Often with new communication channels it can take a while before we use them effectively. With social media, the problem is this learning curve is in the public domain.
The press lap up inappropriate usage, meaning it can actually be quite daunting to tweet - consider the media furor that ensued after a hapless Habitat intern allegedly used the Iranian election crisis to drive sales, not realising the social media etiquette and moral guidelines he was bending.
However, with a little understanding of the medium, everyone from the intern to the CEO can tweet appropriately.
What seems to confuse practitioners is the informal, chatty nature of Twitter; it is a relaxed online environment where people tweet about their daily lives. On a business account however, it may seem difficult to find that balance between being fun and being inappropriate.
The golden rule to remember is that your tweets can be seen by customers, clients, and the media, so never tweet anything that you would not say to them in an email. That is not to say you have to be overly formal, but remember that your tweets are public. Regrettable tweets can be deleted, but there have been cases of users taking a snapshot of the screen so the comment is not forgotten.
With good business sense it is possible to navigate PR pitfalls and still have an engaging account. For example, if you attended a confidential meeting, of course you would not tweet about it. But, if you attended a public event you could tweet “great time at the @example event last night” and attach a sensible photo.
Be wary of criticising competitors. Whilst it may seem a good idea to point out how your deal is better than theirs, it comes across as unprofessional and they may tweet back to you. The last thing you want is a public slanging match. Instead you could set up a search to monitor what is being said about them.
Finally, stay proportional. Business tweets can be narrowed down into three categories: informative tweets, which include links to articles, retweets and replies to people; fun tweets, which provide links to relevant photos and inoffensive jokes; sales tweets, which link to company websites and competitions.
Try to ensure your tweeting is 65 percent informative, 25 percent fun and 10 percent sales. Too much obvious sales chat is a definite faux pas and you will be un-followed.
