Does Your Company Need Multiple Twitter Pages?

With Twitter now up and running, what is the best way to spread the wealth? If you have a small company it may not be important to you or even necessary to look at who else in your company could make use of Twitter, but for those in larger companies with several departments, this will become necessary. It may become necessary far faster than you would expect too.


Such is the case with my current company. We were slow to get on board, but now that we are tweeting away, there are more and more departments who want to get their own Twitter page. It is important that you don't just let every department create their own page. Twitter, while easily accessible, is still a marketing communications medium that you must use strategically.


This brings us back to the Twitter style guide, which if you began to create your style guide, you may have realized that it could easily be turned into a social media or Twitter policy. Until you have this in place, don't even think about spreading out to other departments. It will just open a can of worms that you don't want to deal with, not to mention that you don't have time for.


Once you have your style guide or policy in place then it is important to control the role out to other departments. Look at all the departments who are requesting that they have their own Twitter page and determine which department should be next to create their page. This determination and prioritization of departments should be made based on your company's strategic initiatives.


When you decide which departments to role out Twitter to first, then you must also educate those who will manage Twitter for the chosen departments. It is important you don't just give them the green light without proper training. You must also remember that you are still managing the effort overall. So don't let more departments participate than you can effectively oversee.


It is also important to note, that the Twitter style guide and policy you've created may need tweaking and exceptions may be necessary for some departments in order for their tweeting to be effective. Be flexible where you can, but don't throw the rules out completely. You need to make sure your company's brand is well represented.

Basically, you need to make sure you take the time to carefully and strategically start other Twitter pages, just as you did with your first one. Be prepared to involve other departments, but also, it isn't necessary that all departments have a Twitter page even if they request one. It isn't the right medium for every need.

Here are the three key ways to determine if another department needs its own Twitter page:

1. 
   Does the department have a very specific niche audience that is fundamentally different from your company's general audience? An example of this is a hospital that uses Twitter to speak to patients and potential patients, but the recruiting department wants to user Twitter to speak to potential new physicians.
2. Does the department have its own strategic goals that are separate of the larger company? An example of this is an accounting firm using twitter to communicate with existing clients, but one division of the firm would like to grow their niche area. The audiences could use information from either Twitter page, but one page will be more narrow in scope.
3. Does having an additional Twitter page for one of your departments serve a strategic purpose such as expanding your reach? Having one Twitter page may not attract all the people who would follow you if you had other Twitter pages. A great example is the New York Times, which has a news Twitter page, a theatre Twitter page, a New York Times sports Twitter page and a business Twitter page among others. People may follow the sports Twitter page, but then also begin to follow some of their other pages.

Overall, be strategic. You don't want to dilute your brand or message by having too many Twitter pages to be effective.

Stylized Tweeting

So you're tweeting away these days and you're getting pretty comfortable with it, but now others from your company want to get in the tweet game too. So, what would be the reason not to let them? If you have a very small company it may not be necessary, but the larger your company the more beneficial it can be to have others tweeting too. The question then, how do you make sure all that there is consistent tweeting in terms of message and tone?

Well, the good news is that you only have 140 characters, so there isn't too much that can be done to ruin your brand or for people to vary too widely in the way the write their tweets. However, you should develop a Twitter style guide to ensure consistent tweeting.Here are the things to think about when creating your Twitter style guide.

1. If there are any acronyms that your company uses internally, think about whether or not you want to start using them publicly. Acronyms are a great shorthand and since you only have 140 characters this can be very useful. However, often internal acronyms have no public meaning, which can pose an issue in the terms of clear communication.

2. What are the topics you will discuss? Consistency in message is huge. Make sure that your Twitter style guide accounts for the types of messages that will be tweeted.

3. Include checks and balances. While this could be more appropriate for a social media policy, its not a bad idea to include it in your Twitter style guide too. This means who do you double check your tweets with prior to posting, what are the rules around including phone numbers or other contact info, etc.

4. Decide how you plan to use links. Do you only link to your own site? Do you link to other sites?

5. Your style guide should also include rules and suggestions on frequency of tweets for events. For example if you tweet about something coming up in a week, remember that it should be tweeted again at least a day in advance. If you want people to come to the event, then it might be worth tweeting right up until the event starts.

