monthly growth before suspending his campaign.

Twitter Account	Percent Growth Nov.1- Dec.1	Absolute Growth in Followers
@JonHuntsman	22.53%	10,189
@RonPaul	21.06%	19,807
@MittRomney	18.82%	28,699
@TheHermanCain	17.27%	25,561
@RickSantorum	16.16%	9,829
@GovernorPerry	5.31%	5,321
@BarackObama	4.50%	489,906
@TeamBachmann	3.84%	1,263
@NewtGingrich	1.57%	20,973

Qorvis compared the number of followers and frequency of tweets for President Barack Obama and the eight leading Republican presidential candidates. The number of followers and frequency of tweets were used to calculate an estimated number of impressions generated by each campaign Twitter account in the month of November. Qorvis compared the metrics of these Twitter accounts with the cost of a direct mail or online advertising campaign of a similar size and reach to calculate the monetary value of a campaign Twitter account.

About Qorvis Communications, LLC
Qorvis Communications is one of the nation's largest independent, integrated communications firms. Formed in August 2000, Qorvis provides its clients with expertise in the areas of public and media relations, advertising, public affairs, investor relations and financial services communications, grassroots campaigns, Internet-based campaigns, social media strategies, and research and opinion surveys. For more information, visit www.qorvis.com or contact info@qorvis.com or follow us on Twitter @qorvis

SOURCE Qorvis Communications