Is Your Tweeting Aligning With Your Brand?
Are you someone who merely pushes other’s updates along? Are you engaging with others and responding? Are you creating your own content to distribute? Companies in diverse industries utilize social media for varying purposes. A professional service firm, for example, has different needs than a consumer brand.
Professionals approach Twitter with the desire to achieve a marketing goal (from Twitter Marketing Agency http://bit.ly/11NYR8), but with too little understanding of the ins and outs of true engagement. Have you asked this question internally: What kind of relationship do we build with our stakeholders? Of course you have. The answer is likely spelled out in your business mission or strategy.
Likewise, a company’s attempted engagement in social media is most strategic when it parallels the relationship profile it has identified for its stakeholders. Consider the following to assist in your efforts in laying the foundation for your brand’s online personality:
Inactives—If you are virtually nonexistent, you are here. Or if you sign up for Twitter, then stopped, you are here. While social media may not be a crucial aspect to each and every company’s business model, almost all businesses can benefit from establishing a digital presence to some degree.
Tip for Twitter Engagement Success: In today’s virtual world, being “inactive” is a business inhibitor.
Spectators—If you read, watch and listen, you are here. Most commonly, this level of engagement is associated with older generations who are attempting to introduce themselves to social media. While this is an excellent place to start and collect information, you are not effectively boosting brand awareness.
Tip for Twitter Engagement Success: Begin interacting with your followers, create conversations and take the initial steps to engaging with your target audience.
Collectors—If you use Twitter to collect, post and distribute information, this is you. These individuals are also known as curators. While it’s good to post information, if not discerning, you will ultimately just spam followers’ newsfeeds.
Tip for Twitter Engagement Success: Don’t just forward information or statistics, instead incorporate your opinion or solicit others for their stance on the matter.
Critics—If you analyze and comment on other’s posts, you are here. However, be cautious not to employ Twitter simply for this purpose.
Tip for Twitter Engagement Success: Writing your own posts allows others the opportunity to engage with your ideas. Also, build conversations through your follower’s comments on your tweets.
Conversationalists—If you produce content and engage in reciprocal conversation, you are here. Most often, this category of engagement is composed of young people who are hungry for social media interaction. It is at this level that industry leaders are established and brand awareness is highly flourishing.
Tip for Twitter Engagement Success: Be consistent and stay on brand message – that’s easier said than done!
While social media may not be a company’s primary marketing tool, Twitter and other social media platforms help to enforce and tie together a brand’s presence and personality. Social media also allows us to construct online communities composed of clients, key influencers and stakeholders, as Chris Abraham discusses on Huffington Post (http://huff.to/TFRHXt). With the volume of businesses and professionals today, those extra views could potentially generate business leads.
