Should your company Tweet?
I just found this great post from BL Ochman’s Whatsnextblog “Top 10 Reasons Your
Company Should Not Tweet.” Most of the reasons are absolutely right, but I have a few exceptions.
#1. Every Tweet has to be approved by legal.
Actually: You can approve most tweets in advance. However, you do need to be able to respond quickly to @messages and DMs. People are usually willing to wait for an accurate response. If you don’t know the answer you can say: “I need to refer that question to customer service. Could you DM me your email address so they can follow up?”
#2. You plan to use Twitter like a giant RSS feed
Actually: As long as your tweets are something people will want to read everyday, this can work. One example: @amazonmp3, which posts a daily mp3 deal. I love this because it’s easier than checking on their site every day. The key is making sure your tweets are interesting and formatted correctly. Some companies post the first 140 characters of the blog as the tweet, which rarely makes sense. When posting, rewrite a custom description in 140 characters or less. Also, only tweet the most interesting deals.
I completely agree with the rest of the reasons. Be sure to check out the post for the full list. One of the best is #3: You think using Twitter is a social media strategy, which is absolutely right. Check out this post for an explanation.