As you are creating your guide there will be other things that come up which are specific to your company. To make sure that you have a complete Twitter style guide that will work for your company make sure you go back and look at why you're tweeting in the first place. Remember who your audience is and what you want to accomplish with Twitter.

Above all remember that your Twitter style guide is subject to change. Just as social media is a fluid medium, you need to be willing to make adjustments in your social media policies and your Twitter style guide. Nothing is set in stone, but it is important to have guide to work from

So What's the Tweet?

Well, be careful what you wish for. We've launched our Twitter page and now we have to feed the beast. So comes the next step in your company's Twitter page. You've taken the time to answer the five simple questions that will help you strategize your Twitter efforts. You've launched your page. Now, what to Tweet?

Well, this is a little more difficult to discern. It can really vary by industry and it is also dependent on what your answer to question number one was (see the previous post). In our case we are trying to reach our customers. So the goal is to offer up tweets that are relevant to our customers.

While this sounds simple and straight forward, it isn't as easy as that. It is important that you get a few people thinking about what you want to tweet about. Don't put all the pressure on yourself to come up with relevant tweets. Try to get a team of people thinking about it.

When you do decide what you are going to tweet, try to make it a call to action or offer your audience something more from you tweet. Send them to your website with a link. Send them to a partner website or provide them with a physical location you recommend they visit. Invite them to do something.

You want your audience to come to expect that they were learn from your tweets or that there is something in it for them. This will help you to build the number of followers you have and will also improve your chances of having your information "retweeted" or forwarded to your follower's followers.

It is a good idea to brainstorm a series of tweets and then decide how often you want to tweet at a minimum. You can always tweet more, but you need to make sure you have set number of tweets you will do each day or each week. You must tweet at the very least once a week, but try to tweet once a day. Again you can increase the number of tweets if you find you have more to say.

When you tweet remember that Twitter is a short lived medium. You can give your followers a heads up about a coming event, but unless the event is happening with the next 24 hours, you will probably need to tweet about it again. This is a great way to build up anticipation about an event though, so don't discount it all together.

So, here's the bottom line about what to tweet:

1. Make sure you have your target audience in mind as you think of your tweets.
2. Have a team of people who can help you come up with tweet subjects (or at least one other person).
3. Have a list of tweet subjects ready to go at all times.
4. Have a call to action or an additional option to allow your followers to get more from your tweet (i.e. a link to your site or another site, or invite your followers to physically do something)
5. Determine how often you are going to tweet, set a minimum, you can always tweet more. Consistency is important.
6. Keep the format of this medium in mind when you're tweeting. Information on Twitter is short lived so if you're talking about a future event it will need to be tweeted repeatedly.

If you follow the guide above you should be able to keep your Twitter page up. Consistency and the relevance of your tweets build quality followers and quality is more important than quantity.

Let the Tweet Begin...

So today we did it.  We launched a Twitter page at our company.  In my industry, which is fairly conservative, this is a pretty big step.  In a world that is predetermined and needs to have a great deal of well thought out strategy attached, this move to the Twitterverse is enormous.

The arguments not to Twitter are many.  What if we get too many people following us that are really just Twitter spammers?  How do we control that? How do we get followers?  How often should we Tweet and most importantly, what do we Tweet?

Well, in all honesty, sometimes you need to jump in and find the answers to those questions as you go.  However, having some sort of a plan is better than no plan at all.  So let's tackle the basics of your Twitter strategy.

1. Who are you trying to reach with your Tweets?  Is it customers? Employees? 
   
2. What are you going to Tweet about?  There are many options here, but you need to have some sort of focus.  The kitchen sink approach is not the best way to go.  
3. Who is going to be point to manage the @replies that must be sent and that are received?
4. Who will manage the content?  We decided on a team approach, one point person with a team feeding ideas for Tweets.
5. Should your user name represent all your brands or do you want to pick a focus area to start with?  Your user name can be key and should be discussed, particularly if your company has more than one brand. 

