10 steps towards a new austere Twitter

by on August 4, 2009 in Twitter

Up to now, Twitter culture has been about being social, not commercial. However, when one uses Twitter as a business tool, the initial social chit chat soon becomes tiresome (real estate agents, for example, have been counseled not to discuss real estate because it may position them too threatening as sales people). Business demands ROI, and a culture shift is taking place as more businesses use Twitter for advertising and promotional purposes. It’s ok to be blatantly commercial as long as you’re providing value.

So… for businesses, make the Twitter feed a valuable, professional read.

  1. Limit the chit chat so readers don’t see distracting “noise” in your timeline
  2. Keep the professional Twitter feed consistently pristine. Create multiple accounts, including a personal account where you can be more normal and reveal your personality and interests. A pristine feed will also get your feed included into Twitter aggregation engines like Breaking SF News or Muckrack.
  3. Be consistent with your messaging so people with shared business interests can easily see the connection, and follow or communicate with you.
  4. Engage strangers you want to create relationships with by retweeting their good stuff or commenting
  5. Once a Twitter connection is developed, add the connection to the more intimate networks like Facebook or LinkedIn, and then move subsequent conversations to Facebook, email or phone. Strive to use Twitter to build new relationships.
  6. Tweet a portfolio of links your reader base will find useful. Breaking news on topics of interest positions you as a valuable “news” resource.
  7. Use bit.ly to simplify the retweeting interesting articles… it’s efficient.
  8. Use game play like #followfriday sparingly only to develop relationships or acknowledge appreciation. Don’t do anything a spammer would do.
  9. Avoid simul-tweeting conferences or events (see #1 above). Everybody seems to be doing this now.
  10. Other Twitterers appreciate austerity. It’s time efficient and gets the point across.

Tags: , ,

About Pat Kitano

View all posts by Pat Kitano →
Post comment as
twitter logo facebook logo
Sort: Newest | Oldest
Pat Kitano

More commentary on this article at Social Media Today.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like
Pat Kitano

Thanks Steve, I agree that it's important to personalize the business, so these rules aren't steadfast. The conversations, as they relate to business and not where tonight's party is, are in context with the business at hand. I've tried to demonstrate this philosophy on my Twitter feed @pkitano.

All of what you say about how Twitter can create genuine connections is true. My definition of "pristine" is more attuned to the care a business or individual has in putting their best foot forward in their online presence, whether it's a Twitter feed, a blog or a comment in the New York Times.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like
Steve Gaines

Seems to me that being too "pristine" as a business removes some of the advantage and power of connecting with people (customers). Twitter allows people to get to know behind a person who's behind a business; to see something beyond the logo. That can be quite refreshing - IF the person who is the face of a given business is genuine and transparent.

Along those same lines there is a lot of buzz about the release of Izea's Sponsored Tweets. I can't help but think that attaching a "paid for" disclosure is likely going to sabotage a lot of previously built trust. But when I posted thoughts on that yesterday it created quite a lively debate. Ultimately, it just seems that Twitter's allure and power is the ability to connect with people one ordinarily might not have access to and to then share and exchange ideas. When that person I've connected with also owns a company, that's a powerful chance to build trust way before I might ever even think of doing business there. But if that relationship is never allowed to get past "how's the weather", all in an attempt to be pristine and never risk offending, I think the purpose is lost.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like