This past week, there has been a lot of buzz on the blogosphere about whether brands really deserve to represent themselves on Twitter. The commotion began when Mark Drapeau asked whether brands belong on Twitter on Mashable. He expounds on his opinion below — but we also see that there are those who disagree with Mark entirely. Keep reading for the full debate and then give us your $0.02 in the poll that follows.
CON: Brands Don’t Belong on Twitter (by Mark Drapeau)
Do brands really belong on Twitter? That’s the question I ask in my post on Mashable.com. Behind every Twitter account is a person. But if these people ‘hide’ behind organizational brands, it obscures their persona and therefore reduces authenticity and transparency, the heart of social networks. Could having a brand actually damage your brand?
Twitter is about people sharing information with other people. So how do one-dimensional organizational brands fit into this mix? When you really think about it, they don’t. As an analogy, when you call customer service, a human answers the phone (eventually) and tells you their name – and you’re not talking to “Sprint” or “Dell” but rather “Steve” or “Danny.”
Organizations need to engage in conversations with people. Indirect, intimate influence, what I call “I3,” is the way to do it. See the full article for my logic and many comments discussing and debating my views!
PRO: Brands DO Belong on Twitter (by Jonathan Kash)
In order to answer this question in more detail, we need to state several facts:
- Microblogging is here to stay.
- Monetization continues to be problematic for microblogs. Twitter doesn’t have a sustainable model, but other services (like QikCom) clearly see the need to provide returns to investors.
- Microblogging – and social media for that matter – is democratic; there are no rules defined by a governing body.
It is fairly narcissistic to make a statement that Twitter or any other platform should be commercial-free when brands offer as much value as individuals. A more appropriate question is how do brands offer value? Unlike individuals, brands must offer compelling and valuable information to followers.
Are there successful cases of brands participating on Twitter? Yes:
- Everyone has heard how @DellOutlet made a nice $500K for the company. Other companies have also been effective in using the channel, such as geek-tech retailer @woot.
- Public Relations: Countless organizations, such as Current.com and the Salvation Army, have used Twitter to tell stories.
- Look at any media property: CNN, Fox News and BBC are but a few that use Twitter to broadcast information.
Brands, individuals, and individuals representing brands are all here to stay. Realizing what could be a trend, I established an index of brands on Twitter in the spring of 2008. In the time since, the list has grown tremendously and several other lists have spawned off, including one for the government/public officials, another for newspapers, and even one for Spanish accounts. There are also a variety of Twitter-driven directories that will list detailed information on the account. The undo button simply doesn’t exist.
Dr. Drapeau makes an excellent point regarding the issue of trust. @ExxonMobil fooled a number of the Twitterati this summer and provided a needed wake-up call. Know the person involved in the conversation. Failing to validate who someone is can have negative consequences. Ask any of social elite who were conned out of millions by someone claiming to be a Rockefeller.
I applaud Dr. Drapeau for his post as it forces people to think about how they are using Twitter. Are organizations providing value? Is personality added in an appropriate manner? Are you quantifying your investment? Most importantly: should I care about what are you doing with Twitter?
Take the poll: Do Brands Belong on Twitter?
After reading the arguments, what do you think? Do you think that brands have a place on Twitter or that they should go away? Better yet, could they even go away at this point? Take the poll and leave your comments.
Dr. Mark Drapeau is a biological scientist, government consultant, and regular contributor to Mashable.com and other venues. These views are his own and do not represent the official views of any organization.
Jonathan Kash is Director of Web Services at a non-profit based in Washington, D.C., and writes the blog Fluent Simplicity. He also created the Social Media Brand Index (originally the Twitter Brand Index). Interests include brand identity, online reputation and strategy.
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