Then, get going!  Pull that trigger, land the plane, place your company's euphemism here.  The key is to start.  Answer some of the basic strategic questions above and don't go in blind.  Be adaptable, as Twitter is a fluid medium.  Most importantly, don't wait until you have all the answers to every possible what if.  You can't possibly.  If you try to wait and create a fully cooked strategy, the opportunity will be lost.  Now is the time to get on board, dive in, again, insert your company euphemism here.  So what are you waiting for?  Go launch your Twitter page!

Back to Blogging

Well, I took a much too long break from my blog and then I felt guilty about not having blogged and then that made me want to not blog even more. It became a vicious cycle, but here I am. I'm back and blogging again. This time I won't stop.

My hiatus from my blog got me thinking about all the others who have started blogs with hopes of creating a following and then just sort of well... you know.

I decided that I must get back to blogging. I can't just have this thing out there that no one is reading. I must also not feel that blogging is a chore. My blog is an opportunity to start a conversation. To discuss social media, marketing and communications for businesses. I don't know everything, but my experience and that I my readers will help many. Even if I don't have the answer perhaps someone else will, or better yet, a comment will get me or a reader thinking about things differently and that will ultimately lead to the answer.

The bottom line is that a blog is a living breathing thing. My blog is a place that I must nurture and grow. I can't forget about it, or like every plant I've ever owned, it will live a short life followed by endless days sitting dried and withered out there on the Internet.

So, I'm back to writing. My hiatus has made me realize that with a blog, like most things, you just have to get back to it and know that with persistence and patients good things will come!

Social media creating an antisocial world?

I had an interesting conversation with a coworker. I was talking about Twitter and was attempting to explain it to someone who has never even looked at it.  Her question, why would you be on Twitter, what's the point?

Well, I suppose its different for everyone.  I find myself using it for business.  Let's be honest, I want people to read what I'm writing and Twitter is one way to let people know my blog exists.  I also want to learn more about Twitter and with that knowledge, help my clients better capitalize on the social media opportunity.  I also find that Twitter is great for getting quick answers to questions.  There is so much variety on Twitter and if you follow the right people (fellow tweeters with similar interests) you can get some great advice or at least be pointed to a place where you can find the answers yourself.  

So back to my conversation with my coworker.  The conversation then changed to Facebook and the use of iPhones and Blackberries and so on.  Her thought, why are we spending all our time communicating in a virtual world, tethered to our electronic devices, rather than actually having real conversations face to face.

I touted the importance of these various forms and tools of communication, but a valuable point was raised.  In the age of social media are we becoming antisocial?  

I suppose this is a question that really depends on your point of view.  My stand is that social media  isn't taking away from communication, but adding to it.  I can easily share ideas and thoughts with people from across the world.  I can connect with people I haven't spoken to in years and the beauty of all of it is that I don't have to be more invested than I choose to be. 

So what's your take on social media?  From a business perspective I think most of us can agree that  social media and eMarketing are vital, but from a personal perspective, what is your view on social media creating an antisocial world? 

Social media for internal communication

Well, we're talking on Facebook, LinkedIn, My Space, Twitter and so on... this is all happening outside of the workplace. Why not take some of those same tools and use them at work, for work? What is the place of social media in the workplace?

As a form of external marketing, we know social media works. It can be a valuable tool when you want to directly interact with your target market. Social media can also be a fantastic way to improve internal communication. There are always opportunities to improve internal communication. It has been my experience that most companies focus on external communication and often internal communication is, although not quite an after thought, not as high a priority as most external messages. For internal communication the primary and most effective social media tool would be a blog.

As an internal communication tool, blogs allow for true, real time back and forth conversation. Blogging as an internal communication tool, can help with transparency and aid in making sure the truth is heard directly from the source, rather than allow for rumors to run rampant. This is particularly important if companies are going through troubled times.

Blogs also provide an important outlet for employees, by allowing them to be heard. Empowering your employees to ask the questions via a blog can really help the internal conversations and build community. Companies often fear the creation of an internal blog. They feel that having the blog will open a can of worms in the form of negativity and unproductive communication. However, most companies are pleasantly surprised to find that isn't the case. In the blogosphere, employees often police each other and help bring the conversation back on track.

