Making the business case for using Twitter

Posted on 30. Jul, 2008 by Michael Brito in Community Management, Corporate Blogs, Social Media

I use Twitter. I use Twitter a lot. I use Twitter so much that I even wrote my own Twitter Manifesto; which I think is already out of date. Sometimes I use it to chronicle my daily life; sometimes for self promotion and other times to communicate the latest the greatest at Intel.  Regardless of the contents of my “tweets”, I can humbly say that my intention is to be authentic, build trust with those who follow, nurture that relationship and evangelize Intel’s social media initiatives without interrupting the nature of the conversation.

From what I understand, there have been several internal conversations within various organizations about Twitter usage and whether or not there is business value to have employees use Twitter during work hours.  I personally believe there is value; assuming of course that the concept of “community building”, “evangelism” or “social media” fall somewhere within your job description.

My friend and colleague Bob Duffy touched on this subject just the other day:

This is all too real. I was just told last week that some employers are watching tweets and wondering why employees are doing this during work.   I have not heard of policies yet but there’s communication out there to keep it in control or you will be viewed in the wrong light.  The old, manage workers through political pressure trick.

As I read through Bob’s post, I tried to put myself in management’s position and try to understand their point of view about this matter. Now I completely agree that there is a serious problem if an employee is spending their entire day on Twitter and not living up to their performance expectations.  I really don’t think this is the case though.  I think it’s merely a lack of understanding and education, not just about Twitter but holistically about social media. If done right, Twitter can be used to share/learn best practices about social media; get instant feedback about current projects; distribute content and build community.  It really is an awesome tool.

But more importantly, in my humble opinion of course, Twitter does so much more than that. It brings a human face to an organization.  Here’s is what Bob had to say about this point:

Twitter allows you as a marketer to start building an online persona.  The reason this is important is because, well to be honest, the average customer doesn’t trust you as far as they could throw you.  As a marketer, you’re biased, manipulative and loud.  Generally not very fun to hang with.  By building an online persona you are not the institution. Instead as a regular guy, gal, or other category of human being you are more relatable.

I couldn’t agree more with this analysis.  I follow guys on Twitter like @RichardatDELL.  He is a real person that I can have a real conversation with. He is not Dell Corporation nor is he hiding behind the Dell logo.  He is a human being and I can relate to him far better than I can a corporate entity. And, since I have been following Richard, my relationship with Dell has evolved.  When I look at the Dell logo on my laptop or walk by a Dell Kiosk in the mall; it’s much more personal.

Unfortunately, my good friends at my two previous gigs – HP & Yahoo – have yet to fully understand the true business value of using Twitter. Take a look at each profile and you will see what I mean. They are using Twitter simply as a one-way promotional vehicle pushing out blatant marketing messages; in hopes of driving web traffic to their respective web properties.  Oh, and Yahoo’s is posting links that are going to pages that don’t even exist. : (

Building trust, relationships and exemplifying authenticity are all important in establishing an online persona; and what better way to establish a persona than using Twitter. That is where the true value comes in; and that’s what should be communicated to senior management.

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10 Comments

Posted in Community Management, Corporate Blogs, Social Media

10 Responses to “Making the business case for using Twitter”

  1. JeremyS

    30. Jul, 2008

    “I think it’s merely a lack of understanding and education, not just about Twitter but holistically about social media. If done right, Twitter can be used to share/learn best practices about social media; get instant feedback about current projects; distribute content and build community.”

    There you have it. We’re behind the curve with all social media stuff at Intel. But I see enough support across the company, at all levels, to keep it growing.

    Banning twitter is an impossibility, anyway. They might as well ban internet access and phones while they’re at it.

  2. Richardatdell

    30. Jul, 2008

    Hi Michael, great post.  Especially liked “my intention is to be authentic, build trust with those who follow, nurture that relationship and evangelize Intel’s social media initiatives without interrupting the nature of the conversation”….I would add to participate in those conversations, answer questions, as well as listen and learn.

  3. Richardatdell

    30. Jul, 2008

    I guess when I list direct2dell as my website, which I do as part of the day job and commenting on blog, Lionel’s picture shows up…..Oh well we are on the same team, some might even say one and the same :-)

  4. Bob Duffy

    30. Jul, 2008

    Good post Michael.  I think the persona thing vs the institutional voice is a big deal.  There’s a lot for marketing departments to learn regarding being conversational rather than targeting an institutional message at key demographic.

    For me Forrester has a human face in @jowyang and vPro has a human face in @JoshProStar.  These are people I can relate to, who have keen insights, that I want to track.  These personas become valuable marketing channels for brands.

  5. Brendan Jarvis

    30. Jul, 2008

    Hi Michael

    I think you’ve hit the nail on the head here…

    “…whether or not there is business value to have employees use Twitter during work hours.  I personally believe there is value; assuming of course that the concept of “community building”, “evangelism” or “social media” fall somewhere within your job description.”

    It doesn’t necessarily have to be in their job description but if employees are using social media at work, it should be with the intention of building a positive and authentic relationship with their customers/community. Otherwise it really is just wasting time.

    Where Twitter as a broadcast tool is concerned, I think it can, and is, being used as this effectively. For e.g. twitter.com/DellOutlet. It just depends what audience you’re targeting.

  6. GeekMommy

    30. Jul, 2008

    Exactly.  To put it succinctly - Twitter is about building relationships that drive the traffic and create the impression of the company as a person, not a marketing juggernaut.

    You’ve hit the nail on the head.  Those businesses using Twitter well aren’t businesses - but real interacting people who happen to represent their companies well.

  7. Tac Anderson

    12. Aug, 2008

    Just for the record: @hpnews (which is exactly what is says, just news) was an early experiment by one of our regions. As you know Michael, WW provides guidance but trusts in our regions to implement. 

    A much better example would be @hp_BlogHer2008, which was in support of our BlogHer sponsorship.

    But, could we be doing a better job? Absolutely.

  8. Michael Brito

    12. Aug, 2008

    @Tac

    i just found out the Intel does the same thing. So maybe my example wasn’t the best one for HP. 

    Michael

  9. Michael Brito

    12. Aug, 2008

    and you are right…it’s HP News.  This was an oversight on my part. sorry.

  10. Karrine McFarlane

    28. Sep, 2008

    As Corporations change from old to new management styles (which is needed to secure the current and more so the next generation of star employees) their evaluation of an employee needs to be based on their work not their time sheet ;)

    Personally if I worked for a company who monitored my tweets and attempted to inform me that I was not permitted to tweet during work hours …
    I would either

    A) Say that is fine. I will also no longer perform any work outside of work hours and any professional development I acquire outside of work hours will no longer be applied at work.
    or
    B) Resign and look for a employer who doesn’t live in the dark ages of ‘old management styles’.

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