Attention: Brands on Twitter: Be Human!
I was checking out Mashable’s Brands on Twitter List and noticed what I see as a disturbing trend: Brands filling the tweetstream with their offers, deals, and links to check their companies out. Ironically, the only tweet in the screenshot above that is human/conversational in nature is from McDonalds – and I’m not sure knowing their Twitter rep is hanging out on his/her basement couch adds that much value to the conversation. Still, it’s probably the most interest tweet of any I’ve seen from brands so far today. What’s your favorite tweet in the screenshot above?
I’m not saying brands should tweet only about what the humans behind the brands are doing – and I’m definitely not saying brands should never tweet offers, discounts, and links to their website. At theKbuzz, we recommend to our clients that 1-2 tweets out of every 10 should be self-promotional or link to offers, discounts, or contests. Thought leader Chris Brogan recommends 1 out of every 12 tweets can be self-promotional.
But, brands, please don’t make it all about your offers, discounts, links and pics. Share value. Share personality- yours and the brand’s. Retweet others. Think about what kinds of content your followers and customers would want to receive in their Twitter stream, and give it to them. If you don’t know, ask them.
Be human. Your followers will appreciate it, and may even buy stuff from you.
Excellent post and great point! I’m surprised to see how many brands still don’t get it and think that broadcasting their messages on a social network makes them social. Please, people. Be people!
I would go as far as other experts saying that 1 out of every 10 Tweets be about yourself or company.
But if your comment includes your brand but relates to the Twitterers comment what is wrong with that?
Jan – there’s nothing wrong with that – brands just need to be careful about too much self-promotion.