The key to ensuring that you have a successful internal communications blog is very similar to planning for your external blog. Determine your strategy, goals and a clear set of protocols for use in terms of posts and responses. Your blog policy should clearly communicate acceptable and unacceptable types of language and posts. Expectations in terms of what the blog is intended for must be clearly outlined up front for all potential users, including those responsible for posting topics.

So, who should be posting the topics? Well, blogs are a great way for Human Resources, Facilities, even Administration to speak directly to employees on a topic and solicit direct responses. Personally, I think, although it may be more difficult to manage, companies should look to have as many departments involved as possible.

Having representatives from many different departments will help keep the blog more interesting and engaging. Everyone has a different writing style and brings something unique to the blog. This can help increase the audience because there will be something for everyone both in terms of subject matter, but also in terms of accessibility to different readers.

So, to get started, simply make the decision that an internal company blog is for you. Start planning your strategy, determine your goals and outline expectations. Don't rush this process the key to any successful blog is all in the planning.

Beginning the social media discussion

The conversation went something like this, "We need to look for cost effective and efficient ways to market due to budget constraints. Any ideas???" It was time to broach the subject. In my industry, which is health care, the use of social media is in the beginning stages for most companies. There are few major health care entities around the country using social media to their advantage, but the majority are not yet involved.

Based on the conversation outlined above, it was time to say it again. We too need to get involved with social media.

As I pointed out examples of like companies with social media marketing programs, the argument was that the other companies have pretty extensive and advanced social marketing programs. The counter: they all started some where.

With that said, the questions start. How would we do it? How would we frame it with our brand? Which brand do we align it with? Which brand/practice/institute would most naturally fit with this concept of marketing.

The biggest challenge is that strategically companies want to follow all their marketing efforts out to the logical end. It just makes good sense to do so. However, without a social media marketing expert on staff (and with limited staff) how do you know where the pitfalls are and how does a company avoid what they don't know? How can a company get started and minimize the risk?

Well, there is always risk in anything new that you try. That's a given! Marketing experts, please weigh in, but I think to some extent there is a little trial and error involved in any new marketing program particularly, social media marketing. Here are some key things to think about when getting ready to launch a social media marketing campaign.

1. What is our goal?
2. Who are we trying to reach?
3. What are our parameters regarding updates?
4. How will we monitor what is being said about or brand?
5. Who will manage the program and have final say about what is posted?
6. And last, but most important, do we have buy in from key stake holders who might ultimately be needed as contributors?

It can't be up to marketing departments alone to make social media work for a company regardless of the industry. Social media marketing based on its very name requires a community for success. It requires the company creating the message to be completely on board and it requires the company to provide information that the target audience wants to hear. It also requires that the company be open to the two-way conversation that social media creates, knowing that what is said may not always be positive.

There is an internal use for social media too, but if we are strictly talking about social media as a form of external communication you still can't forget to discuss it internally. Again, everyone must be on board and aware of the effort, from the top administration to the per diem employee who only works a day or two a week. Internal communication about what you are doing externally is important for the success of all your external marketing efforts, but even more so in this new frontier.

So to minimize your risk, think about your strategy. Remember your goals, but above all be flexible. This is an ever changing medium and forces companies to be aware of the pulse of their community. This is not a passive marketing effort. You can't just build it and expect people to come. Social media marketing programs must be nurtured, however, with the proper feeding a care of your program, success is just on the horizon.

Social Media: Extending the Workplace Water Cooler

At work yesterday several of us were commenting on our weekends. I asked one coworker how the movie was? Another coworker looked at me and said "Did you two run into each other over the weekend?" The answer of course was no. We had been Facebooking.

In the workplace today, well at least at mine, there are many of us using Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkIn or a combination of them. Those not grabbing hold of social media seem to be left out of the conversation.

The other side of this are those people you work with who can now follow your every move on the social media forum of your choice. Do you really want them to see everything?

How do you keep people who aren't partaking in social media conversations in the loop and how do you keep those in the loop from knowing too much? Facebook and other such sites offer employees a continuation of the water cooler, but to what degree is this too much togetherness? Should we be this connected to people from work and for those who aren't catching the wave, what's the best way to handle it?

