Social Media Blog Finds of the Week: Corporate use of Twitter
ByIt seems the Holiday’s are not the slow season for Her Media. Website inquiries for help with Corporate Blog Plans and Web Savvy Virtual Assistants has kept me busy all week leaving little time for catching up on my Google Reader list of favourite blogs.
Though my time has been limited, I have found a few great Social Media blog reads on the topic of using social media as a business or brand this week.
1) Do Brands Belong on Twitter ?
Yes, I have great interest in staying up to date on how corporations and small businesses are using Twitter. Mathew Ingram reviews some comments posted over at Mashable over the debate of posting as a brand (i.e @dunkindonuts) versus having an employee or executive posting using their own identity.
Given that I tweet as Her Media, I do feel the balance is in using your brand as a user ID, but clarifying who the name and face is behind the posts. You will see my Twitter profile lists my name and my photo.
2) Guidelines For Brands Using Twitter
David Armano’s post is great and to the point. He touches on a few of the items I feel all businesses need to understand before they jump on the twitter train; transparency, generosity, and value.
3) Super List of what NOT to do in Social Media
I found Robin’s post containing a wealth of links and resources on what not to do in social media through a Linked In group. Before launching your brand across any Social Media Networks you should (as you would with any marketing strategy) have a plan. Part of the plan should be to address any potential negatives or PR nightmares that could arise from your campaign. This one post will open your eyes to what you need to AVOID and how to do so.
The following caught my attention, ‘Ignite Social Media’s 6 Part Video Series: Social Media Marketing Mistakes And How to Avoid Them‘ especially Part 1 Not Listening. Not Responding. Not Good . If you intend to launch Social Media initiatives be sure you plan who will manage them and set some guidelines.
4 Comments
December 17th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Hi- I’m @kathleenbuckley on twitter and I own a company, Star Realty. Someone has the @starrealty handle but with no profile and no ability to DM them. I’d love to get that username. Any advice?
December 29th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
At first I was completely against the idea but when I started to notice brand identities with huge followings I decided ‘Why not?’ and created a few brand identities to represent my projects – like http://www.twitter.com/momstalkradio which tweets new shows that have been posted to the site.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:15 am
This is great information – will have to check out the posts more when I have time.. Thanks for the info! Cheers!!
January 24th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I’m not surprised at the suspicion people have of brands on Twitter, but I also think it’s doing more good than harm. Just look at how it’s improved COMCAST’s customer service. That was an innovative step for a company that needed help in a bad way. I hope other companies follow suit.