If you’ve been surfing the Internet or watching TV you’ve noticed the shift in marketing. Today’s active brands are sending you to Facebook and Twitter to get their message. But, do they work well together? Do you need to use both Facebook and Twitter? Lauren Friedman with iMedia Connection describes the crucial differences in Facebook and Twitter.
“On Facebook, the goal is user interaction, while on Twitter, it’s all about brand evangelism, with retweets acting as the most valuable currency.”
On Facebook the interaction possibilities are numerous. The community manager’s goal is engaging the user through various activities. Each activity appears in the users feed, which can be seen by all of their friends. To encourage engagement, Facebook pages can include contests, photos, sweepstakes, videos, surveys, product images, custom tabs with multiple links, newsletter signup forms, and thousands of other apps. Increasing the number of likes is the ultimate goal of Facebook pages because it provides opportunities to message and interact with fans and most importantly to build valuable relationships.
On Twitter the interaction is simple. A single tweet is sent to the users stream where it can be retweeted or re-distributed by the users followers. A brand can be mentioned in the user’s tweet with or without the users intention to notify the brand. While Facebook tends to lead to positive interactions, Twitter can be anything but positive. By utilizing real-time monitoring, brands can immediately respond to tweets. If there is a negative vibe you can offer assistance or direct them to customer service. Some problems can be dealt with better offline or through a DM, (twitter lingo for direct message) where the conversation is private between you and the user. A critical part of building relationships on Twitter is to offer gratitude for mentions and continuing the 140 character conversation with additional tweets. Any of these interactions will grow followers and build relationships.
Flickr Photo By Tambako the Jagua
Facebook and Twitter carry the message in different directions but they can be part of an effective marketing strategy when combined with social media optimization. Follow these basic steps and watch Facebook and Twitter play together.
- create engaging content
- include relevant links
- make your content easily shareable
- include social bookmarking applications
- encourage commenting in your closing paragraph
What are your experiences using Facebook and Twitter? Do you prefer one over the other? Use the comment area below to share your thoughts.
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