I myself subscribe to the theory that you don't put anything out into the world that you wouldn't want others to see, but I'm sure many aren't so careful.  When it comes to those who aren't in the loop I do my best to include them, but ultimately its their choice to participate or not to. 

Social media isn't just changing the way business is done its changing the way we are interacting in business settings.  The water cooler conversation is no longer just taking place in the office. Now we have the virtual water cooler which is everywhere and available anytime.

How will this impact the workplace long term?  Will it change things for the better or will it cause problems down the road?  I suppose it depends on where you work and the dynamics of your work environment.  If the water cooler at work tends to be a clique where gossip and negativity are spread that will likely carry over into the world of social media, however the opposite is also true.   

What this means is that businesses need to be more vigilant about managing a healthy work environment.  Before a bad day ended at 5pm and people had time to step back and reflect. Now with 24-hour contact through social media this isn't always the case.  Negativity can spread that much faster in the age of social media.  Fostering a healthy workplace has always been important, but today businesses must be more aware of the little things that can mushroom beyond the office setting. Heightened awareness of discord in the office is the new must for businesses.

The Internet vs. Stone Tablets

So I was updating my LinkedIn profile the other day. While on that fabulous networking site I decided to add to my network by searching out a few folks I figured would also have LinkedIn profiles. Several of the people I sent invitations to were people I know from my Rotary club.

I received a response back from one of them who said "Do you think this Internet thingy is really going to catch on?" I was a little surprised since his business is web based. I figured he was kidding, but felt the need to double check. My response back was "The Internet as whole? Are you kidding me?" The note back from him was priceless. He said "I think we should scrap the whole thing and go back to stone tablets!" I found out later that he had been meeting with another business man who is older and built his businesses in an age long before the Internet.

That got me thinking about businesses and more specifically business owners who had success in the years prior to this world wide web phenomenon that has changed everything from the way business is done to the lingo we all use in business everyday. So knowing this, how do we make the Internet, and more specifically social media marketing, accessible to those who aren't familiar with it and use the argument that they didn't need it before and they were fine?

I realize that some people will never grab hold of this opportunity. It could be stubbornness, it could be fear, it could be, well, lots of things. So what have you found? Have you tried to get a client involved in social media or other forms of Internet marketing and run into a wall?

I think most business owners can agree that they have to have a website. Having a website is as important as having a phone number. I guess I'm wondering if we're are going to have a real dichotomy now in business? Those businesses owned and/or run by a younger generation and those that are not...

All a Twitter...

How long have you been using Twitter?  As a new user of this fun and exciting forum, I'm enjoying learning the ropes.  I'm impressed by the tweets of many and trying to figure out my place in this new community.

My mind is reeling with all the possibilities that Twitter and other social media sites offer to businesses and for the non-profit world.   The trick is not being over zealous and really trying to be focused on your goals or your clients' goals. 

In addition to focusing on your outcomes, it is necessary to make sure that your message is direct and meaningful.  If everyone is reading you don't want to just say anything.  PRSA's February newsletter "Tactics" had a great article about Twitter and making the most of the characters you have available. 

Twitter offers opportunities and has pitfalls to be aware of.  As I navigate through and try to learn more about how to make the best use of this forum, it is important for me to remember this is an excellent exercise in being brief and meaningful at the same time.  I tend to get a little wordy, for those of you who know me, I'm sure you aren't shocked by this revelation.

So, I will continue to make the most of my 140 characters and would love to hear your thoughts in 140 characters too.

Small businesses and the Internet, what's happening in your community?

As a long time marketing professional, I have seen many changes in the industry.  From paste-up advertising to online advertising.   Quite a difference.  As times are changing small businesses need to take advantage of the new opportunities the Internet is providing.  

Traditional marketing forums still have their place and there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer, but between search engine optimization and social media there are many non-traditional avenues for companies to explore.  

Have you seen small businesses taking advantage of these new media opportunities?  If so, what kind of businesses seem to be grabbing hold? Where are you seeing them?

I look forward to hearing your responses.