Your business is all set up on Facebook – check.
Your business is all set up on Twitter – check.
You send out the same message on both networks 3-5 times a week – check
I know you’ve done it – don’t lie. (I’ll admit, I do it sometimes too)
When you think about it, it doesn’t seem like all that bad of an idea. A lot of your Facebook fans aren’t the same people as your Twitter followers – why not send them the same message?
Here is an equation for you: Twitter ≠ Facebook
While there might be some commonality between your Twitter followers and Facebook friends, the way you communicate on the separate networks is completely different. Here’s why:
Speaking with a colleague the other day on this topic, she said “I hate seeing all the RT’s, #’s, @’s, etc on my Facebook wall – that stuff means NOTHING to me”
Not everyone ‘gets’ Twitter. Facebook is the more widely used platform. If I had to make a guess based on Facebook users vs Twitter users, only 10-20% of your Facebook friends are Twitter users. So why annoy the other 90% with things that Twitter users are used to seeing. If you must double post on a topic – think about the Facebook people first.
Which leads me to my next point, words. On Twitter, as you know – you are limited to only 140 characters (not counting ‘cheater’s’ like xltweet.com, tweetlonger.com, etc). And while 140 characters is perfect for “Free Hot Fudge Sundae for the first 100 people to say “Moooo!” to the cashier today”. It does not work easily for describing the dinner special you plan on featuring tonight (at least well enough to get your customers excited about it).
It’s ok if you want to combine your Twitter & Facebook on occasion. You don’t want your customers that are only on one network to miss out on the conversation. But you need to learn how to communicate the same message on the different platforms.
As a business, you need to recognize that you are talking to two different types of customers. In Twitter – you should be sending a succinct message/offer or link to your followers. In Facebook, focus more on the conversation. Still send offers, but do it in a more conversational tone. Think of it more this way – Interact with your customers on Facebook in a back & forth conversation, while Twitter is more of you talking to them directly, not really needing the back & forth to make it effective.
Using a client like HootSuite (HootSuite.com) is perfect for managing multiple networks. And while it does allow you to broadcast the same update, you should think before you act. Get to know your customers by seeing how they communicate. Then throw your information into the mix – you might like what you see when it comes back.
How is your company using Twitter & Facebook differently? How are you managing both networks and connecting to your customers? Let me know! While there might be some commonality between your Twitter followers and Facebook friends, the way you communicate on the separate networks is completely different….
