Tag Archives: twitter

Facebook Lite: Should We Care?

Posted on by jesskry
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Plastic_tape_measureI recently read an article in Ad Age regarding how brands will be lost in Facebook Lite.  After a quick spin via Facebook lite last week, I found my reaction to be ‘so what?’.

Per Twitter convos, I’d also consider the Lite version to be not only useful for those on a slow connection, but for people who are sick of the constant interruptions. Chat, apps and pages that may otherwise clutter up your home feed – its a streamlined version with easy access to people and news rather than toys and brands. Initial results seem to be a slow adoption, probably of curious Twitter users checking out the hype.

It seems odd that the Lite version is lacking in brand presences for businesses when Facebook is trying to feign Twitter like functionality for businesses to reach consumers. Although they’ve introduced new functionality, it seems those who chose to use Facebook Lite wont be able to interact with brands as easily. Considering that more serious social media users may chose the pared down version of Facebook to avoid extraneous posts, it seems that early adopter types may be the ones that are being missed by businesses who could lose the opportunity to interact in ‘Lite’.

Facebook also finally sees Twitter as a legitimate threat, but, does Facebook Lite make sense if the audiences and reasons for use are different? Those that enjoy multiple applications and quiz results most likely are not Twitter users who enjoy the more pared down communication that Twitter provides. For the Twitterati, Facebook seems to be a place to hold pictures and video, interact with those who are not Twitter users, and to feed Twitter updates and information to.

Could Twitter replace Facebook? In my opinion, no. Could the opposite be true? Absolutely not.

Thoughts?

Thou Doth Tweet Too Much?

Posted on by jesskry
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In a rare meeting prior to setting up a Twitter account, one department asked me to tell them how much is too much Tweeting. I realize I got ahead of myself by not letting them finish and blurted out ‘I will never tell you that you are Tweeting too much – its impossible.’ Here’s what I meant:

Twitter Reading is Selective

Its easy to scan each tweet to see if you need to read further. Its the nature of the communication medium: Twitter users become accustomed to short bursts of information and, in my opinion, are very good at skimming the content. In my own use, I find that I skim, and go back and re-read if its important. This also assumes you are an avid user and have enough followers to dilute multi-tweets from one account.

Following Takes the Place of a Feed

Do you read every post that comes through your RSS reader? Didnt think so. The same is true with Twitter. I dont expect that every Tweet you post from orientation will be read but it will be searchable. Think of it as a bookmark for that information. Someone’s going to stumble upon it at some point and find it useful.

I fear the opposite much more than I do over-tweeting. Do you have a magical equation that you use for your branded account?

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Tweet Style: How Does Your Brand Do It?

Posted on by jesskry
2

Last week, I began to ponder the style of a branded Twitter account with fellow Twitter peeps @lanejoplin, @timnekritz, @radiofreegeorgy, @thanhancock, @bradjward. Supposedly, as channel/community manager, you’re taking on the brand persona, right? Or are you putting your own persona into the brand? Do you have a plan for your tweets or are they random? The more this was discussed, the more a blog post it deserved.

Personally, I’ve been putting on the University brand, primarily, touting University events, related news stories and of course, Boston updates. One thing I’ve not been doing too much of is interacting. Being someone who endlessly preaches ‘interaction, integration and two-way communication’ I cant really sit idle any longer: Its time to Tweet.

As I move forward in discussing and commenting on students and other follower/followees there’s a line to draw. How much is too much? Is too little robotic? Can I really chime in on how much I loved the Cuddy/House drama last week (Thanks for the input, @lanejoplin:) )?

I’d love for branded tweeting to take on a more personal touch, but how much of that touch is one person’s idiosyncrasies and lovable quirks versus a unified branded approach? Can both live simultaneously in harmony? What happens when the (hopefully, luckily) loved persona moves on or becomes too busy?

I’m thinking the answer is a little bit of both: stay true to the university brand and persona while also injecting a little personality to keep things interesting. Of course you wont get political or attach links to stories that’ll stir the pot, but generally, you’ll be able to have fun while providing information.

That’s what social media is all about, right? :)

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