Your Twitter page isn’t a Website — it’s your Digital Water-cooler.
There are some key limitations when designing a Twitter account to be like a webpage. First, you need to be comfortable with writing in 140 characters or less. Second, categorizing doesn’t exist outside “Tweets,” “Tweets and replies,” and “Media.” So how can you “design” a successful Twitter page that parallels with your webpage?
The first thing to note is Twitter is not a replacement for a webpage, it’s a supplement. Think of your account as the PR for your organization. The company’s attitude on Twitter must be consistent to the organization’s values on the website. However, the tone of the organization on social media sites such as Twitter must be causal (but professional) to get attention and treated like a entity. That’s the novel idea of having organizations on social media — our brands that we’ve grown up with or use have taken on human qualities. People know it’s probably an intern posting things but because it says Frito Lay or Kellogg they are amused. This amusement further increases when companies interact with each other.
Maybe it’s because the giant, faceless corporations we’ve known have strategically presented themselves as causal, even as “friends” that causes this affect.
So how can you become your audiences friend as a company?
- Keep it causal but keep it relevant.
You’re still a company with a mission that needs to be considered before each post. Insulting some of your customers for the sake of a laugh by others is not a good strategy. Maintaining good will towards the public is a priority — but in order to keep the attention of the audience and build “relationships” some posts need to allude to current trends.
2. Promote, promote, promote.
This is your time to promote your organization using a free resource: social media! Posting events, fundraisers, deals, new products and services keeps your audiences informed of your organization’s happenings.
3. Show and tell
Pictures and videos find themselves at home on social media where our attention span is shortened. If you can make your message into an image or video then you’ll likely gain some attention. Some of the most successful images are those connected with positive emotions (ex. abused puppy being adopted or a natural sunset), so you may want to put your National Geographic hat on and take some glamor shots for your company. Another successful image type are memes — images with a caption. Often ironic, these images appeal to a younger target audience.
Happy Designing.
