Who’s Tweeting for You? Choosing the Right Tweepresentative to Communicate for Your Brand

Who’s Tweeting for You?  Choosing the right person to represent and communicate for Your Brand on Twitter – Things to Keep in Mind:

Whether your business is big or small, choosing the “right” person(s) to represent your brand and communicate the company message and tone effectively on Twitter is right up there with finding the perfect babysitter or pet sitter for your beloved family members.

This person, not necessarily an employee, should not be just filling the Social Media slot for you because they get how to “tweet.”

They should LOVE LOVE LOVE your products or services and want to shout it out to the world in more ways than one on a regular basis. They should also have a clear idea that results do matter and keeping track of efforts is part of the job.

Authentic communication is key because you are entrusting this person to be the public voice for your brand (your baby) – ultimately, the voice of you and your reputation, which, if you’re like us, you care deeply about.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Find yourself a social butterfly! This person should possess exceptional interpersonal skills and enjoy connecting with all kinds of people. You might think that because tweeting takes place behind a screen that personality (or lack of) doesn’t shine through. It does. Twitter is the perfect platform where creative, out-of-box thinking folks who see the “dots” and understand how to connect them thrive. Like a chameleon in the rainforest, this person should be able to blend in and adjust their Twitter voice accordingly, depending on which kind of audience member they’re speaking with.

You’ve no doubt heard the saying “check yourself before you wreck yourself.” In this case, it applies perfectly! In Social Media Marketing today, many people make promises and very few actually deliver. Whether you’ve already got someone handling your Twitter account or are in the process of choosing the right fit, do some checking first. This person should be able to show you current examples of their tweeting style. Or, ask them for a handful of sample tweets they’d write to represent your brand and see what comes back (look for tone, creativity, message adaptation for Twitter vs. Facebook). Does this person have a firm grasp of the English language? Can they put a sentence together? Do they follow basic rules of etiquette, or as we say, “Twittiquette”? A lot can be conveyed in 140 characters and attention to detail is key here!

Does your ghost-tweeter understand the ins and outs of Twitter? We all know you can buy followers and there is software available that will automatically find, follow and un-follow people (if you didn’t know this, yes, it’s true, you can buy a fake audience – so beware of sudden growth spurts that don’t add up). These Bots can also send out auto-responses and automated messages, which most people will tell you is a huge turn-off. There is nothing worse than following someone and, instead of a personal message, you receive the “Thanks for following! Be sure to check us out & Like us on Facebook” with a link blurb. There have been many times after receiving those types of messages that we immediately go back and un-follow. Unless you’re a HUGE celebrity and expectations might differ, keep it genuine.

Does your Tweepresentative know your company goals and objectives? They need to have a clear idea of what the overall business or organizational goals and objectives are so they can create content around them to help drive action towards them each day/week/month.

We here at All Stages Marketing believe in taking an organic yet effective approach to all Social Media channels and can tell you from experience that if you combine clear marketing strategy with a tool like Twitter and some good old fashioned, “made from scratch” research and outreach, the results are truly powerful! A good Social Media Manager should know exactly how to speak to your brand’s target audience and get them engaged. He/she should also be very well versed in utilizing the capabilities of social media management dashboards like HootSuite or Sprout Social to coordinate and organize your social media efforts.

It’s about RELATIONSHIPS people – online and offline!

So let’s review. Ideally, you want an excellent tweeter who is:

• Creative
• Well-Spoken
• Outgoing
• Appropriate
• Observant
• Persuasive
• Detail-Oriented
• Quick-minded
• Conscientious
• Genuine
• Trustworthy
• Able to represent your brand {during good times and bad}

Once you’ve found the right person and guided them through your overall marketing strategy and figured out together where Twitter efforts fit in to the marketing matrix, sit back, relax and let them work their Twitter magic. You will be surprised at the wonderful momentum and new connections a good Tweeter will find for your brand! Keep in mind that it takes time to garner a following and that quality is much more valuable than quantity.

Happy Tweeting! P.S. Check out our fun, free to use Social Media Characters & Symbols page to spice up your tweets!

{CAUTION: TWEET RESPONSIBLY! A Bad Twitter Profile is worse than not having one at all, so unless you’re committing to using your Twitter account the way Biz Stone and the rest of us Twerps intended, watch from the sidelines please!}