Businesses can make use of Twitter as a public relations channel, but they need to be aware of security when sharing ideas, market-research firm Gartner has said.
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Many businesses are using Twitter as a public relations and marketing channel, Gartner said. Businesses are “tweeting” about corporate accomplishments, distributing links to press releases, and responding to other Twitterers’ comments about their brand.
Gartner said this approach should be used with caution because uninteresting Tweets could hinder the brand image as much as help.
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Jeffrey Mann, research VP at Gartner said… “If organizations have not defined a public Web participation policy, they should do so as quickly as possible.”
I just love stuff like this. I’m sure Gartner got paid a pretty penny by someone for their research - they are part of a new social media ecosystem that has cropped up recently.
For example, there are tons of “social media gurus” with camps, PowerPoint-based lectures and websites out there teaching people how to harness the Internet. Titles include “10 Ways to Use Twitter to Meet Clients” and “34 Ways to Draw People to Your Facebook Page.” The best part is most of these firms are super-impressed with themselves, but I’m not sure why everyone is so worked up because social media isn’t new.
Sure, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are all new, but the conversation that takes place within those networks is the same conversation that’s been going on for ages: Instead of a neighborhood bar, we have neighborhood web forums and Facebook pages. Instead of chatting at the water cooler, we send each other text messages about how ugly the boss’s tie is.
But people don’t understand new things, so they sign up for seminars (or pay big firms tons of money) to teach* them how Twitter will change their lives and how using Facebook can increase revenue, and they lose a little bit more of how things used to be done - face to face.**
The simple truth is that people don’t really change all that much. Business doesn’t change that much. Accounting is accounting, if it’s done with QuickBooks or with a pen on a ledger. Social media doesn’t have the power to alter the world in the way some of the “experts” would have us believe.
On a somewhat related note, the inclusion of companies on social media networks breaks down the conversations even further. For example, Apple has a page on Facebook. How is that not advertising? Sure, Apple users use the wall and the forums to ask each other questions, but Apple’s purpose on Facebook is to advertise their products - simple and old-fashioned advertising.
And that is as old as time. Just like relationships.
———- *To clarify, I don’t have a problem with people teaching others how the mechanics of social media networks - my issue is with people acting like social media is some new, God-given gift to humanity that only they can unlock. **In fact, in a way, the term “social media” is somewhat oxymoronic. By spending all of our times on our computers trying to force relationships with people, we are neglecting to do it in real life over cups of coffee and in discussions about good books.