All Social Media Isn’t Created Equal

We can all agree that social media, despite the never-ending debate regarding its relevancy and brain-rotting capabilities, is here to stay. There’s no argument these platforms are a social necessity in many people’s personal lives, but now businesses have also realized the impact social media can play in their success. Whether it’s brand awareness, customer engagement, competitor analysis, or a combination, social media is key in moving your business forward and for this reason, companies strive for followers on their social media, as they want their fan pages to become more prominent. This demand is balanced out by other businesses like The Marketing Heaven who come out of the woodwork with their promotional services which include delivering followers, likes, views, subscribers, etc. In other words, what started out as a simple site for connecting friends has swiftly become a battleground for new clientele.

We wanted to touch on two of the Internet’s biggest players and how to go about utilizing them to their greatest potential for your brand. Facebook and Twitter are staples in the social media game, and having both is crucial. Each has its own set of capabilities that differ just enough to hit your target audience where they already are, online!

However, so many marketers make the mistake of using Facebook and Twitter interchangeably. They are very different avenues and should be treated as such.

Here are our top do’s and don’ts for Facebook & Twitter Marketing:

Do: Show your brand’s personality on Facebook

• Facebook is somewhere customers go to break from their day and browse through entertaining and interesting content. Feel free to post employee spotlights, share a funny meme, give a virtual tour of your facility, etc. Your target audience will be more connected to your brand if they feel like they know you and can trust you. This process is referred to as “brand storytelling.”

Don’t: Get too personal on Twitter

• Twitter is an interest-based platform; meaning users aren’t looking for touchy-feely content while scrolling through their feed. Keep the personnel information, funny photos, etc. to Facebook. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be entertaining on Twitter, you still need to entice your viewer to read your tweet, but knowing the difference between interesting content and personal fluff is really important.

 

Do: Tweet short statistics and quotes

• Make your customers smarter. By sharing relevant statistics or an inspirational quote, users will be able to recall this information easily and share it with their social or professional circles. When asked where they gained this insight, your brand may be mentioned. Plus, Twitter only allows you 140 characters; so being short and sweet is kind of mandatory.

Don’t: Post statuses on Facebook

• Facebook statuses (just text) are a thing of the past on this platform. Users are much more likely to scroll right by a post with only text. If you do have the information you feel is important, post an attractive graphic or photo to go along with the copy. This will entice the viewer to stop and read what you have to say.

 

Do: Use #hashtags on Twitter (and sometimes Facebook)

• An important difference between Twitter and Facebook is the use of hashtags. Hashtags allow your tweets to be categorized by a certain subject, therefore making them easier to find and increasing their relevancy. For example, if the world cup is going on, using the hashtag #WorldCup will allow users to find your tweet when searching that tag. Just be sure the hashtag makes sense for your information and brand 🙂
• There is a recent trend on Facebook of users utilizing hashtags as well. This isn’t necessarily a bad practice, however, this platform wasn’t created to handle them as effectively. If you are running a campaign across both Facebook and Twitter, we do recommend keeping the content consistent (including hashtags). Bottom line here, hashtags won’t help nor hurt you on Facebook.

Don’t: Wear out the #’s welcome

• Whether it’s Twitter or Facebook, we highly recommend limiting the hashtag number to one, two or three. If you overdo it on the hashtags, you are limiting your availability for other content, and it will clutter your tweet/post.

 

Best Practices for Both Channels

Do: Respond to customer questions, reviews, or problems

• Because Facebook is a relationship-building tool for businesses, be sure to be consistent when responding to customer inquiries. If they send you a private message, send a private message back. If they comment on a post, reply directly to that comment.
• On Twitter, if you have the capacity to respond to or retweet feedback from customers, definitely do so. If not, make sure you at least address negative issues through a private message. And always, be timely and polite when responding.

Don’t: Be pushy while selling

• There’s a very distinct line between promoting your business and annoying those following you. You will get ‘unliked’ or ‘unfollowed’ if you are constantly shoving pushy sales messages their way. Always remain positive, helpful, and informational.

 

Do: Target strategically

• There has been some discrepancy regarding which gender dominates each platform, however, it’s very important to look at the specific demographics of your business’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. If 73% of your audience is male, that means 73% of your content should be pertinent to males. No fun facts about facial scrubs there!

Don’t: Auto-tweet content from Facebook

• There are ways to sync your Facebook and/or blog platform to your Twitter account so every time you post there, you Tweet the same content. This isn’t to say you cannot post similar concepts to Facebook and Twitter or tweet that you’ve written a new blog post, however the transfer format from these platforms to Twitter is inconsistent, and it tends to be redundant.

We hope this helps in your business’s social media journey. If you’ve still got questions about using either Facebook or Twitter for your business, give us a call.

Sources:

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