Should Companies Tweet-Or Should Individuals?
Dave and I who are both on Twitter have been been having a debate in the office about setting up a PR In Canada Twitter account.
I wrote last week that all organizations should get on Twitter-if only to protect their brand from impostors. Now, though, our debate is about how exactly companies should be twittering-and if there’s any value in a company posting tweets as itself.
Suppose we were to start twittering under PRinCanada. Posting under the name of the organization itself, the argument goes, defeats the purpose of social media. Messages from the faceless front of ABC Company is just one-way dialogue with no consumer interaction. In other words, it just perpetuates the traditional model of communication that consumers have come to so dislike.
Not the best image we want for the voice of public relations practitioners in Canada.
On the other hand, a company spokesperson-the higher up in the org chart, the better-twittering the company’s behalf gives it a face and allows two-way dialogue to take place.
If that’s the route a company takes, then there’s the question of who will take on the spokesperson role-if it’s a company VP itself or several individuals posting under one name.
To do that, it must be made clear on each tweet who is actually posting-or else a company’s trustworthiness comes into question.
Should companies tweet as a unified whole-or should it be left to individuals?
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Hi Christie,
I asked that too, here’s the result:
@nlupus good advice from @northernchick, @notronwest, @riaglo, @aiderss, @uncommon_sense and @chrisbrogan. Majority say set up a brand acct 8:15 AM Oct 30th from web in reply to nlupus
To represent a brand on Twitter, do you (A) set up a new johnATbrand account, or (B) keep old one, connections, be upfront in tweets? 1:54 PM Oct 29th from web
JC.
That’s where we are right now.
(Interesting that a brief straw poll shows most think a brand account is the way to go.)
We have our own followers who are either personal contacts, PR In Canada contacts, are both.
Does it make sense for us to set up, say, Christie@PRinCanada, when many of our followers already associate us with the “Brand”?
My inclination is to go with a brand rep than a brand tweeting as itself….it’s a question of how to do it.
I agree with you on the latter. People know and trust “you” so that should integrate into the brand you are representing. To start from scratch would be a chore.
Also, in the spirit of full transparency, just say you were having a conversation with Dave@PRinCanada on Twitter; all us curious people could watch it and “join the conversation” right?
Nov 6th, 2008 at 11:54 am
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