When you’re tweeting for a brand, what you say on Twitter can be a bit of a mixed bag. People tweet what they are having for lunch, but is that kind of tweeting out of place for a brand?
I recently tweeted something I thought would show my sense of humor. I like to think I’m so funny I should be a stand-up comedian. Unfortunately, I lost a follower because they thought my tweet was unprofessional, but on the other hand, another follower gave me a tip for the problem I tweeted. Was my tweet too personal? I’m not really sure. I didn’t think it was when I tweeted it, but looking back maybe it was. I try to let my personality show through my tweets on the @Cision handle, but how personal should you really get when tweeting from a corporate handle?
Take a look at your Twitter feed…what tweets stand out to you the most? When I do this, my favorites are those that sound like they’re being written by a person I’d enjoy hanging out with. However, you don’t want to go too far. Matt Krautstrunk writes on Waxing UnLyrical, “Consumers value personal, truthful conversation from companies. On Twitter especially, a new term has arisen called ‘humanizing a brand.’ This refers to a business’ attempt to give their brands a human touch.” He goes on to say “Letting your followers know that your brand ‘hates rainy days and LA traffic’ gives your followers a bit more to chew on … but reasoning with them as humans makes both parties value the relationship. Sparking emotion and humanizing a brand can create immense value; however, tread carefully with your humanizing strategy.” His advice on what NOT to do is having the wrong human humanize, trying to reposition your image and ignoring conversation.
But what do you do? Here are my suggestions: Find your brand’s voice and balance your tweets. If your brand is personable like Southwest Airlines, you want your tweets to be more personal. Southwest is known for going out of their way to connect with customers. However if your brand is a corporate brand like United Airlines, personal tweets wouldn’t make sense. That would go against their brand and shareholders might start to doubt the management’s professionalism and credibility.
These are extreme examples, but it’s usually not so cut and dry for all companies. When you’re a corporate brand there is always a sense of professionalism you should show in your tweets. Your followers want to know what’s going on with your services and company. Should you share what you had for lunch? Maybe not. You’ll have to decide if it fits in with your brand. Should you share how excited you are about a new product launch or event? Definitely. HubSpot sums it up best “Social media is all about people connecting with people, and so your true personality is bound to come out — no real point in trying to hide who you are as a person.”
Where do you draw the line between being social and TMI?
