Twitter closes the gap between professional and personal
I was absorbed in some lunchtime tweets today and started to feel a little schizophrenic. My Twitter path consists of client promotion, Wax info, personal thoughts and conversations with friends. (Not to mention that weird story about the hair weave stopping a bullet…still freaked out about that one) No wonder big business is scared to hop into social media. All that stuff we learned about “protecting the brand” goes out the window when you’re swimming in the sea of online chatter. But should we really care? After all a brand is the perception of a product or service in the mind of the customer. Too many fat cat marketers have forgetten that – you don’t “create” a brand. It evolves based on your integrity, your service and yes…your personality.
Maybe Twitter is destroying that supposedly required separation of “personal” vs. “business”. Customers buy from brands and people they trust. So maybe by letting them see our personal side, even if it’s only online, we’re actually building that intangible part of our brand that has to do with trust. Trust that comes from knowing what to expect, because you know the character of the person – or company. @zappos has taken that idea and embraced it wholeheartedly. I imagine the company is thriving because of it. We feel like we all know the guy at the top…on his good AND his bad days. He’s our friend so that’s where we get our shoes.
At least that’s what I tell Charlton when the giant box of shoes arrives weekly at our door.
So tell me, what other CEO’s are doing a great job of using social media?
Tags: Branding, twitter, zappos
February 21st, 2009 at 11:56 am
I think Twitter closes the gap and when we use it well it closes the gap in all of the right ways. I think it is fine that some of our Tweets are about our work, our products and services and our blogs. I think it is great that we can also Tweet about some aspects of our personal lives. It is all about the balance between information and TMI – Too Much Information!
Thanks
Margaret Meloni AKA CoachM on Twitter
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:10 am
I believe that if I can keep a good balance between personal and business, the personal can keep me more human and therefore more approachable, making a more trusting business relationship. It also opens up more lines of communication, possibly freeing some info that may lead to much needed insights into what we need to do with whom.
I don’t know about Twitter, but works in conversation. I’ll have to try the Tweet sometime.
June 11th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
I agree. When people associate a brand with a personality, they trust it more because it humanizes the brand and makes it easier for people to relate to it and connect with it.
If a person is following a brand on twitter, it is usually because they have some interest in the brand. Connecting with a brand can therefore benefit the organization.
The “tweeter” for that brand must always tweet in an appropriate manner to maintain a positive relationship.
Social media is a powerful tool which when used appropriately, can benefit organizations.
He is not the CEO, but the head of social media at Ford. @ScottMonty is definitely one to follow on twitter.