Social networks can be great communications tools--but make a misstep and you could end up doing your company more harm than good. Perhaps the biggest mistake businesspeople make is posting while in the wrong frame of mind. PR man Cas Purdy of Guidance Software in Pasadena, Calif., has a rule of thumb he says everyone should live by: "Don't Twitter while you're bitter." Of course, there are plenty of other mistakes that social networkers make each day. Here's what to avoid. --Ericka Chickowski
| Don't | Do |
| Push out political rants because something in the news really ticked you off. | Engage friends and followers in political discussion relevant to your industry. |
| Mingle personal announcements with marketing messaging. | Create separate accounts for personal friends and for business associates. |
| Focus on hard-selling your company's products or services. | Consider posting relevant opinions, links and photos about your industry that will truly interest friends and followers. |
| Automate cross-posting of the same content across numerous channels. | Tailor your strategy to the proper channels to avoid annoying Facebook users with Twitter hashtags and Twitter followers with incomplete tweets. |
| Impulsively air grievances with customers, partners or even competitors on a public forum. | Take time to think before putting up content that could be referred to by search engines even after you've deleted it from your account. |
| Leave your friends and followers hanging when they comment on your links or give you a shout-out with an @ message. | Make an effort to engage frequently with friends and followers rather than just foisting your marketing message on them. |
| Let your accounts lie fallow. | Try to offer new content frequently. If you don't have time to commit fully to all channels of social media, think about focusing on one where you can go all out. |
This article was originally published in the September 2010 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Beware the Bitter Twitter.
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Comments:
Not at all. Follow people who are relevant to your business.
All excellent tips! The separate accounts for business and personal is an absolute must these days. Another tip, be sure to check your DM's frequently. Most of them are spam, but a lot of times, people are trying to connect with you on a more personal level.
Is it bad to follow everyone who has a similar topic as your site hoping that they will follow you back?
There are many bad practices when it comes to using Twitter and two of the most hated people I've ever encountered are the yellers who love to YELL IN CAPS like this... and Repeating Retweeters or those who repeat the retweets of their fellow tweeps. It doesn't even make sense at all. In the end, it's all about being genuine that matters - without looking like another Twitter bot, or worse, the fail whale.
I think that Twitter is very misunderstood - your article is a great step in the right direction.
That was the best advice on Twitter dos and don'ts I've ever come across! I am going to print out the whole article and MAKE all my friends and coworkers read it. Thank you!
I agree with Scott. However, I am aware that the mix of personal and business messages may be appropriate or unappropriate based on the nature of the industry you're in.
When it comes to mixing personal messages with business, I'm on the fence! I like to keep my channel personal AND informative. Not just a stream of mechanical link sharing. I want to be known as a human entity, that isn't always in the business mind-frame. In saying that, I ensure that my casual conduct is reasonably professional and not obscene. Your thoughts?