"Oh, no! My competitors are following me on Twitter! What should I do?" Does that sound like you? If it does, the first thing I will tell you is not to panic. Let's calmly discuss some strategies to deal with the initial competitor paranoia you might feel when ramping up your presence on Twitter.
First, some facts. Twitter is a public online "microblogging" forum where you post messages ("tweets") that are limited to 140 characters. Everything you post here is available for public viewing by anyone who has access to the Internet. If you have a website, your information is already available to be read by the public. So worrying about whether this person or that competitor might be looking at your public Twitter profile and postings is a moot point.
Accountant
Here are some ways to help control your Twitter presence and still build a following.
1. Make All Your Tweets Suitable for Public Viewing - If you wouldn't post this information on your website, distribute it at a tradeshow, or talk with your competitor about it, it's not suitable for public posting on Twitter. Period.
2. Don't Panic When Competitors Follow You - In today's evolving world of business relationships, particularly online, your competitors can become a support group of like-minded individuals and, in some cases, can become strategic partners for services you might not be able to provide. When people follow you, Twitter sends you an email notice alerting you. In case some of those emails don't arrive in your inbox, it is a good idea to scan your follower list throughout the week to see who has added themselves. If you find an arch rival competitor is following you, you may want to block them so that your tweets do not automatically show up in their timeline. Your tweets will, however, still be available for public view to anyone, including your competitors, from the Internet.
3. Designate a Chief Twitter Officer for Your Company - To make sure that all your tweets are public-friendly, designate someone to be in charge of the company's Twitter account and posting. It could be an owner, executive, marketing manager, or your advertising or public relations agency. But designate someone! Do not let anyone else in the company post tweets to this official account.
4. Develop Social Media Policies for Your Organization - This is an emerging and ever-changing arena. Seeking advice from a human resources professional or legal counsel familiar with social media is recommended.
5. Require that All Company Employees Include a Disclaimer in Bio - If you spend a good deal of time on Twitter, you notice that some accounts have a disclaimer such as "I work for XYZ, but I do not tweet for them" or something to that effect in the bio area of the profile. Require your staff to do something similar if they have an account.
6. Protect Your Tweets If Your Business is Confidential - If your business is highly confidential and posting anything to a public forum such as Twitter would result in a high security risk (think national defense, law enforcement, research, some celebrities, etc.), I would recommend not using Twitter for communications except as defined by your organization's leadership and legal departments. If it is not that serious, and you're still worried about standard competitive threats, protect your tweets in your Twitter settings. Your tweets will not be available for public viewing except for those followers that you approve.
Caution: If you intend to build a significant following, protecting your tweets will dramatically decrease your ability to do so since most people will not make the effort to get approved. Better to set up effective procedures and personnel to handle and monitor your Twitter presence.
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